Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy Leigh Sayers (Oxford, 13 June 1893 – Witham, 17 December 1957) was a British author, translator, student of classical and modern languages, and Christian humanist.

Literary Criticism

Addressing the question of "Just who is Harriet Vane?"

Many literary theorists have concluded that Harriet Vane is, in fact, Dorothy L. Sayers. Almost as if Sayers was projecting herself into Lord Peter's realm for a taste of the "happy ever after." But this is merely a theory. Certainly Sayers the author shared notable characteristics with Vane the character, among them the burdens of an intelligent, university-educated woman in a class-based culture run by men. But there is an essential complacency in Vane we do not see in Sayers, particularly in light of the scholarship Sayers pursued for the bulk of her life.

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Addressing the issue of LPW as a character with a flaw

Detective characters must be free to detect, thus we have independently wealthy and titled individuals running amok in London between the wars, solving mysteries. Lord Peter (fondly, LPW) is both a second son (thus not tied to the family seat and in need of amusement) and well-invested (as the Dowager Duchess discovers in Busman's Honeymoon when she's told about the "London properties"). He's rich, well-educated, charming, and brave. To all this Sayers added one more thing, like the last fairy to come to the bassinet: Lord Peter is given a nervous disorder and phobia of responsibility, both brought on following his War service, when as a Major in the British Army he was blown up and buried and dug out by his men.

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Addressing the question of anti-semitism in Sayers' work

The subject of anti-semitism in her works has been much debated. Many have found in the novels an unblushing anti-semitism which was marked even for the time and place of their writing; others cite the most offensive passages in the Wimsey novels as the talk of characters who do not represent the authorial voice. The case is made less clear by the fact that the author's own voice tends to be patronizing at best toward any persons who are not the right sort of Christian English people - Jews and Americans receive particular disdain.

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In the 1920s she referred negatively to G. K. Chesterton and his brother as anti-Semitic. In 1943-44, however, she wrote an essay for inclusion in a book The Future of the Jews by J. J. Lynx, in which it is definitely the authorial voice that asserts, for instance, that Jews are bad citizens with little or no loyalty to the country they live in. Critical discussion of this piece has been limited, as the essay was withdrawn from the collection at the last minute due to the demand of the other contributors, and was never published.

Related Topics:
1920s - G. K. Chesterton - J. J. Lynx

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