The Late Scholar is the fourth and final Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane detective novel written by Jill Paton Walsh.

[1] The Late Scholar features the former Lord Peter Wimsey—now the Duke of Denver—and his wife, the former Harriet Vane and is set in a fictional Oxford college called St. Severin's.

The college is in financial difficulties, and is in the midst of an acrimonious dispute between the Fellows over whether or not to sell a valuable codex (a copy of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius, with glosses which may be by Alfred the Great) to finance the purchase of a piece of land which might be worth much money if planning permission can be obtained on it.

A side plot concerns the decision of Bredon, the elder son of Peter and Harriet, not to apply for admission to Oxford University—but instead to study estate management at Reading University.

Kirkus Reviews observes that solving the various mysteries and saving the college "takes patience and diligence for Peter and Harriet—and for readers who may fidget over the leisurely pace and the insulated academic setting in post–WWII Britain," and that "Walsh's ... respectful attempt to keep the franchise going will invite the scrutiny of Wimsey purists, and newcomers may find the Duke affected.