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Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dorothy L. Sayers
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 16, 1995 Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries
When Harriet Vane attends her Oxford reunion, known as the "Gaudy," the prim academic setting is haunted by a rash of bizarre pranks: scrawled obsentities, 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; all are perfectly ghastly; yet in spite of their scurrilous nature, all are perfectly worded. And 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.


Editorial Reviews

Review

Gaudy Night stands out even among Miss Sayers’s novels. And Miss Sayers has long stood in a class by herself.” (Times Literary Supplement (London))

“Very skillfull writing. Miss Sayers has done a real tour de force, and done it with ease and grace.” (Saturday Review)

“A royal performance.” (The Spectator)

From the Back Cover

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; all are perfectly ghastly; yet in spite of their scurrilous nature, all are perfectly worded. And 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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTorch (March 16, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061043494
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061043499
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) was a playwright, scholar, and acclaimed author of mysteries, best known for her books starring the gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.

Born in Oxford, England, Sayers, whose father was a reverend, grew up in the Bluntisham rectory and won a scholarship to Oxford University where she studied modern languages and worked at the publishing house Blackwell's, which published her first book of poetry in 1916.

Years later, working as an advertising copywriter, Sayers began work on Whose Body?, a mystery novel featuring dapper detective Lord Peter Wimsey. Over the next two decades, Sayers published ten more Wimsey novels and several short stories, crafting a character whose complexity was unusual for the mystery novels of the time.

In 1936, Sayers brought Lord Peter Wimsey to the stage in a production of Busman's Honeymoon, a story which she would publish as a novel the following year. The play was so successful that she gave up mystery writing to focus on the stage, producing a series of religious works culminating in The Man Born to Be King (1941) a radio drama about the life of Jesus.

She also wrote theological essays and criticism during and after World War II, and in 1949 published the first volume of a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy (which she considered to be her best work).

Dorothy Sayers died of a heart attack in 1957.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 79 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Gaudate Discipuli February 8, 2002
Format:Mass Market Paperback
'Gaudy Night,' Dorothy Sayers' penultimate novel in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, was originally intended to be the last. Unlike the rest of the series, it is Harriet Vane's tale, first and last. Lord Peter does not appear in person until the last third of the story, when he takes his place as romantic lead and solver of all things mysterious. Sayer's takes this opportunity to both reveal unexpected depths to Miss Vane's character and create a remarkable elegy of her own memories of Oxford, where she took highest honors in a world made by and meant for the male sex.

Harriet returns to Shrewsbury College to take part in the annual Gaudy night, something a bit like our own college reunions, not quite sure what to expect. While renewing her friendship with both her old classmates and instructors, she brushes against the start of a mystery when she finds some very unpleasant notes expressed a vitriolic hatred for the denizens of the college. Brushing it aside as an isolated occurrence, she returns to the festivities without realizing that she has seen is only the tip of the iceberg.

Several months later, Harriet finds herself called back to Shrewsbury by the Dean. The few isolated occurrences had become an onslaught and the school desperately needed help in resolving the problem without any adverse publicity. Miss Vane, a successful mystery writer, a survivor of a murder charge, and a friend of the esteemed Lord Peter Wimsey, seemed the ideal person to come to the aid of the Senior Common Room. The idea of a woman's college was still newfangled to Oxford and a scandal could become a major setback. What Harriet found was a steadily escalating attack on the sanity and safety of the college on apparent waged by a devious and hate filled mind.

The tale is a psychological thriller, told against the backdrop of Oxford and the University. Sayers fills the book with loving (and sometimes not so loving) details of academic life and its foibles. Her style often mimics Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy and the novels of a century past, providing a comedy of manners as counterpoint to the grim tale of a mind gone awry. Distraught students and instructors alternate with appearances by Wimsey's madcap nephew and countless caricatures, one right after another.

'Gaudy Night' is a tour de force, coupling some of Sayer's finest writing with ideas that were novel and controversial when the book made it's first appearance. It is a unique story from the first disturbing note to the last surprising twist and turn in the relationship between Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. And one that is very, very well told. Whether this novel or 'The Nine Tailors' is the better novel will be argued forever, but there is no question that 'Gaudy Night' is one of the best from a mystery writer who stands at the head of her class.

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful blend of mystery and romance January 29, 2001
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Dorothy Sayers has frequently used autobiographical experiences as a starting point for her writing - as an example, "Murder Must Advertise" was set in an advertising agency and based on Sayers' own experiences in the field. Here again, Sayers goes back to her past days as an Oxford student at Somerville College and this makes "Gaudy Night" a unique entry in the Lord Peter Wimsey series. Harriet Vane, an Oxford alum, attends the Gaudy, which is a reunion of past students and is asked by her old professors to turn her talents as a detective writer to practical use. Someone is terrorizing the faculty and students of the college by sending vicious anonymous letters. The college is terrified of this leaking out to the press and giving education for women a bad name, therefore discretion is vital. Rather relectantly, Harriet accepts and comes down to Oxford to stay for a term. She discovers that the perpetrator is not now satisfied by just sending letters and is moving on to more serious offences like trying to burn the books in the college library, destroy the works of the faculty and eventually attacking certain faculty members. Harriet struggles with the realization that the perpetrator may be a professor as well as with the realization of her growing feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey. The actual unraveling of the mystery is fascinating by itself, but I was particularly intriuged by Sayers taking the opportunity to discuss issues such as society's view towards University education for women, and the need to maintain one's own identity, even in a serious relationship. "Gaudy Night" is therefore a truly feminist work and Harriet's internal struggle between her love for Wimsey and her desire to maintain her independence is something all women can identify with, even today. Although she is hard to like at times, being prickly and sensitive to a fault, we can all sympathize with her predicament. In a nutshell - absolutely fabulous and required reading for all Sayers fans!
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32 of 36 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Book is great - typos are NOT January 16, 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This Kindle version is not worth the money, folks. It has many, many typos, some obviously errors in scanning. Surely whoever prepares the Kindle versions could do better. I could have bought the actual book and been able to read without tripping over misspellings all the way through.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Gaudy Night
Although the mystery was interesting, I had a difficult time reading some of the outdated language. My initial impression was that it was to be similar to an Agatha Christie... Read more
Published 1 month ago by sam
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story, gifted author -- too bad the same can't be said of...
I struggled with how I should rate this book, but in the end I gave it four stars since Ms. Sayers truly wrote a wonderful story. I wish the same could be said for the publisher. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kelly A. Wolcott
4.0 out of 5 stars I always enjoy Lord Peter Wimsey
This was an enjoyable read. I always have liked the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries. This one I got on my Kindle at a very good price and read it in a trice.
Published 1 month ago by Pauline M. Wilson
1.0 out of 5 stars Carole
I found this book very easy to put down. Many of the terms and word usages are very unfamiliar. I think you need to be very British or live in a different era to fully grasp her... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Carole Schlitt
4.0 out of 5 stars Lord Peter Mysteries
As a girl I read some of these books by Dorothy Sayers and have not read one since. I enjoyed becoming familiar with high English Academia. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jane Goodsill
3.0 out of 5 stars Revisiting Oxford
I was pleased to reread this book in the Kindle edition. It had been years since I last read it. It's my favourite of the Wimsey/Vane novels and it still holds up and advances... Read more
Published 1 month ago by chelate
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved finding this for my Kindle!
The Wimsey books have never been out of print all these years, and rightfully so. Wonderfully evocative of another time and place.
Published 1 month ago by D. Frayser
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly written mystery
I settled into "Gaudy Night" which is reputed to be one of her best Wimsey stories and one which involves Harriet Vane as well.

Its reputation is deserved. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Richard Johnston
5.0 out of 5 stars Gaudy Night
Allow plenty of time to read this book as it is so much more than a mystery. It was particularly interesting to me to relate how university women were perceived then and when I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Shirley Van Sickle
2.0 out of 5 stars Wordy book
If 'I HATE IT' hadn't been the one star description, that's what I would have chosen. I felt the story took a very long time to develop and wondered why i just did not finish the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Janet 814
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