When Harriet Vane attends her Oxford reunion, known as the Gaudy, the prim academic setting is haunted by a rash of bizarre pranks: scrawled obscenities, burnt effigies, and poison-pen letters, including one that says, Ask your boyfriend with the title if he likes arsenic in his soup. Some of the notes threaten murder — and all are dreadful concoctions of a sick mind — yet in spite of their deplorable, criminal nature, the letters are perfectly worded. Soon, Harriet finds herself ensnared in a nightmare of romance and terror, with only the tiniest shreds of clues to challenge her powers of detection, and those of her paramour, Lord Peter Wimsey.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superlative all the way!,
By R. Mitra "mystery writer" (Long Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gaudy Night (Mystery Masters) (Audio CD)
Lord Peter Wimsey is the urbane, civilized, gourmand, bon vivant sleuth created by Dorothy L. Sayers in the 30s. Yet the Gaudy is not totally about him. It is more Harriet Vane's book. Peter comes in later and as they say saves the day.
What a stupendous achievement! Twice the length of most detective stories of its day, this book boasts of no murder and keeps the interest in the book unflagging till the end. How did Ms. Sayers manage it? Simply by her wonderful writing skill, her command of the English language (next to none-puts Christie to shame)and her characters. Long before the women's lib movement, this spunky character braved public opinion, police scrutiny and nearly the hangman's noose, without losing her inflappable belief in herself. True, it reflected the author's own life but a character that Gloria Steinem would have revered. Oxford, Shrewsbury College, Sayers' own alma mater, come to life like no one city and institution in the entire history of mystery fiction. Yes, Harriet is the heroine but Oxford is the crown prince. That is what distinguishes this book. It is more realized as a novel not just a detective story. Sadly, though the quality of writing remains the same, the next and last Wimsey novel with Harriet: Busman's Honeymoon, is overwritten and meandering. But that shows that Ms. Sayers was human, too. The narration is typically British which adds to the enjoyment of this wonderful book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant but flawed,
By Wahinealii (USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gaudy Night (Mystery Masters) (Audio CD)
"Gaudy Night" is one of my two favorite Sayers books. "Nine Tailors" is the other. So I don't need any reviews to know it's a great story and well written. And I wanted it unabridged. I wasn't crazy about having to buy the CD version by Ian Carmichael because I don't really care for his voice, but that was the only thing available. I'm enjoying it anyway. What I didn't like was that the final track of 4 of the discs would not load onto my iPod. I'm not enough of a technician to understand why, and am talking to the manufacturer about it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Oxford reunion and ghostly murder,
By D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gaudy Night (Mystery Masters) (Audio CD)
Dorothy L. Sayers' GAUDY NIGHT benefits from Ian Carmichael's pointed production: his BBC background lending accent and tension to the story of an Oxford reunion which involves mystery writer Harriet in a case of ghostly murder. Tension evolves quickly as murder turns to mayhem in this thriller.
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