 "DELIGHTFUL full-cast BBC dramatisation Audio 2cds" | 2009-08-28 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3KOO6L0NA2PJA |
I listened to this on audio a full-cast dramatisation by BBC audio.
Fast pace story and many twists and turns.
The story centers around Harriet Vane, the infamous detective writer who was accused of killing her lover. Lord Peter cleared her name but for the next five years he has been pursuing Harriet for her hand in marriage.Harriet hesitates between returning to academic life and marrying Lord Peter. Academic life for her seems to be winning.
Harriet is invited to her Oxford reunion, and returns uncertain of what to expect. But once she is reunited with her old college a disturbing mystery begins to unfold within the college. Harriet moves in, under the pretense of doing research, to investigate the person responsible for poison-pen letters and embarassing pranks.
The destruction to part of the new library with library books strew everywhere and red painted wording appears on the walls only 1 hour before its offical opening. Solving the crimes proves too much for her, she asks for Peter's assistance, certain that he will uncover the culprit before anything fatal happens.
I highly recomment this story I feel a 4 & 1/2 star would be accurate for this delightful tale.
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 "Stunning, literally" | 2009-06-28 |
| - Reviewed By User: A26CQ97JEEND1C |
Every time I read this book, and I have read it many, many times, I find myself discovering some new nugget of truth or insight to mull over. I cannot rest until I finish it ("When I am gone from it, I am dead till I be with it") and when I have I feel like I've been hit over the head with a saucepan. There is simply so much matter in this book, psychological, romantic, intellectual, human, and more, that one would expect it to be quite horrifically overwhelming. However, the fact that it is engrossing and, intriguing, and above all, thoroughly enjoyable is the mark of a truly brilliant writer.
I have found that the main objections to this book are that it is falsely advertised as a mystery and that Lord Peter sails in at the last to reveal all, thus contradicting much of the message of the previous chapters. In my opinion, though, these are two of the features that make the book so utterly fascinating. It is, admittedly, not your average mystery. In fact, simply because it is part of a series of murder mysteries, readers assume that it will be like the others. I, on the other hand, find the contrast unbelievably refreshing. One must accept that this was to be the last Lord Peter novel, and was written to resolve the stories of Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, the two main protagonists. In accepting this, one opens the mind to the thrilling personal quandaries raised by this book. Moreover, the fact that Lord Peter comes in at the end and somehow miraculously fixes everything is not contradictory, it simply shows how Harriet's feelings toward Peter and her psychological tangle at that time prevent her from properly dealing with the mystery. This is also shown in her work, when she has trouble "humanizing" one of her main characters, simply because she is too close to that kind of problem in real life. It is easily seen that, if one is willing to read deeply enough, this book addresses eternal conflicts and questions, which makes all accusations of its being dated null and void.
So, my biggest piece of advice is to know what you are getting into. Almost all people who are dissatisfied with this book are unhappy because it did not follow the pattern they expected it to follow. One must approach it as one approaches any new book, dispassionately (as Lord Peter says) and with and open mind. Do not pick up this book if you are looking for a thrilling murder mystery. For that, I would suggest "Unnatural Death" or "Murder Must Advertise," both by Dorothy L. Sayers. What you have in "Gaudy Night" is a psychological thriller, which is in some ways even more fascinating than a murder would have been. The plain fact that "Gaudy Night" is the only one of Sayers' mysteries that does not abide by the rules of fair play detection shows it to be a totally separate entity from the rest of the series. This is a novel about love, internal conflict, and principles. Read and read often. |
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| "Mystery is the least of it" | 2009-03-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3BQLEAFWORW0T |
"It's not really a mystery story" is the complaint of some readers of Gaudy Night. Well, maybe not. For me, it's a lot better than a mystery novel. I love the Wimsey stories, and yes, the first time I read Gaudy Night, I was rather impatient for Lord Peter to make his appearance. Solving the mystery was never part of it, for me: I don't generally figure out whodunnit, nor do I particularly care. With Sayers's books, it's the characters and the journey, rather than the destination, that I like. And that's the clue: slow down and don't let the mystery side of it dominate. Gaudy Night has so many other things to enjoy. The discussions, the contemplations of life, scholarship, love, and philosophy are what bring me back to this book time and again. The resolution of Harriet and Peter's torturous relationship is a wonderful ending. Yes, Sayers writes for an audience largely better-educated than the current one. Yes, she uses (shock horror) long sentences. She even throws in untranslated quotations. If a reader can't handle these things, perhaps they shouldn't be reading her at all ... as it says in the introduction of some editions, she was a take-no-prisoners writer who expected her readers to work up. Very different from the expectation now that everything must be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator.
Don't read this book expecting a straight mystery, or a book largely featuring Lord Peter. It's Harriet's story, it probes her mind and feelings against the Oxford backdrop, and it has some of the most wondeful passages of introspection on so many subjects, not least on love. Wonderful, wonderful writing. Take your time, read it slowly and enjoy it. This is punting on the Isis, not speeding around London in "Mrs Merdle". |
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| "A Mystery Writer's "Serious" Novel" | 2008-10-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A18ZOHJ7ZERQ8 |
Dorothy Sayers wrote ad copy, mystery novels, plays, essays on theology and translated Dante. Her fictional detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, was the toast of Europe, a more cultured precursor to James Bond. But Wimsey's success was a bit of a trial to his author. She wanted to write a serious novel about the things that really mattered. However, the bills were coming in and Sayers had to write the Wimsey mystery she had been putting off--the one in which Peter Wimsey finally succeeded in convincing Harriet Vane to marry him.
Peter had pursued Harriet in STRONG POISON and courted her in HAVE HIS CARCASS. Other books had interspersed; Sayers had to wind up the romance to please her readership, but she also had something she had called her "Oxford project" in the back of her mind.
So she combined them, taking Harriet Vane to Oxford for a alumni reunion, and springing a mystery into the middle of her "serious novel". The result was a classic, a sweetly evocative novel whose theme tolls through the years like the bells of Oxford: is it possible for a woman to have both a love life and an intellectual career? As Harriet hesitates between returning to academic life and marrying Peter, a poison pen poltergeist wrecks havoc in Shrewsbury College. The tension ratchets higher and higher--it is clear that the stakes are as high as murder. But what old crime triggered this harassment?
Is this book more a mystery, that readers will race through to find the answer to the puzzle, or is it a fine novel that they will return to time after time, savoring the characters and finding new nuances every time? Read it and see. |
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| "Not A British Tea Cozy" | 2006-11-10 |
| - Reviewed By queenmaia |
| Dorothy Sayers is no more "just a mystery writer" than is Josephine Tey or P.D. James. Gaudy Night is brilliant in its portrayal of the insidiousness that suspicion has in a closed community. Each reading brings a new insight, as any good piece of literature should. |
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| "as good as it gets" | 2006-08-02 |
| - Reviewed By dunyazad24 |
This book is amazing. It is witty, it is erudite, it is full of feeling, it has a mystery, a fantastic romance, a great heroine, a great hero...
Individual lines are brilliant. The mystery is intricate and thrilling. The book stands alone, or as part of the series. No matter how you slice or dice it, Gaudy Night is great.
Even with the school poltergeist creating havoc all over campus, I pretty much wished I could have been there myself, from the beginning to the end.
Also: the writing is so fresh, this book has not aged at all. It is really a classic. |
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