Books by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Mind of the Maker

by Dorothy L. Sayers

This classic, with a new introduction by Madeleine L'Engle, is by turns an entrancing mediation on language; a piercing commentary on the nature of art and why so much of what we read, hear, and see falls short; and a brilliant examination of the fundamental tenets of Christianity. The Mind of the Maker will be relished by those already in love with Dorothy L. Sayers and those who have not yet met her.
A mystery writer, a witty and perceptive theologian, culture critic, and playwright, Dorothy Sayers sheds new, unexpected light on a specific set of statements made in the Christian creeds. She examines anew such ideas as the image of God, the Trinity, free will, and evil, and in these pages a wholly revitalized understanding of them emerges. The author finds the key in the parallels between the creation of God and the human creative process. She continually refers to each in a way that illuminates both.

Lord Peter - A Collection Of All The Lord Peter Wimsey Stories

by Dorothy L. Sayers

One of the founding mothers of mystery, Dorothy Sayers first introduced the popular character Lord Peter Wimsey in 1923 with the publication of Whose Body? Over the next twenty years, more novels and short stories about the aristocratic amateur sleuth appeared, each one as cunningly written as the next.Now in single volume, here are all the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, a treasure for any mystery lover. From "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag" to "The Image in the Mirror" and "Talboys," this collection is Lord Peter at his best -- and a true testament to the art of detective fiction.

Busman's Honeymoon

by Dorothy L. Sayers

“Busman’s Honeymoon has everything—mystery, comedy, love, and drama—all served up in Dorothy Sayers’s best style.”
—New York Times
The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists. Acclaimed author Ruth Rendell has expressed her admiration for Sayers’s work, praising her “great fertility of invention, ingenuity, and wonderful eye for detail.” The fourth Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Busman’s Honeymoon is now back in print with an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master. Harriet and her love, Lord Peter, have finally tied the knot but begin their married life together on an expectedly sour note when a body is discovered in the cellar of their romantic country estate.

Busman's Honeymoon

by Dorothy L. Sayers

“Busman’s Honeymoon has everything—mystery, comedy, love, and drama—all served up in Dorothy Sayers’s best style.” —New York Times
The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists. Acclaimed author Ruth Rendell has expressed her admiration for Sayers’s work, praising her “great fertility of invention, ingenuity, and wonderful eye for detail.” The fourth Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Busman’s Honeymoon features an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master. Harriet and her love, Lord Peter, have finally tied the knot but begin their married life together on an expectedly sour note when a body is discovered in the cellar of their romantic country estate.

Whose Body?

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The stark naked body was lying in the tub. Not unusual for a proper bath, but highly irregular for murder -- especially witha pair of gold pince-nez deliberately perched before the sightless eyes. What's more, the face appeared to have been shaved after death. The police assumed that the victim was a prominent financier, but Lord Peter Wimsey, who dabbled in mystery detection as a hobby, knew better. In this, his first murder case, Lord Peter untangles the ghastly mystery of the corpse in the bath.

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Complete Stories

by Dorothy L. Sayers

Available in one volume, all the short stories by legendary Golden Age mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers, "one of the greatest mystery-story writers of the [twentieth] century." (Los Angeles Times)
A sure treat for Dorothy L. Sayers's legions of fans, The Complete Stories is the ultimate collectible. This delightfully gruesome collection includes tantalizing puzzles and baffling cases that will provide mystery lovers with a sumptuous feast of criminal doings and all those amusing and appalling things that happen on the way to the gallows.

Whose Body: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery

by Dorothy L. Sayers

From Dorothy L. Sayers, “one of the greatest mystery story writers of the [twentieth] century” (Los Angeles Times), the first mystery featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.
A corpse has been found in the bath of an architect's flat, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez. A financier has seemingly vanished into thin air from his bedroom.
The ever-curious Lord Peter Wimsey is intrigued by these odd events. Ignoring the clumsy efforts of the official investigator looking into the death, the aristocratic amateur sleuth, accompanied by his valet, Bunter, a skilled photographer, begins his own inquiry. The gentleman detective soon becomes convinced that the two cases are somehow linked. Now, he must uncover the connection—and the investigation quickly begins to bleed into his own life, stirring up dark memories of World War I that will have unexpected consequences for Wimsey and the faithful Bunter.

Clouds of Witness: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, is one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists. In Clouds of Witness, the fiancé of Lord Peter's sister, Mary, is found dead outside the conservatory of the Wimsey family's shooting lodge in Yorkshire. The evidence points to their older brother, Gerald, the Duke of Denver, who is charged with the murder and put on trial in the House of Lords.
To clear the family name, Lord Peter and his close friend Inspector Charles Parker scour the lodge's grounds, finding several tantalizing clues, including mysterious footprints, a piece of jewelry, and a cat charm. What do these leads mean, and why are Mary and Gerald suddenly acting so mysterious? Unraveling a string of coincidences, Lord Peter is determined to solve this intriguing case. But will the answer save his brother . . . or condemn him?

Murder Must Advertise: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The great Dorothy L. Sayers's classic tale of murder and scandal at a chic London advertising agency, featuring the dashing and brilliant Lord Peter Wimsey.
When executive Victor Dean dies from a fall down the iron staircase at Pym's Publicity, a posh London ad agency, Lord Peter Wimsey goes undercover to investigate. Before his tragic demise, the victim had tried to warn Mr. Pym, the firm's owner, about some scandalous behavior involving his employees.
Posing as a new copywriter, Wimsey discovers that Dean was part of an unsavory crowd at Pym's whose recreational habits link them to the criminal underworld. With time running out and the body count rising, Wimsey must rush to find the truth before his identity is discovered and a determined killer strikes again.

The Five Red Herrings: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The mistress of the Golden Age mystery, Dorothy L. Sayers paints a perfect picture of murder in this classic tale in which Lord Peter Wimsey must ferret out a murderer in a Scottish artists' colony.
In the scenic Scottish village of Kirkcudbright, no one is disliked more than Sandy Campbell. When the painter is found dead at the foot of cliff, his easel standing above, no one is sorry to see him gone—especially six members of the close knit Galloway artists' colony.
The inimitable Lord Peter Wimsey is on the scene to determine the truth about Campbell's death. Piecing together the evidence, the aristocratic sleuth discovers that of the six suspected painters, five are red herrings, innocent of the crime. But just which one is the ingenious artist with a talent for murder?

Gaudy Night: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery with Harriet Vane

by Dorothy L. Sayers

“Gaudy Night stands out even among Miss Sayers’s novels. And Miss Sayers has long stood in a class by herself.” —Times Literary Supplement
The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists. Acclaimed author Ruth Rendell has expressed her admiration for Sayers’s work, praising her “great fertility of invention, ingenuity, and wonderful eye for detail.” The third Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Gaudy Night features an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master. Gaudy Night takes Harriet and her paramour, Lord Peter, to Oxford University, Harriet’s alma mater, for a reunion, only to find themselves the targets of a nightmare of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats.

Gaudy Night: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery with Harriet Vane (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)

by Dorothy L. Sayers

“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)
Dorothy L. Sayers’s Gaudy Night takes mystery writer Harriet Vane to Oxford University, Harriet’s alma mater, for a reunion, only to find herself the target of a nightmare of harassment and mysterious, murderous threats. Now available as a limited Olive Edition from Harper Perennial.

When Harriet 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, the dashing private investigator Lord Peter Wimsey.

The Nine Tailors

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Nine Tailors is Dorothy L. Sayers's finest mystery, featuring Lord Peter Whimsey, and a classic of the genre.

The nine tellerstrokes from the belfry of an ancient country church toll out the death of an unknown man and call the famous Lord Peter Whimsey to investigate the good and evil that lurks in every person. Steeped in the atmosphere of a quiet parish in the strange, flat fen-country of East Anglia, this is a tale of suspense, character, and mood by an author critics and readers rate as one of the great masters of the mystery novel.

A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery

by Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers

Sixty years after Dorothy L. Sayers began her unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey novel, Thrones Dominations, Booker Prize finalist Jill Paton Walsh took on the challenge of completing the manuscript---with extraordinary success. “The transition is seamless,” said the San Francisco Chronicle; “you cannot tell where Sayers leaves off and Walsh begins.”

“Will Paton Walsh do it again?” wondered Ruth Rendell in London’s Sunday Times. “We must hope so.”

Jill Paton Walsh fulfills those hopes in A Presumption of Death. Although Sayers never began another Wimsey novel, she did leave clues. Drawing on “The Wimsey Papers,” in which Sayers showed various members of the family coping with wartime conditions, Walsh has devised an irresistible story set in 1940, at the start of the Blitz in London.

Lord Peter is abroad on secret business for the Foreign Office, while Harriet Vane, now Lady Peter Wimsey, has taken their children to safety in the country. But war has followed them there---glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalize the villagers, and the blackout makes the nighttime lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London. Daily life reminds them of the war so constantly that, when the village’s first air-raid practice ends with a real body on the ground, it’s almost a shock to hear the doctor declare that it was not enemy action, but plain, old-fashioned murder. Or was it?

At the request of the overstretched local police, Harriet reluctantly agrees to investigate. The mystery that unfolds is every bit as literate, ingenious, and compelling as the best of original Lord Peter Wimsey novels.

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)

by Dorothy L. Sayers

An ingenious tale of murder from one of the greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century, featuring her dashing amateur sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey

Ninety-year-old General Fentiman has been sitting very quietly all day long in his usual fireside armchair at the Bellona Club, oblivious to the hustle and bustle of Armistice Day celebrations, when a fellow member finally notices that he is a corpse. How long he has been in this condition is not at all clear, but the exact time of his death turns out to matter very much to the potential heirs of his substantial fortune. While attempting to resolve the rivals’ competing claims, Lord Peter Wimsey realizes that the old general was murdered. Who did it is another matter, however, and it takes all of Wimsey’s skills and considerable persistence to ferret out the surprising truth. A VINTAGE MYSTERY CLASSIC.

Are Women Human? Penetrating, Sensible, and Witty Essays on the Role of Women in Society

by Dorothy L. Sayers

Introduction by Mary McDermott Shideler

One of the first women to graduate from Oxford University, Dorothy Sayers pursued her goals whether or not what she wanted to do was ordinarily understood to be "feminine." Sayers did not devote a great deal of time to talking or writing about feminism, but she did explicitly address the issue of women's role in society in the two classic essays collected here.

Central to Sayers's reflections is the conviction that both men and women are first of all human beings and must be regarded as essentially much more alike than different. We are to be true not so much to our sex as to our humanity. The proper role of both men and women, in her view, is to find the work for which they are suited and to do it.

Though written several decades ago, these essays still offer in Sayers's piquant style a sensible and conciliatory approach to ongoing gender issues.

Comedy of Dante Alighieri

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The second volume of Dante's Divine Comedy

Beginning with Dante's liberation from Hell, Purgatory relates his ascent, accompanied by Virgil, of the Mount of Purgatory - a mountain of nine levels, formed from rock forced upwards when God threw Satan into depths of the earth. As he travels through the first seven levels, Dante observes the sinners who are waiting for their release into Paradise, and through these encounters he is himself transformed into a stronger and better man. For it is only when he has learned from each of these levels that he can ascend to the gateway to Heaven: the Garden of Eden. The second part of one of the greatest epic poems, Purgatory is an enthralling Christian allegory of sin, redemption and ultimate enlightenment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

THE DIVINDE COMEDY 1 - HELL

by Dante Alighieri, Dorothy L. Sayers

The first volume of Dante's Divine Comedy

Guided by the poet Virgil, Dante plunges to the very depths of Hell and embarks on his arduous journey towards God. Together they descend through the nine circles of the underworld and encounter the tormented souls of the damned - from heretics and pagans to gluttons, criminals and seducers - who tell of their sad fates and predict events still to come in Dante’s life. In this first part of his Divine Comedy, Dante fused satire and humour with intellect and soaring passion to create an immortal Christian allegory of mankind’s search for self-knowledge and spiritual enlightenment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Strong Poison: A Lord Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane Mystery

by Dorothy L. Sayers

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Whose Body?: The First Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery (Vintage Classics)

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The first novel by one of the greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century, in which she introduced her popular amateur detective, Lord Peter Wimsey.

"[A] pure pleasure to read." —The New York Times Book Review

A famous London financier vanishes from his bedroom, leaving no trace. Across town, a corpse is found in an architect's bathtub, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez. The body is not that of the missing financier, so—whose body is it? When Lord Peter Wimsey is asked by his mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver, to help clear her architect of suspicion, he eagerly obliges. With the assistance of his valet, Bunter, a skilled amateur photographer, he quickly becomes convinced that the two cases are linked, despite the skepticism of the police.

But what begins as an amusing puzzle takes on darker overtones, as Lord Peter wrestles with intrusive memories of his traumatic service in the trenches of World War I—and as his own life is endangered by the murderer he is about to unmask.

Have His Carcase

by Dorothy L. Sayers

“The Wimsey books are literate and delightful mysteries.”
—Chicago Tribune

The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists. Acclaimed author Ruth Rendell has expressed her admiration for Sayers’s work, praising her “great fertility of invention, ingenuity, and wonderful eye for detail.” The second Dorothy L. Sayers classic to feature mystery writer Harriet Vane, Have His Carcase is now back in print with an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master. Harriet’s discovery of a murdered body on the beach before it is swept out to sea unites her once more with the indomitable Lord Peter, as together they attempt to solve a most lethal mystery, and find themselves become much closer than mere sleuthing partners in the process.

Bodies from the Library 2: Forgotten Stories of Mystery and Suspense by the Queens of Crime and Other Masters of Golden Age Detection

by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, John Rhode

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 15 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a newly discovered Gervase Fen novella by Edmund Crispin that has never previously been published.

With the Golden Age of detective fiction shining ever more brightly thanks to the recent reappearance of many forgotten crime novels, Bodies from the Library offers a rare opportunity to read lost stories from the first half of the twentieth century by some of the genre's most accomplished writers.

This second volume is a showcase for popular figures of the Golden Age, in stories that even their most ardent fans will not be aware of. It includes uncollected and unpublished stories by acclaimed queens and kings of crime fiction, from Helen Simpson, Ethel Lina White, E.C.R. Lorac, Christianna Brand, Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, to S.S. Van Dine, Jonathan Latimer, Clayton Rawson, Cyril Alington and Antony and Peter Shaffer (writing as Peter Antony).

This book also features two highly readable radio scripts by Margery Allingham (involving Jack the Ripper) and John Rhode, plus two full-length novellas - one from a rare magazine by Q Patrick, the other an unpublished Gervase Fen mystery by Edmund Crispin, written at the height of his career. It concludes with another remarkable discovery: 'The Locked Room' by Dorothy L. Sayers, a never-before-published case for Lord Peter Wimsey!

Selected and introduced by Tony Medawar, who also provides fascinating pen portraits of each author, Bodies from the Library 2 is an indispensable collection for any bookshelf.

Strong Poison

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The classic mystery that first featured Harriet Vane, companion sleuth to the dashing, perennially popular private investigator, Lord Peter Wimsey, from the mystery writer widely considered the greatest mystery novelist of the Golden Age--Dorothy L. Sayers.
Featuring an introduction by Elizabeth George, herself a crime fiction master, Strong Poison introduces Harriet Vane, a mystery writer who is accused of poisoning her fiancé and must now join forces with Lord Peter to escape a murder conviction and the hangman’s noose.

Thrones, Dominations: A Lord Peter Wimsey / Harriet Vane Mystery (Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane, 1)

by Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers

In 1936, Dorothy L. Sayers ―considered one of the best mystery writers of the Golden Age―abandoned the last Lord Peter Wimsey detective story. Sixty years later, a copy of the unfinished manuscript was discovered in her agent's safe in London, and award-winning novelist Jill Paton Walsh was commissioned to complete it. The result was the international bestseller Thrones, Dominations.
Now, this irresistible story is back in paperback. Picking up where Sayers left off, Jill Paton Walsh brings Lord Peter and Harriet Vane brilliantly to life in Sayers' unmistakable voice. Thrones, Dominations satisfies the vast readership hungry to know what happened after their honeymoon. Fan and critics rejoice at Jill Paton Walsh's resurrection of this beloved series.

The Late Scholar: Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane Investigate (Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane, 4)

by Jill Paton Walsh, Dorothy L. Sayers

In Jill Paton Walsh's fourth installment in her inspired continuation of Dorothy L. Sayers's acclaimed mysteries, Lord Peter Wimsey and his detective novelist wife, Harriet Vane, revisit their beloved Oxford, where a long and literate courtship finally culminated in their engagement.

To his surprise, Lord Peter, as the Duke of Denver, has been charged with settling a dispute among the Fellows of St. Severin's College, Oxford University. At first, the stalemate seems the result of a simple difference of opinion about a valuable manuscript. Some of the Fellows regard the book as nothing but an insurance liability that should be sold to finance a speculative purchase of land. The voting is evenly balanced. The Warden would normally cast the deciding vote, but he has disappeared. And when several of the Fellows die unexpectedly, Lord Peter and Harriet set off on an investigation to uncover what is really going on at St. Severin's.

With this return to the Oxford of Gaudy Night, which many readers regard as their favorite of Sayers's original series, Jill Paton Walsh revives the wit and brilliant plotting of the Golden Age of detective fiction with The Late Scholar.

Clouds of Witness A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The second novel by one of the greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century, featuring her dashing amateur sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey.

When the fiancé of Lord Peter's sister, Mary, is found dead outside the conservatory of the Wimsey family's shooting lodge in Yorkshire, the evidence points in an unfortunate direction. Their older brother, Gerald, the Duke of Denver, appears to be the culprit and is accordingly arrested and put on trial. To clear the family name, Lord Peter and his friend Inspector Charles Parker scour the lodge's grounds, finding tantalizing clues that include mysterious footprints, a piece of jewelry, and a cat-shaped charm. Lord Peter works to unravel a string of apparent coincidences, all the while not knowing whether the truth he seeks will save his brother—or condemn him.
 
A VINTAGE MYSTERY CLASSIC.

Unnatural Death A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery

by Dorothy L. Sayers

The wealthy old woman died much sooner than the doctor expected. Did she suddenly succumb to illness—or was it murder? The debonair detective Lord Peter Wimsey begins to investigate, with the help of his trusted manservant, Bunter, and Miss Alexandra Katherine Climpson, a gossipy spinster with a gift for asking the right questions. The intricate trail leads from a beautiful Hampshire village to a fashionable London flat, where a deliberate test of amour, staged by the detective, will expose the elusive truth once and for all.

Bodies from the Library 3

by Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, Nicholas Blake

This anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together 18 tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including uncollected stories by Ngaio Marsh and John Dickson Carr.

The Golden Age of detective fiction had begun inauspiciously with the publication of E.C. Bentley's schismatic Trent's Last Case in 1913, but it hit its stride in 1920 when both Agatha Christie and Freeman Wills Crofts - latterly crowned queen and king of the genre - had crime novels published for the first time. They ushered in two decades of exemplary mystery writing, the era of the whodunit, the impossible crime and the locked-room mystery, with stories that have thrilled and baffled generations of readers.

This new volume in the Bodies from the Library series features the work of 18 prolific authors who, like Christie and Crofts, saw their popularity soar during the Golden Age. Aside from novels, they all wrote short fiction - stories, serials and plays - and although most of them have been collected in books over the last 100 years, here are the ones that got away...

In this book you will encounter classic series detectives including Colonel Gore, Roger Sheringham, Hildegarde Withers and Henri Bencolin; Hercule Poirot solves 'The Incident of the Dog's Ball'; Roderick Alleyn returns to New Zealand in a recently discovered television drama by Ngaio Marsh; and Dorothy L. Sayers' chilling 'The House of the Poplars' is published for the first time.

With a full-length novella by John Dickson Carr and an unpublished radio script by Cyril Hare, this diverse collection concludes with some early 'flash fiction' commissioned by Collins' Crime Club in 1938. Each mini story had to feature an orange, resulting in six very different tales from Peter Cheyney, Ethel Lina White, David Hume, Nicholas Blake, John Rhode and - in his only foray into writing detective fiction - the publisher himself, William Collins.