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Flow of Ideas: articles - Dorothy L. Sayers |
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 A Capital Friendly Culture for Further EducationAcademy ChainsAfter the Hillcole GroupAgainst What We Are WorthAmbassadors of Capital in SchoolsAn Educational Mansion House for BusinessApprenticeship and the Use-value Aspect of Labour PowerArtistic OutlookAyers Rocked In His Own UniverseB GenerationBourdieu on CapitalBourdieu on Cultural CapitalBourdieu on Social CapitalBrown PFI MonsterBusiness Sponsorship of SchoolsBusiness Takeover of Further EducationCambridge University OccupationCaught in the Storm of CapitalCo-payment in Hospitals and SchoolsCold Hands and Quarter MoonCommunitarianism for SchoolsCompulsory Consumption and Uni-NannyConforming Schools Conforming KidsCopy/South DossierCreating MonstersCreeping Privatisation in Higher EducationCritical MassCritical Pedagogy and CapitalismCritical Space in EducationDelivering E-LearningDigital Rights ManagementDistillationDorothy L. SayersDouglas Kennedy: best-selling novelistE-learning for Free at the BBCEdison Schools in the UKEducation and Inspections Bill (2006)Education As Culture MachineEducation FireworksEducation for DebtEducation IncorporatedEducation Markets and Missing ProductsEducation RepetitionEducation the HSBC WayEducation White PaperEducation, Globalisation and the Learning SocietyEmployers and School LeaversEvaluating Different Teaching MethodsEverything Louder Than Everything ElseFinance and FearFive Endings of DesiresFoibles, Frolics and PhantasmsFreedomFreewillFrench New Wave CinemaFull Report Ruth Rikowski's Book Launch for Globalisation, Information and LibrariesGender and Spokesperson in Group Work IssuesGlobal TradingGlobalisation and Education RevisitedHabituation of the NationHigher Education and Confused Employer SyndromeHitchcock: classic auteurHuman capital, the knowledge economy and businessIn Retro GlideIn the Dentist's ChairKids in the Land of No DreamsKM CritiqueLazy Brit KidsLearning in the Earthworks of CapitalLearning InvestmentsLearning to the MaxLibrarianship and Human RightsLifelong Learning and the Political Economy of ContainmentLSBU StrategyMarketisation of the Schools System in EnglandMarx and Education RevisitedMarx and the Future of the HumanMarxism and Education RevisitedMarxist Educational Theory UnpluggedMaturity and FreedomMcDonaldization and EducationMichael JacksonMichele RobertsMiss Allison and Novel WritingMoneythought in Higher EducationMrs Thatcher and Holes in the Kitchen FloorMulticulturalism and Faith SchoolsMy Tony BlairNew Ideas in Ruth Rikowski's Book - Part 1New Ideas in Ruth Rikowski's Book - Part 2New Labour Policy for SchoolsNietzsche's SchoolNihilism and Educational ValuesNo Learner Left UnhassledNotes on the Confessions of John DenhamOn Education for Its Own SakeOn Education StudiesOn the Capitalisation of Schools in EnglandOn Transhumanism and EducationOpen AccessOutsourcing Public ServicesPeter Wilby on School PrivatisationPlanet of the CapitorgPlatoPlaygound Risks and Handcuffed KidsPoems by Gregory RikowskiPoems by Victor RikowskiPost-Fordism and SchoolsPost-Fordism in Primary SchoolsPostmodern Dereliction in the Face of Neoliberal Education PolicyPowerPointlessness in Higher EducationPrivate Schools as CharitiesPrivatisation of Schools in EnglandPrivatisation of Student DebtRaces in the Imperial WarReadings for Teaching CourseRecruitment and Labour PowerRevealed Recruitment Criteria through the Use-value Aspect of Labour-powerRobotic EthicsRuth Rikowski Updates (Archives)Ruth Rikowski Updates (Archives)School Fees and the 1944 Education ActSchools: Building for BusinessScience Fiction Films and HorrorSecond Time as FarceSnowballs and Risk in SchoolsSocial Contract Theory and Political ObligationsSocialism is not DeadSpeed of Life - Part OneSpeed of Life - Part TwoStroppy Individuals and Oppositional Cultures in SchoolsSustainability Policy at London South Bank UniversityTen Points on Marx, Class and EducationThe Business of Becoming a Business for AcademiesThe Capitalisation of Schools - Federations and AcademiesThe CBI and the Business Takeover of SchoolsThe Commodification of EducationThe Education White Paper and the Marketisation of SchoolsThe Evolution of Federations of SchoolsThe Last Parents EveningThe New Japanisation of SchoolsThe Profit Virus - The Business Takeover of SchoolsThe Standards Language-game for Schools in EnglandThe Which Blair ProjectThree Types of Apprenticeship - Three Forms of MasteryTony and Caroline BennTony Benn: Letters to GrandchildrenTransportTurney's and PPUUninspiring TowersUniverse of Capital and My SpaceUniversities in a Neoliberal WorldUtopia and EducationWhat Can Nietzsche Teach YaWhen Bullies Roam the SchoolWhen the Bowers BreakWhy Employers Can't Ever Get What They WantWill Hutton and His E-FossWolf on Marx Without SparksWomen in World Wars
| Dorothy L. Sayers by Ruth Rikowski 1. Introduction: Detective Novels I have read quite a lot of different murder/mystery/detective novels throughout my life. When I was in my early teens I was particularly keen on Agatha Christie’s mysteries. Then, at one point I read the whole of Sir Arthur Donan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories! I think my favourite detectives though are those by Wilkie Collins; ‘The Moonstone’ and ‘The Woman in White’ are particularly brilliant, and I love the way Wilkie Collins combined the murder with a classical novel. However, for several years I left off the murder stories altogether! I only returned to the detective novel big time though when my Aunt Olive (whose full name was Sophia Levice Olivia White, neé Vickery) (my mother’s eldest sister) died, in 1993. Aunt Olive left me all her books - like me, she adored reading and could not be without a book. On her death, though, I was rather surprised to discover that she had a lot of detective novels. I poured myself into them really enthusiastically - partly as a way of dealing with my grief and trying to re-connect with her in some way. These included books by authors such as Ruth Rendell, Jonathan Gash and Ellis Peters. In the end though, I'd had enough and didn't really care any more, who killed who, where, how, when and why! And so, once again, I moved on (a lot of the books still sit nicely on my shelf though). 2. Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey Detective Novels However, until a couple of years ago I had not read any of Dorothy L. Sayers detective stories. Then, Graham Coult, the editor of Managing Information recommended Dorothy L. Sayers books to me (he is a great fan of hers); he said that he thought I would really like them. I decided to 'give them a go', and yes, I found that I did enjoy them. In fact, I went on to read loads of Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey detective stories quite ferociously after my father-in-law died last year, in February 2009. Reading these books really helped me to get over it all, in fact, and to move on - as did reading Douglas Kennedy's books and listening to the music of Michael Jackson and Stevie Nicks, the latter again being at Graham Coult’s suggestion. As Graham rightly said, Dorothy L. Sayers books are more than just detective stories. The characters themselves are developed in the books and there are lots of other interesting side plots and hilarious antics going on throughout the books. Various social issues are also touched upon. Murder Must Advertise discusses the ethics of advertising, and looks at the drugs problem and class issues, for example, and women’s education is advocated and promoted in Gaudy Night. The books are also well-written. The main detective character (for any ‘out there’ that don’t already know!), is Lord Peter Wimsey, who basically, was Dorothy L. Sayers 'ideal' man; he was a member of the aristocracy (his father being the late Duke of Denver and his older brother the present incumbent), well-educated, intelligent, rich (although his wealth was largely generated from investment and enterprise – developing what he had inherited), flamboyant and witty (things which the man that she actually married seemed to be in rather short supply of!). And of course, it goes without saying that Lord Peter was brilliant at solving murder mysteries! And Harriet Vane represents Dorothy L. Sayers. Harriet is a detective writer, who is accused of murder herself. But Lord Peter Wimsey is convinced that she is innocent; and indeed, he proves that in court. Then, in novel after novel, Lord Peter proposes to Harriet (albeit in a very casual, amusing kind of way), but she will have none of it; she repeatedly turns him down. Finally, though, she succumbs and in the last of the books we see them with their three children. Lord Peter’s mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, is also a powerful character in the books, and his sister Mary and his brother Gerald, the Duke of Denver, also play a significant part in them. It is quite some family gathering, what? What is also unusual about the books is that although we are dealing with murder cases, it is all done in a very jolly sort of way and in a very frolicky sort of environment. So, in that sense, one cannot take the murders all that seriously! And yet, many of the murders and the plots themselves are really very ingenious and intricate, and so in another sense, one does take them seriously. Dorothy L. Sayers was a very intelligent woman, of course, and these stories were what she applied her mind to for much of her life. The stories have also been performed repeatedly on the radio - see for example 'Whose Body' on BBC Radio 4 with Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey. It is all jolly good fun, what! In some ways, in terms of the characters, and the general feel of the books, they reminded me somewhat of P.G. Wodehouse's books – with confident upper-middle class and aristocratic people mixing socially, having time on their hands, having fun, whilst at the same time doing some good (at least for some of the time!). The same characters also appear and are developed in both Sayers and Wodehouse’s books. Furthermore, they are people that abide to a set of rules and behaviours but these are a different set of rules to those that the rest of us poor mortals have to adhere to, it has to be said! Also, of course, money is certainly not something that they have to worry themselves about. In addition, they are people that employ and pay for domestic help. Of the books that I read, I read most of them in sequence and quite quickly at that. I enjoyed them until the end, when I then got really quite fed-up with them, in all honesty. This reminded me of the dilemma that Dorothy L. Sayers faced herself. She really enjoyed writing the books at first and she made a lot of money out of them all of course. But then, because they were so successful and making her money she got pressurised to keep writing more and more. To such an extent that in the end she got sick to death of Lord Peter Wimsey and his escapades and wanted to 'finish him off'. But she could not seem to find a way to do so. She intended, originally, to ‘finish off his character’ in ‘Strong Poison’, by marrying him off to Harriet and then writing him out of the books, but apparently Dorothy L. Sayers could not find a form of words where Harriet could accept his offer without loss of self-respect. Rather, she had to come to Lord Peter as a free agent, which she did in the end, but a few books later! The upshot of all this was that Dorothy L. Sayers left a couple of books half finished (whilst she went on and involved herself with other writing and other projects). Then, after she died, Jill Paton Walsh picked the books up, and finished them. I have also read these books, and Jill Walsh has written them very cleverly; one would never know where Dorothy L. Sayers ends and Jill Walsh begins. ‘A presumption of death’ was based on a collection of letters between characters in the Wimsey stories that Dorothy L. Sayers wrote for ‘The Spectator’ in the Second World War. The rest of this book was brought together very cleverly by Jill Paton Walsh. So then, let us explore all this a little more - both Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels, and Dorothy L. Sayers herself as a person. 3. The Dorothy L. Sayers Detective Novels that I have read In regard to her detective novels, I have read 'Whose Body', 'Striding Folly', 'Unnatural Death', 'Gaudy Night', 'The Documents in the Case', 'Clouds of Witness', 'Strong Poison', 'Have his Carcase', 'The Nine Tailors' and 'Busman's Honeymoon – all by Dorothy L. Sayers. Then, I've also read 'Thrones, dominations' and 'A presumption of death', both of which are by Jill Paton Walsh and Dorothy L. Sayers. The first book I read was 'Unnatural Death' (as this was amongst my Aunt Olive’s book collection). In this book, an elderly cancer patient, Agatha Dawson, suddenly and mysteriously dies, but her death cannot be explained by her illness. Miss Climpson, an elderly spinster lady and a devout Christian, with a chatty disposition, is called in by Lord Peter Wimsey to help with the investigation (Miss Climpson appears in several of the novels). We find out that there has been a killing by an empty syringe - an amazingly ingenious plot, I thought. Then, I read ‘Gaudy Night'. That was good - it was set against the backdrop of academia; with Harriet Vane returning to her old Oxford College (Dorothy L. Sayers graduated from Oxford herself). Harriet Vane discovers that someone in the college is writing anonymous hate mail, poison pen letters and performing various other acts of vandalism. Harriet has to find out who it is, and eventually Lord Peter comes to help her. Whilst 'Whose Body' (the first book) begins with a body in a bath; the body is naked except for a pair of pince-nez. The book deals with bodies in mortuaries, and changing bodies around, and wanting to use a brain for medical research. 'The Documents in the Case' consists of a series of letters and other documents, written by members of a troubled family. There is a very unusual format in this book, where the murder case is unravelled through these various documents. In 'Clouds of Witness' we have the Duke of Denver (Gerald), who is Lord Peter Wimsey's brother, being tried for murder himself in the House of Lords. Heavens! And the murdered man had been the fiancé of Lady Mary; Lady Mary being Peter and Gerald's sister. But Mary was not in love with the murdered man (Captain Cathcart). Rather, she was in love with a labour/socialist man by the name of Goyles. (So a nice bit of politics is introduced here.) Mary and Goyles were going to elope together. But the family did not approve of Goyles. So, Mary had agreed to marry Cathcart instead: "...with the proviso that she should be considered a free agent, living her own life in her own way, with the minimum of interference." (p.261) But anyway, in the end, Gerald is found 'not guilty' of murdering Cathcart, with the help of his brother, Lord Peter, of course. Then, it materialises that there was no murder; Cathcart killed himself! In 'Strong Poison' Harriet Vane is herself accused of murder - and this is where Harriet is first introduced into the books. Harriet is being accused of having murdered Philip Boyes, who has been found dead of arsenic poisoning. Philip had proposed to Harriet after asking her to live with him because he did not believe in the institution of marriage and she had left him on the grounds of hypocrisy. Lord Peter Wimsey is convinced, right from the very beginning, that she is innocent. To begin with, the jury cannot come to a decision. But one of the jury members, Miss Climpson (here she is again), is convinced that Harriet is innocent. Lord Peter is determined to prove her innocence and gets Miss Climpson to help him. Both Philip and Harriet were detective writers, but Philip had no money, although he did make a will. Mr Urquhart and Philip were cousins. The money from their elderly relative Mrs Wrayburn should have gone to both cousins, but Mr Urquhart, a solicitor, fixed it so that the money would go to him (he had been spending the money before her death anyway). So, he poisoned Philip, in order to make sure that the money came to him. And so of course, Harriet was innocent, and was released. A while later, Harriet Vane, whilst on holiday, finds a body on the beach in 'Have his Carcase'. The man’s throat has been slit. Lord Peter is concerned for Harriet (especially as she had previously been accused of murder and he did not want a repeat of that again), and so he gets involved. The dead body turns out to be someone that was involved with the Russian aristocracy. So, the plot all gets mixed up with secret codes. 'The Nine Tailors' is based around church bells ringing in Fenchurch St. Paul; and quite a lot of the book is devoted to the intricacies of bell-ringing (which did go on a bit, I thought!). A corpse is found in the churchyard. It is the body of Geoffrey Deacon, who is killed by the bells. In 'Busman's Honeymoon', Harriet and Lord Peter are enjoying a quiet country honeymoon for themselves in an ancient farmhouse. But the previous owners’ body is found in the cellar. And so the fun begins! Whilst 'Striding Folly' consists of 3 short stories (not that I am usually a short story lover) - 'Striding Folly', 'The Haunted Policeman' and 'Talboys'. In 'Talboys' we see a real family situation, where the Wimseys now have 3 children, and their son Brandon, for example, is seen pinching peaches! So, there are a wide variety of different situations and complex plots. And the books all go along at a real pace; in fact, sometimes one can have trouble keeping up and focusing! Characters come and go which I found to be both a strength and a weakness; a strength in that the books had an enticing feel to them with a sense of community, if one was in the right mood and the right frame of mine. But if one wasn’t it could sometimes be rather confusing, I found, as some characters seemed to come and go without enough description and explanation (the very opposite of Charles Dickens in this regard). But all in all, in general, they are all jolly good fun, what! 4. Dorothy L. Sayers: the person So, what about Dorothy L. Sayers herself then? I read a very interesting biography about her by James Brabazon, entitled 'Dorothy L Sayers: a biography', Encore Editions, 1981. In this biography we discover that Dorothy L. Sayers (1892-1957) studied at Somerville in Oxford, and was one of the first women to get a degree from Oxford University. She won a scholarship to Somerville College, leading on from the boarding school which she attended in Salisbury. She was also, interestingly, an only child. She obtained a first class honours in foreign languages (French and German) and medieval literature in 1916. However, at that time, women could not be awarded degrees, so she had to wait until 1920 to receive her formal degree (an MA), once Oxford had become more enlightened and the policy changed. So Dorothy L. Sayers was, indeed, a very intelligent as well as a very determined woman. She was certainly very determined to make it as a writer, which she did quite early on with her Lord Peter Wimsey detective stories. Prior to her writing career, and after graduating from Oxford, she was employed as a copywriter at S.H. Benson’s advertising agency in London from 1922-1931 – this was her longest period of employment ever. She also worked for Basil Blackwell as a publishing assistant. Apart from the Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels, Dorothy L. Sayers was also a poet, a playwright (of Christian plays for theatre and radio), an essayist and a translator. Furthermore, she wrote articles and was a great letter writer. Yet, she considered her translation of Dante’s Divina Commedia to be her best work, even though she never finished the project. She had to teach herself Italian in order to be able to translate it. She wanted to convey the liveliness and humour of the ‘Divine Comedy’, and to make it become poetry that people would enjoy reading. She also wrote plays for the radio, including a nativity play entitled He That Should Come and The Man Born to be King, the latter being about the life of Jesus. Her other writings included, amongst many others, an important work called The Mind of the Maker (1941), which looked at the analogy between a human creator (such as a writer) and the doctrine of The Trinity in creation. In 1950 she accepted an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Durham. She also became a famous lecturer on religious subjects. This just outlines some of her other many successful activities and writing projects. In regard to her personal life, Dorothy L. Sayers fell in love with the novelist John Cournos but he would not marry her. He wanted an open relationship, which she would have none of - she was a devout Christian. He did not want to be tied down to a conventional life. However, later on he went on to have a conventional married life with someone else. Anyway, leading on from this Dorothy L. Sayers had an illegitimate child by Bill White, an unemployed motor car salesman. She felt terribly guilty about it. It was certainly a very shameful thing to do in those days, made more so by the fact that she was a devout Christian, of course. Her cousin, Ivy Shrimpton, kindly brought the child, John Anthony, up for her (at Dorothy L. Sayers request), and Dorothy L. Sayers sent money regularly to her cousin. Ivy Shrimpton was the only person that Dorothy L. Sayers confided in, in regard to her illegitimate child. What did puzzle me was that through her letters one got the impression that Dorothy L. Sayers did not think it was all that big a deal for her cousin to do this, whereas it seems to me that it must have been quite a big deal – raising children is not easy – although her cousin was already fostering, which one presumes helped rather than hindered. Anyway, it did appear from the letters, at least, that both seemed quite happy with the arrangement and that the child grew up to be very healthy and happy, although John Anthony never did move in with Dorothy L. Sayers. Then, later Dorothy L. Sayers married Captain Oswald Atherton ‘Mac’ Fleming, but it was quite clear that she did not feel all that passionate about him; he clearly was not the 'love of her life'. The wedding was not very romantic either, and it all took place very quickly. She married him in April 1926 and a letter to her parents simply said this: “In the meantime, I am getting married on Tuesday (weather permitting) to a man named Fleming…I didn’t mention it before, because it’s our business and I don’t want a flood of interrogation from all sorts of people.” Fleming’s health deteriorated later; he had been affected badly by the war. Later in their marriage he was unable to work, whilst Dorothy L. Sayers went from strength to strength. But, the marriage was not a very happy one. Despite her wonderful achievements, Dorothy L. Sayers was nevertheless hampered by society and conventions, in many ways, I think. Personally, I do not think it helped that she was such a devout Christian either (which can be something of a straightjacket in my view), and spent such a lot of her energies working for the Church. Also, she had to keep writing her successful detective novels, in order to earn money, and for these reasons it seems that she did not write a full-scale novel. As Brabazon says: “For her sake I cannot help wishing that she had more happiness; for the world’s sake, I cannot help thinking that without that guilty secret [an illegitimate, ‘secret’ child] and with a more positive experience of life, she might have been able to trust herself to speak more freely, to break away from the detective convention into a full-scale novel, to use her religious understanding with more liberality and more personal authority.” (Brabazon, 1981, p. 276) I can empathise with this. In order to produce top quality, creative work, it is very beneficial to be in a good frame of mind, I have found. One can write out of anger, of course, although I think this probably works better for men than for women – if only for the simple reason that men in general are physically strong than women. Even so I am not sure that it is the ideal way of proceeding! But personally, I definitely flow and write best when I have favourable conditions, and when I am in a good state of mind etc. I am sure that the same has applied to many writers down the ages. George Eliot, for example, was only able to start writing her novels once she had found herself a good and stable relationship with a man. And Jane Austen was so unhappy when the family moved to Bath that she did not and could not write for several years. Perhaps, now is a good time to make the point that Dorothy L. Sayers was not a strikingly feminine person though, it has to be said – neither was my Aunt Olive come to that! Indeed, I can see certain similarities between the two characters. Both were intelligent, won scholarships and left home to go away and study. My Aunt Olive went to Cheltenham Teacher Training College, and became a qualified teacher at the beginning of the 1930s (she was born in 1910). She was then a primary school teacher for all of her working life. Both had very definite views and were very determined people. Both loved books, although unfortunately my Aunt Olive never wrote any of her own. Both, as I say, were not particularly feminine people (my Aunt Olive, for example, always wore trousers in her latter years and had short, dyed-black hair) and they were not traditionally romantic. They were very different, for example, to Jane Austen in this regard, even though Jane Austen never married whilst both these ladies did, which is rather ironic, is it not! Some have also said that Dorothy L. Sayers could be arrogant and dogmatic, especially in her middle years. I do think it was a real problem for intelligent women in those days though – trying to marry up their femininity with their intelligence and their passionate need to be independent, to be able to have minds of their own, and to be able to express themselves freely. In fact, I still think this is a real problem today; indeed, it is one that I constantly grapple with. Whilst Dorothy L. Sayers level of success was indeed quite astonishing, I do think it rather sad that she probably never did produce the best work that she could have done; that which would have been buried deep within her. Her Christianity and her desire for conformity hampered her here it seems – she did not feel really able to completely release the essence of her creativity. It is a shame that she always felt so guilty about having that illegitimate child. Society benefited so much from her and she gave pleasure to just so many people; it would have been nice if she could have found herself in this more complete way. The need to earn money was obviously another real stumbling block for her. Still, it was not to be and we must be grateful for what we have got. And anyway, she certainly did have a very interesting and a very successful life. Also, as Brabazon rightly says Dorothy L. Sayers detective stories are ‘ingenious’ and that what draws readers to these novels is:"…Dorothy herself, communicating her energy, her amusement, her intelligence, her love of writing, her enthusiasm, her sense of fun." (Brabazon, 1981 p. 277) It is certainly clearly apparent that she was a very enthusiastic person, who also had a great sense of humour. I also read 'The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: 1899-1936 v.1: 1899-1936' Vol 1 (Paperback) by Dorothy L. Sayers (Author), Barbara Reynolds (Editor) and P.D. James (Preface), Sceptre, 1996. These was fascinating and also made me reflect on the fact that we all write far fewer letters today (including myself and I was an avid letter-writer at one time) and what the implications of all this might be when trying to compile historical records in the future. Of course, much is stored on the computer; but then again, much else is also deleted. And no doubt much important information that goes into emails, that would at one time gone into a detailed letter, are now deleted - and so much useful and interesting information is lost. Anyway, from these letters we discover that Dorothy L. Sayers was a very avid letter writer and from a very young age at that (I think the first letter was written when she was only 6 years old). In fact, her good friend C.S. Lewis said that she was one of the great letter writers of the 20th century. The letters reveal just so much about her personality, which was all very kind of jolly, fast-moving and jogging along. There were also some really funny lines in the letters. At the same time, there was little very deep and sombre reflection – not even when someone died. I remember one jovial line, where she said she was glad to get through a year with no-one dying or being ill (or something along those lines). So, in that way, the Lord Peter Wimsey stories did seem to very much reflect her own personality. Having read all these detective novels now though, I am once again, back thinking that I do not really want to read any more detective novels for quite some time – or perhaps never again – who knows! So, currently, I am reading books that look appealing to me on first impression, by their book cover, the blurb on the back of the book, a quick thumb through the book to pick up a feel of the way that the author writes etc. I am finding this an interesting avenue to explore. With this in mind, I am currently reading Melissa Hill. The first book of hers I read was ‘Before I Forget’ – I couldn’t put it down. Before I Forget Note: There is also a Dorothy L. Sayers Society that one can join – see Dorothy L. Sayers Society Acknowledgements Very many thanks to Graham Coult for recommending Dorothy L. Sayers books to me. Also, for giving me ‘Gaudy Night’ and for lending me many of the Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels, as well as the biography of Dorothy L. Sayers by James Brabazon, and the first volume of the letters of Dorothy L. Sayers. Also, for reading through the draft version of this article, and making some very helpful comments and suggestions, which were incorporated into the final version. Finally, following on from our email discussions about this article Graham has now decided that he will write a piece of his own about Dorothy L. Sayers, outlining some of his own observations which were inspired by reading this article of mine. So, I certainly look forward to reading that; and perhaps, it will even lead to some further interesting discussions on the whole topic! References Brabazon, James (1981) Dorothy L. Sayers: a biography, Encore Editions Curran, Jane (2009) Dorothy L. Sayers’ life and loves (BBC Oxford) Dorothy L. Sayers’ life and loves by Jane Curran Dorothy L. Sayers – from Wikipedia Dorothy L. Sayers from Wikipedia Dorothy L. Sayers, Writer and Theologian, 17 December 1957: biographical sketches of memorable Christians of the past Dorothy L. Sayers, Writer and Theolgian Durkin, Mary Brian (1979) Dorothy L. Sayers: a Christian Humanist for Today Dorothy L. Sayers: a Christian Humanist for Today Hill, Melissa (2009) Before I Forget, Hodder Sayers, Dorothy L. (1974) Busman’s Honeymoon, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1962) Clouds of Witness, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1984) The documents in the case, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1970) Gaudy Night, New English Library (first published by Victor Gollancz in 1935) Sayers, Dorothy L. (1987) Have his Carcase, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1959) Nine Tailors, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1973) Striding Folly, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1968) Strong Poison, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (1964) Unnatural Death, New English Library (first published by Victor Gollancz in 1927) Sayers, Dorothy L. (1963) Whose Body, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. and Walsh, Jill Paton (1998) Thrones, Dominations, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L. (2003) A presumption of death, New English Library Sayers, Dorothy L (author) and Reynolds, Barbara (editor) (1996) The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: Vol.1: 1899-1936, Sceptre 25th January 2010 © Copyright Ruth Rikowski, January 2010 Print Friendly - Print Friendly with links |
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