Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers

The tenth in Ms Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novels, Gaudy Night is the third and most crucial book in the Harriet Vane story arc; it is also the first to be told entirely from Harriet’s point of view. Both this and the almost claustrophobic setting allow the reader insights into both her character and Peter’s that have only been glimpsed in previous books.

I feel that it must be noted that, while there is a quote on the cover from The Los Angeles Times touting Ms Sayers as “One of the greatest mystery story writers of this century”, it is not the mystery side of her writing that makes her novels—and Gaudy Night in particular—so incredibly appealing and so wonderful to re-read.

No, it’s not the mystery; it’s her incredibly deft use of the English language—her dialogue, her descriptions, her literary references—and how she makes these people come vividly alive on the page. (more…)