A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery with Harriet Vane - Gaudy Night

My first reading of this author's work, though her main character, Lord Peter Wimsey, was known to me. Written in an academic style, this book was both light, entertaining and full of poetical references. Set in Oxford, during the 1930s, when women were only just beginning to gain some recognition in their chosen careers, it is an interesting look back to that time, and contains a wonderful set of characters, not forgetting a clever little plot and mystery which finally presents itself. For those with an academic flair, this book will appeal.

Christine Taylor

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.

It navigates fairly well, seems to contain 2 tables of contents, 1 in the beginning, 1 at the end, which, when you try to navigate puts a box around it. Other than that issue, I like it quite a lot, especially the "extras": a short bio of DLS and several pages of pictures of DLS. I would buy more DLS from this e-publisher.

Dorothy L. Sayers (1895-1957), was a brilliant British author of, among other things,a series of crime stories featuring an amateur detective named Lord Peter Wimsey and his inamorata, Harriet Vane. I read all of these books decades ago and when I got my first Kindle (the plain vanilla version), I proceeded to load onto it every one of the Wimsey stories so I could re-read them in chronological order. This is one of the later ones, and one of the best, in my opinion. It takes place at Oxford University, where Peter and Harriet both studied, at the time of one of Harriet's class reunions (called a "gaudy" after the Latin "gaudeamus igitur." Of course, a murder occurs and Peter must come to help solve it. It is a wonderful story and a great place to start if you've never read a Sayers mystery. It's hard to rate it beyond the writing, which is indeed GREAT. Yes, there is violence (a murder) and yes, there is a titch of sexual content (Peter never stops wooing Harriet in an effort to win her over to marriage). It's written in the third person with lots and lots and lots of dialog. Those who know Sayers's writing need no convincing to read this. Everyone else should give it a go!!

Even though this was written before WWII there are certain eternal issues such as responsibility to the truth and intellectual ideals. Plus anyone who went to an all girls school will recognize many personalities and life stories.

This was a real whodunit. It kept me going especially towards the end. I like the way english writers write, but sometimes they can go on and on about certain things and kind of makes me loose the subject at hand. There are some words that do need explaining but I get the general idea. I'll probably read it again.

Gaudy Night is a little long but will interest any Dorothy Sayers fan. It is autobiographical in the sense of Ms. Sayers as Harriet Vane. I'm convinced that the Wimsey/Vane romance is Ms. Sayers and her ideal.

An interesting psychological mystery to solve while following the ups and downs of the Wimsey-Vane romance. The minor characters are well developed and the resolution of the mystery and the romance are satisfying. The literary references are another matter--very esoteric and rather annoying.

One of my favorite mysteries ever from the golden age of British mystery masters by Sayers - one of the best. Erudite, the conclusion of a memorable romance, and a puzzling mystery all set in the beautiful university town, Oxford. Who could ask for more?!

Gaudy Night is wonderful as a look at Oxford college life and traditions, and as a romance. It doesn't quite work as a detective story, though. Harriet, herself a writer of detective stories, is hopeless at investigating the Poison Pen's activities in Shrewsbury College. The best she can manage is a series of timely cover-ups to head off the bad publicity that might otherwise close the college.
We have to wait until Peter Wimsey enters the story, 2/3 of the way through, to get some actual detecting. Even then, most of it is in the background--the reader is not allowed to hunt down and discover facts along with Peter, so that the resolution of the mystery feels sudden and unsatisfying.
I recently re-read this book. My husband's enthusiasm for it made me think I must have missed something the first time, but, alas, no. For a book that succeeds better as both novel and detective story, try Sayers's The Nine Tailors, or Clouds Of Witness.

This is my all time favorite peter Wimsey novel. Harriet becomes a fully realized woman with a pre-Peter background, interests, friends and an occupation at which she is self-supporting. Peter's pre-Harriet background is also filled in and reveals him as a scholar, with academic experience similar to hers. I I'd recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the era in England, an academic setting, a grace in writing and an engaging love story.

I bought the book because I love Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers is similar. However I cannot compare her favorably to Christie. The writing style is much more wordy and aimed at well above average reader -- or maybe the piece was aimed at the British readers of her time period and doesn't translate well to modern readers. The book was in an academic setting and had too much post WWI philosophy debates and academic references to make it easily readable, which ultimately interfered with the story line and it contained so much period detail in British vocabulary that it was sometimes difficult to follow. Definitely for the higher than average reader with a good knowledge of British English.

Wimsey, once again, brings forth what we should have been able to deduce by extrapolating on our own. We really enjoy the way Sayers provided us with human characters that are believable and enjoyable.

In "Gaudy Night" Dorothy Sayers wrote a mystery that is at once high-minded but not prim, intellectual but not pedantic. It's also witty and charming. In short, it's a masterpiece about the emergent female scholar in a world reluctant to accept her.

A very good book! The mystery kept you guessing all the way through. I am not very knowledgable about college heirarchy and had some trouble following who was who and what they did. Overall though I really enjoyed this book.

This is my favorite Dorothy Sayers novel; it develops the characters of Harriet Vane and Lord Peter while exploring still relevant issues about how to spend ones life. Additionally it has a great old fashioned mystery where she actually gives you all the information that the detectives have before the grand reveal.

As a first time Sayers' reader I was totally lost & frustrated throughout the first third of the book. Then - voila - it made sense and her combination of Latin phrases, Shakespearean references and British educational traditions came together. A great read.

Dorothy Sayers Wimsey books are fun. However, be prepared for erudite references that are at times difficult to decipher. Gaudy Night is in the middle of Peter and Harriet's long courtship. If you have not read earlier Wimsey tales it might be best to do so before reading this one. Whose Body for example gives a nice prelude to the affair and Peter's personal demons. All around Gaudy Night is a solid Sayers and that is saying a lot.

Having read Dorothy Sayers many years ago I still enjoyed this novel. The "villain" should be clear from the beginning
but different personalities throw the reader off the .The reader does need staying power towards the end.

I enjoyed this book, even though it is somewhat old-fashioned (written in 1935). I couldn't relate as well to the characters - probably because of the times portrayed in the book (e.g., some characters felt it was wrong of women to take jobs that should "rightfully" go to men who had to support their families), but it was really interesting to see what times were like back then. I had to keep remembering that the war they kept mentioning was WW I, not the second!

All of Dorothy Sayers' works are great -- this being one of her better ones (probably best) -- I sent for it because I wanted to have it to reread when the mood strikes. I have yet to find one of the newer mystery writers who can in any way compare with her.

This book was over long in my opinion. The author had a lot of social concerns about women that she expressed through her main character so the book was not just a lighthearted detective story but a social commentary as she developed the character of the heroine. Lord Peter was quite a bit in the background in this tale.

This is an old favorite. Starts out kind of dry, but the romance is charming, and the mystery engaging. I like Lord Peter's life style and have made it my goal to have a "valet" to keep my life together too.

"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.