Book Review - Dorothy L. Sayers's Gaudy Night
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Published by: HarperTorch
Publication Date: 1935
Format: Paperback, 501 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)
Harriet Vane's name might be notorious because of a certain murder trial but she has decided that that is in her past and she will no longer allow it to control her future. She has longed to return to her beloved alma mater, Shrewsbury College in Oxford, to catch up with old friends, and therefore accepts the invitation to attend their Gaudy. She is surprised to be so warmly welcomed and falls quickly in love with academia once again. Perhaps she will return and write a book? A serious book, not the mysteries she is known for. On her return home though she finds a nasty and vulgar drawing in her robes. The poison pen message refers to her as a "dirty murderess" and taints her entire return to Oxford. She tries to put it behind her but then the Dean of Shrewsbury reaches out to Harriet. The poison pen letter Harriet received wasn't a one time occurrence. They have been plaguing the staff and students at the school and have escalated into wanton vandalism. As a woman's college they are viewed under a microscope so if word gets out about these attacks they could be ruined. Harriet, no stranger to the poison pen even before the Gaudy, agrees to come back to Shrewsbury and lend a hand. In order to not make it look suspicious she puts it about that she is there to research Sheridan Le Fanu for a biography she means to write, as well as assisting one of the dons on the endless revisions of her book. Alibi firmly in place she heads back into the bosom of Oxford and finds a writhing snake pit. The letters are getting more vicious, the vandalism more destructive. Harriet wonders, what would Lord Peter do? Well, as he's off doing something on the continent, she can guess, but can't get his help. It's up to her to solve this mystery and decide where she's going to go from here. Could she become a serious academic? Or is that only a way to run away from her feelings and the complication of love? And does she love Lord Peter? Will she succumb to his advances and agree to marry him? First she has to make sure she survives before she plans a future.
One might like to point out to those who view this as a paragon, a classic of mystery fiction, that perhaps three hundred pages of exposition was unnecessary. But then again, as one member of my book club put it,"I had the thought today of going back to count every single proper noun that was dropped... at a guess: 82? If she expected me to remember anything about any of these people, well, she misunderestimated my attention span." More than an editor this book also needed a dramatis personae. But I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself here. Gaudy Night was to be the bellwether as to my final decision on Dorothy L. Sayers. This was her proving ground. I had earlier read the first three adventures of Lord Peter Wimsey, Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, and Unnatural Death (which had a nice callback here) and basically hated them. There's no beating around the bush with my dislike of the books and her obvious hatred of Jews. I was shocked to see that she was actually against Hitler. But EVERYONE said Gaudy Night was a must read. So read it I must. But I kept putting it off. And off again. I even left it out and yet I couldn't bring myself to pick it up. So my solution was to make my book club read it. I feel slightly bad... maybe? But not really when I think of some of the things they've made me read. In fairness we don't mean to choose bad books, it just seems to turn out that way. Most people cite this book as their favorite Dorothy L. Sayers because it cements the relationship of Harriet Vane and Lord Peter. I wanted to read it because I love Oxford. I was let down on both accounts. The overt specificity with regard to Oxford down to specific turns at specific cobbles in the streets made it too hard for the Oxford enthusiast but not the aficionado to enjoy. As for Harriet and Peter, the aforementioned three hundred pages of exposition means that until Peter actually showed up there wasn't much of a book. I SO wanted Harriet Vane to solve the crime on her own, but sadly, it's Lord Peter who not only solves the crime, but makes the book bearable. Which is really Dorothy L. Sayers letting the sisterhood down. A college full of smart women and they can't catch the culprit in their midst? Yeah, that really supports women's rights. Grumble grumble. So the question becomes, did this book make me actually want to read the rest of the series? No, yes, I don't know. Give me a few years and maybe I'll pick up another one? Maybe. Just tell me she translates the Latin this time?
A Shakespearean ghost brought us the phrase "murder most foul." I'm sure, given that it was spoken in Hamlet, that Shakespeare knew the basic human drive to be enthralled and strive to solve an unnatural death. It's the crux of the play's forward momentum to that gory end. We, as humans, are drawn to puzzles and hunt for clues like they're candy. Murder mysteries can even be comforting. There's a whole subgenre just of cozy mysteries! There's nothing I like better than being transported away from reality by a book, and mysteries tend to transport me more than most because I'm not just enjoying the narrative, I'm trying to pick up all the clues, throw aside all the red herrings, and figure out whodunit before the author actually tells us. Yes, I like to be one step ahead at all times. Of course there are so many different types of whodunits that one could read nothing but mysteries and not even dent the genre. And yet, that doesn't stop us from trying. From devouring one murder after another like they were a big box of chocolates, which thankfully, in this instance, aren't out to poison us. So here's to the mystery genre, to all those murders most foul. Here's to kicking off the holiday season the right way, with a corpse or two.
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Book 3) by Dorothy L. Sayers
