Dorothy L. Sayers

Sayers - photo.jpg
  • Born: 13 June 1893, Oxford
  • Died: 17 December 1957, Witham, UK

Detective writer, bluestocking, critic, and translator of Dante, Sayers was one of the all-time greats.  The creator of Lord Peter Wimsey, pedigreed sleuth, her detective stories are both ingenious and literate.  The early ones are clever and funny, and a breath of fresh air at that staider time; the later, more serious ones of the mid-’30s have depth of character and theme.  Opinions are divided about the wooing, wedding, and bedding of Harriet Vane.

Works

  1. Whose Body? (1923; Lord Peter Wimsey) ****
  2. Clouds of Witness (1926; Lord Peter Wimsey) **
  3. Unnatural Death (1927; Lord Peter Wimsey; aka The Dawson Pedigree) ****
  4. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928; Lord Peter Wimsey) ***
  5. Lord Peter Views the Body (1928; Lord Peter Wimsey; short stories)
  6. The Documents in the Case (1930; with Robert Eustace) *****
  7. Strong Poison (1930; Lord Peter Wimsey) *****
  8. The Five Red Herrings (1931; Lord Peter Wimsey; published in the US as Suspicious Characters) ****
  9. Have His Carcase (1932; Lord Peter Wimsey) *****
  10. Murder Must Advertise (1933; Lord Peter Wimsey) *****
  11. Hangman’s Holiday (1933; short stories, some with Lord Peter Wimsey or Montague Egg)
  12. The Nine Tailors (1934; Lord Peter Wimsey) *****
  13. Gaudy Night (1935; Lord Peter Wimsey) *****
  14. Busman’s Honeymoon (1937; Lord Peter Wimsey) ***
  15. In the Teeth of the Evidence (1939; short stories, some with Lord Peter Wimsey or Montague Egg)
  16. Striding Folly (1972; Lord Peter Wimsey; short stories)