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This page lists crime novels, short story collections, and related non-fiction books by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Books about Dorothy L. Sayers are also listed.

Poetry, translations, plays, academic writing and other non-fiction books that are not related to crime fiction fall outside the scope of this site and are not included.

The cover images shown are, where possible, the first UK edition and a recent mass market paperback edition.

Written by Dorothy L. Sayers:
- novels / short story collections
- collaborative novels / stories
- selected omnibus editions
- crime related non-fiction

Edited by Dorothy L. Sayers:
- selected anthologies

About Dorothy L. Sayers:
- biographical / critical

Fiction by others:
- featuring Sayers characters

Whose Body?

Dorothy L. Sayers

1923

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"It was the body of a tall stout man. On his dead face, a handsome pair of gold pince-nez mocked death with grotesque elegance. The body wore nothing else. Lord Peter Wimsey knew immediately what the corpse was supposed to be. His problem was to find out whose body had found its way into Mr Alfred Thipps' Battersea bathroom."

Clouds of Witness

Dorothy L. Sayers

1926

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"The Duke of Denver, accused of murder, stands trial for his life in the House of Lords. Naturally, his brother Lord Peter Wimsey is investigating the crime - this is a family affair. The murder took place at the duke's shooting lodge and Lord Peter's sister was engaged to marry the dead man. But why does the duke refuse to co-operate with the investigation? Can he really be guilty, or is he covering up for someone?"

Unnatural Death

Dorothy L. Sayers

1927

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"No sign of foul play, says Dr Carr after the post-mortem on Agatha Dawson. The case is closed. But Lord Peter Wimsey is not satisfied . . . With no clues to work on, he begins his own investigation. No clues, that is, until the sudden, senseless murder of Agatha's maid. What is going on in the mysterious Mrs Forrest's Mayfair flat? And can Wimsey catch a desperate murderer before he himself becomes one of the victims?"

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club

Dorothy L. Sayers

1928

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"Lord Peter Wimsey bent down over General Fentiman and drew the Morning Post gently away from the gnarled old hands. Then, with a quick jerk, he lifted the quiet figure. It came up all of a piece, stiff as a wooden doll . . . But how did the general die? Who was the mysterious Mr X who fled when he was wanted for questioning? And which of the general's heirs, both members of the Bellona Club, is lying?"

Lord Peter Views the Body

Dorothy L. Sayers

1928

Lord Peter Wimsey short stories.

"Lord Peter Wimsey - expert on subjects as diverse as crosswords and cats - displays his detective genius in some of the cleverest mysteries ever devised. One solution requires expertise in fine wines; another calls on his knowledge of fine art. Lord Peter has the knack of being on the spot at just the right time to spot a thief or blackmail a blackmailer. Or even prevent a murder... Whatever the occasion, the aristocratic detective uses his razor-sharp mind and unerring instincts to unmask the guilty and go to the aid of their victims."

• The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers
• The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question
• The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will
• The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag
• The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker
• The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention
• The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran
• The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste
• The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head.
• The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach
• The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
• The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba

Strong Poison

Dorothy L. Sayers

1930

A Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane novel.

"Can Lord Peter Wimsey prove that Harriet Vane is not guilty of murder - or find the real poisoner in time to save her from the gallows? Impossible, it seems. The Crown's case is watertight. The police are adamant that the right person is on trial. The judge's summing-up is also clear. Harriet Vane is guilty of the killing her lover. And Harriet Vane shall hang. But the jury disagrees."

The Documents in the Case

Dorothy L. Sayers

1930

"The bed was broken and tilted grotesquely sideways. Harrison was sprawled over in a huddle of soiled blankets. His mouth was twisted . . . Harrison had been an expert on deadly mushrooms. How was it then that he had eaten a large quantity of death-dealing muscarine? Was it an accident? Suicide? Or murder? The documents in the case seemed to be a simple collection of love notes and letters home. But they concealed a clue to the brilliant murderer who baffled the best minds in London."

The Five Red Herrings

Dorothy L. Sayers

1931

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"Lord Peter Wimsey could imagine the artist stepping back, the stagger, the fall, down to where the pointed rocks grinned like teeth. But was it an accident - or murder? Six members of the close-knit Galloway artists' colony do not regret Campbell's death. Five of them are red herrings."

Have His Carcase

Dorothy L. Sayers

1932

A Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane novel.

"A young woman falls asleep on a deserted beach and wakes to discover the body of a man whose throat has been slashed from ear to ear . . . The young woman is the celebrated detective novelist Harriet Vane, once again drawn against her will into a murder investigation in which she herself could be a suspect. Lord Peter Wimsey is only too eager to help her clear her name."

Murder Must Advertise

Dorothy L. Sayers

1933

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"Victor Dean fell to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, but no one seems to be sorry. Until an inquisitive new copywriter joins the firm and asks some awkward questions... Disguised as his disreputable cousin Death Bredon, Lord Peter Wimsey takes a job - one that soon draws him into a vicious network of blackmailers and drug pedlars. Five people will die before Wimsey unravels a sinister and deadly plot."

Hangman's Holiday

Dorothy L. Sayers

1933

A collection of short stories mainly featuring Lord Peter Wimsey or Montague Egg.

" Lord Peter Wimsey solves the mysteries of the man who was blown into the fourth dimension and the murder in fancy dress. He pursues miscreants across several countries and into unexpected hiding places. Dorothy L. Sayers' other detective, Montague Egg, encounters a fugitive murderer and uncovers a killer in an Oxford cloister. The travelling salesman extraordinaire solves puzzles with a unique combination of matter-of-fact practicality and brilliant deduction."

• The Image in the Mirror
• The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey
• The Queen's Square
• The Necklace of Pearls
• The Poisoned Dow '08
• Sleuths on the Scent
• Murder in the Morning
• One Too Many
• Murder at Pentecost
• Maher-Shalal-Hashbaz
• The Man Who Knew How
• The Fountain Plays

The Nine Tailors

Dorothy L. Sayers

1934

A Lord Peter Wimsey novel.

"When his sexton finds a corpse in the wrong grave, the rector of Fenchurch St Paul asks Lord Peter Wimsey to find out who the dead man was and how he came to be there. The lore of bell-ringing and a brilliantly-evoked village in the remote fens of East Anglia are the unforgettable background to a story of an old unsolved crime and its violent unravelling twenty years later."

Gaudy Night

Dorothy L. Sayers

1935

A Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane novel.

"Harriet Vane has never dared to return to her old Oxford college. Now, despite her scandalous life, she has been summoned back . . . At first she thinks her worst fears have been fulfilled, as she encounters obscene graffiti, poison pen letters and a disgusting effigy when she arrives at sedate Shrewsbury College for the 'Gaudy' celebrations. But soon, Harriet realises that she is not the only target of this murderous malice - and asks Lord Peter Wimsey to help."

Busman's Honeymoon: A Love Story With Detective Interruptions

Dorothy L. Sayers

1937

A Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane novel.

"They plan to have a quiet country honeymoon. Then Lord Peter Wimsey and his bride Harriet Vane find the previous owner's body in the cellar. Set in a country village seething with secrets and snobbery, this is Dorothy L. Sayers' last full-length detective novel. Variously described as a love story with detective interruptions and a detective story with romantic interruptions, it lives up to both descriptions with style."

In the Teeth of the Evidence

Dorothy L. Sayers

1939

A collection of short stories featuring Peter Wimsey, Montague Egg and others.

"All that was left of the garage was a heap of charred and smouldering beams. In the driving seat of the burnt-out car were the remains of a body . . . An accident, said the police. An accident, said the widow. She had been warning her husband about the danger of the car for months. Murder, said the famous detective Lord Peter Wimsey - and proceeded to track down the killer."

• In the Teeth of the Evidence (Lord Peter Wimsey)
• Absolutely Elsewhere (Lord Peter Wimsey)
• A Shot at Goal (Montague Egg)
• Dirt Cheap (Montague Egg)
• Bitter Almonds (Montague Egg)
• False Weight (Montague Egg)
• The Professor's Manuscript (Montague Egg)
• The Milk-Bottles
• Dilemma
• An Arrow O'er the House
• Scrawns
• Nebuchadnezzar
• The Inspiration of Mr. Budd
• Blood Sacrifice
• Suspicion
• The Leopard Lady
• The Cyprian Cat

Striding Folly

Dorothy L. Sayers

1972

The last three Lord Peter Wimsey stories. The stories had previously been published in anthologies.

"Three of Lord Peter Wimsey's most baffling cases demonstrate his unique detction skills at their most spectacular. The engima of a house numbered thirteen in a street of even numbers; an indignant child accused of theft, a dream about a game of chess that uncovers the true story behind a violent death. Each of the stories introduces a different side of the twentieth century's most ingenious detective hero."

• Introduction: Lord Peter Wimsey and His Creator (Janet Hitchman)
• Striding Folly
• The Haunted Policeman
• Talboys

The Floating Admiral

Members Of The Detection Club

1931

A collaborative novel with contributions by Agatha Christie, , Dorothy L. Sayers, Clemence Dane, Anthony Berkeley. G. K. Chesterton, Freeman Wills Crofts, G. D. H. Cole, Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Ronald Knox, Canon Victor Whitechurch, John Rhode, Milward Kennedy, and Edgar Jepson.

"Inspector Rudge does not encounter many cases of murder in the sleepy seaside town of Whynmouth. But when an old sailor lands a rowing boat containing a fresh corpse with a stab wound to the chest, the Inspector's investigation immediately comes up against several obstacles. The vicar, whose boat the body was found in, is clearly withholding information, and the victim's niece has disappeared. There is clearly more to this case than meets the eye – even the identity of the victim is called into doubt. Inspector Rudge begins to wonder just how many people have contributed to this extraordinary crime and whether he will ever unravel it."

Ask a Policeman

Member of the Detection Club

1933

A collaborative novel with contributions by Dorothy L. Sayers, Gladys Mitchell, Anthony Berkeley, John Rhode, Helen Simpson, and Milward Kennedy. Lord Peter Wimsey contributes to the investigation.

"Lord Comstock is a barbarous newspaper tycoon with enemies in high places. His murder in the study of his country house poses a dilemma for the Home Secretary. In the hours before his death, Lord Comstock’s visitors included the government Chief Whip, an Archbishop, and the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. Suspicion falls upon them all and threatens the impartiality of any police investigation. Abandoning protocol, the Home Secretary invites four famous detectives to solve the case: Mrs Adela Bradley, Sir John Saumarez, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Mr Roger Sheringham. All are different, all are plausible, all are on their own – and none of them can ask a policeman."

Six Against The Yard

Members Of The Detection Club

1936

A collection of six stories - one each by Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Crofts, Ronald Knox, Dorothy L. Sayers and Russell Thorndike.

"Is the ‘perfect murder’ possible? Can that crime be committed with such consummate care, with such exacting skill, that it is unsolvable – even to the most astute investigator? In this unique collection, legendary crime writers Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Crofts, Ronald Knox, Dorothy L. Sayers and Russell Thorndike each attempt to create the unsolvable murder, which Superintendent Cornish of the CID then attempts to unravel."

The Anatomy Of A Murder

Members Of The Detection Club

1936

Seven real life crimes retold by seven members of the Detection Club: Helen Simpson, John Rhode, Margaret Cole, E.R. Punshon, Dorothy L. Sayers Francis Iles and Freeman Wills Croft.

"A unique anthology for crime aficionados – seven of the world’s most notorious genuine murder mysteries retold by the most accomplished classic crime writers of their generation. A manipulative murderer who stalked the streets of Paris; a young wife who poisoned her eccentric husband; a bank cashier’s mysterious suicide; a brutal double murder in New Zealand… Seven of the world’s greatest crime writers turn their hand to some of the world’s most spine-tingling mysteries – all of them astonishingly TRUE."

Double Death: a Detective Story

Members Of The Detection Club

1939

A collaborative novel with contributions by Dorothy L. Sayers, Freeman Wills Crofts; Valentine Williams; F. Tennyson Jesse; Anthony Armstrong & David Hume.

The Scoop and Behind the Screen

Members Of The Detection Club

1983

Two detective serials that were written by various members of the Detection Club for weekly radio broadcasts on the BBC in 1930 and 1931. The scripts were originally published in instalments in the Listener magazine shortly after the broadcasts. The book brings together the two complete scripts.

The contributing authors were Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Anthony Berkeley, E.C. Bentley, Freeman Wills Crofts, Clemence Dane, Ronald Knox, and Hugh Walpole.

Crime on the Coast and No Flowers by Request

Members Of The Detection Club and others

1984

Two detective stories that were originally published in serial format. No Flowers By Request was written by members of the Detection Club and published in instalments in The Daily Sketch in 1953. Crime On The Coast was written by a group of crime writers and published in instalments in The News Chronicle in 1954. This is the first book publication of either story.

No Flowers By Request is by Dorothy L. Sayers, E.C.R. Lorac, Gladys Mitchell, Anthony Gilbert and Christianna Brand. Crime On The Coast is by John Dickson Carr, Valerie White, Lawrence Meynell, Joan Fleming, Michael Cronin, and Elizabeth Ferrars.

A Treasury of Sayers Stories

Dorothy L. Sayers

1958

Combines the stories originally published in Hangman's Holiday and Lord Peter Views the Body. The stories are:

• The Image in the Mirror
• The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey
• The Queen's Square
• The Necklace of Pearls
• The Poisoned Dow '08
• Sleuths on the Scent
• Murder in the Morning
• One Too Many
• Murder at Pentecost
• Maher-Shalal-Hashbaz
• The Man Who Knew How
• The Fountain Plays
• The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers
• The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question
• The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will
• The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag
• The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker
• The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention
• The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran
• The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste
• The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head.
• The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach
• The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
• The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba

Lord Peter

Dorothy L. Sayers

1972

There have been a number of editions of this collection.

Collects together all the Lord Peter Wimsey short stories. The contents are:

• Introduction (James Sandoe)
• The Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers
• The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question
• The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will
• The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag
• The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker
• The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention
• The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps That Ran
• The Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste
• The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head.
• The Piscatorial Farce of the Stolen Stomach
• The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
• The Adventurous Exploit of the Cave of Ali Baba
• The Image in the Mirror
• The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey
• The Queen's Square
• The Necklace of Pearls
• In The Teeth Of The Evidence
• Absolutely Elsewhere
• Striding Folly
• The Haunted Policeman
• Talboys
• Afterword (John Curran)

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Lord Peter Wimsey Investigates: Selected Short Stories

Dorothy L. Sayers

Macmillan Collector's Library

2018

The contents are:

• Introduction (David Stuart Davies)
• The Necklace of Pearls
• The Queen's Square
• The Image in the Mirror
• In the Teeth of the Evidence
• The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question
• Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey
• The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will
• The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker
• The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention
• The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
• The Vindictive Story of the Footsteps that Ran
• Absolutely Elsewhere
• Striding Folly
• The Haunted Policeman
• Talboys

The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers. 1899-1936: The Making of a Detective Novelist

Chosen and edited by Barbara Reynolds

Hodder & Stoughton

1995

"The letters of Dorothy Sayers to family, friends and professional colleagues bear the imprint of her vigorous mind, reflecting the social, cultural and religious issues in which she took a passionate interest. In this volume, Barbara Reynolds has selected letter which provide a portrait of a younf woman who loved and lost, a mother who could not acknowledge her own child but who poured her frustrated love for him into her letters."

The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: Volume Two: 1937-1943: From Novelist to Playwright

Chosen and edited by Barbara Reynolds

Dorothy L. Sayers Society

1997

"A collection of letters that looks at the seven-year period in which the famous mystery novelist turned to writing drama."

The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: Volume Three: 1944-1950: A Noble Daring

Chosen and edited by Barbara Reynolds

Dorothy L. Sayers Society

1998

The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: Volume Four: 1951-1957: In The Midst Of Life

Chosen and edited by Barbara Reynolds

Dorothy L. Sayers Society

2000

Dorothy L. Sayers: Chil And Woman Of Her Time: Volume Five: A Supplement To The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers

Chosen and edited by Barbara Reynolds

Dorothy L. Sayers Society

2002

"This lavishly illustrated volume serves as a supplement to the Letters of Dorothy L Sayers, not only to those of her childhood but also to the period of her life in which she wrote The Nine Tailors and Gaudy Night. The two texts which it contains reveal a number of unknown aspects of Dorothy L Sayers, the child and woman of her time."

The Anatomy Of Murder: Famous Crimes Critically Considered by Members of the Detection Club

Helen Simpson / John Rhode / Margaret Cole / E.R. Punshon / Dorothy L. Sayers / Francis Iles / Freeman Wills Crofts

1936

"A unique anthology for crime aficionados – seven of the world’s most notorious genuine murder mysteries retold by the most accomplished classic crime writers of their generation."

• Death of Henry Kinder (Helen Simpson)
• Constance Kent (John Rhode)
• The Case of Adelaide Bartlett (Margaret Cole)
• An Impression of the Landru Case (E.R.Punshon)
• The Murder of Julia Wallace (Dorothy L.Sayers)
• The Rattenbury Case (Francis Iles)
• New Zealand Tragedy (The Lakey Murder Case) (Freeman Wills Crofts)

More Anatomy Of Murder

Dorothy L. Sayers And Certain Other Members Of The Detection Club

1990

Three of the essays that were originally published in The Anatomy Of Murder in 1936. The contents are:

• The Murder of Julia Wallace (Dorothy L.Sayers)
• The Rattenbury Case (Francis Iles)
• New Zealand Tragedy (The Lakey Murder Case) (Freeman Wills Crofts)

Sayers on Holmes: Essays & Fiction on Sherlock Holmes

Dorothy L. Sayers

Mythopoeic Press

2001

"Sayers on Holmes collects the writings of Dorothy L. Sayers on the subject of Sherlock Holmes. In 'Sherlock Holmes and His Influence,' Sayers examines how the Sherlock Holmes stories affected the genre of detective fiction. In 'The Dates in 'The Red-Headed League'' she discusses the contradictory dates in the Holmes story. In 'Holmes' College Career' Sayers determines which university Holmes attended - Oxford or Cambridge - and speculates on a birth year for Holmes. 'Dr. Watson's Christian Name' represents an effort by Sayers to solve the problem that Watson is called by different first names in different Holmesian stories. 'Dr. Watson, Widower,' is concerned with the speculation on Dr. Watson's possible multiple marriages. In addition, published here for the first time is the script she wrote for a radio production, 'A Tribute to Sherlock Holmes on the Occasion of his 100th Birthday,' in which the young Lord Peter Wimsey consults Sherlock Holmes."

Taking Detective Stories Seriously: The Collected Crime Reviews of

Dorothy L. Sayers

Tippermuir Books

2017

"Dorothy L. Sayers carved for herself an enviable reputation as a detective novelist. Beyond that, she wrote with insight about real life crimes, was a pioneering historian and anthologist of crime fiction, and established herself as the most incisive reviewer of detective novels at the height of the genre's Golden Age. Sayers reviewed detective fiction for The Sunday Times for just over two years. Her reviews demonstrate a remarkable breadth of reading, and an extraordinary capacity for hard work, but more than that they air forthright, sometimes controversial, views about crime writing, and a good deal else. Today, at a time when Golden Age detective fiction is enjoying a revival of popularity, Sayers reviews remain as entertaining and informative as when they were first published."

Tales Of Detection

Editor: Dorothy L. Sayers

J.M. Dent

1936

An anthology of detective stories with an introduction by Dorothy L. Sayers. The contents are:

• Introduction (Dorothy L. Sayers)
• The Purloined Letter (Edgar Allan Poe)
• The Biter Bit (Wilkie Collins)
• Was It Murder? (Robert Louis Stevenson)
• The Man In The Passage (G.K. Chesterton)
• The Clever Cockatoo (Edmund Clerihew Bentley)
• The Ghost At Massingham Mansions (Ernest Bramah)
• The Tea-Leaf / Edgar Jepson And (Robert Eustance)
• The Contents Of A Mare's Nest / Richard Austin Freeman)
• The Hands Of Mr. Ottermole (Thomas Burke)
• Solved By Inspection (Father Ronald Knox)
• Philomel Cottage (Agatha Christie)
• The Avenging Chance (Anthony Berkeley)
• The Mystery Of The Sleeping-Car Express (Freeman Wills Crofts)
• The Elusive Bullet (John Rhode)
• The Image In The Mirror (Dorothy L. Sayers)
• A Matter Of Luck (Henry Wade)
• Superfluous Murder (Milward Kennedy)
• The Yellow Slugs (Henry Christopher Bailey)
• The Episode Of The Nail And The Requiem (C. Daly King)

Such a Strange Lady: A Biography Of Dorothy L. Sayers

Janet Hitchman

1975

" A life history of the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey provides information concerning her religious writings as well as her detective stories."

Maker and Craftsman: The Story of Dorothy L. Sayers

Alzina Stone Dale

1978

A revised edition was published by Shaw Books in 1992.

"Maker and Craftsman examines Sayers' enthusiasms and creativity, her miraculous gift of language, her sly sense of humor and her brilliant intellect.Best known for the Lord Peter Wimsey detective stories that have charmed and fascinated fans for several generations, she also wrote plays for the B.B.C. and London's West End, translated Dante's Divine Comedy and still found time to speak and write forthrightly in defense of her beliefs, the arts, and women's rights."

Dorothy L.Sayers: Nine Literary Studies

Trevor H. Hall

1981

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Life Of A Courageous Woman/h3>

James Brabazon

Gollancz

1981

Published in the US by Scribner's with the title Dorothy L. Sayers: A Biography.

The Lord Peter Wimsey Companion: The Essential Dorothy L. Sayers Guide

Stephan P. Clarke

1985

A revised edition was published by the Dorothy L. Sayers Society in 2002.

"Explains terms, phrases, quotations, allusions, and references in the Wimsey novels and short stories, shows important settings and landmarks, and identifies major characters."

The Remarkable Case of Dorothy L. Sayers

Catherine Kenney

1990

"Sayers' three main accomplishments serve as the organizing principle of this book: first, her transformation of the modern detective story into a serious novel of social criticism and moral depth; second, her penetrating critique of the situation of modern woman; and, finally, her compelling work as a lay theologian and interpreter of Christianity."

Dorothy L. Sayers: A Careless Rage for Life

David Coomes

1992

"This biography of the novelist Dorothy Leigh Sayers - the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey and the bestselling author of a dozen detective novels - brings out the spiritual pilgrimage and struggle at the heart of Sayers' life story. The author, who draws on thousands of letters Sayers wrote, reveals her to be a complex woman. Sayers was a very private person who even hid the existence of an illegitimate child from her closest friends. She was also someone to whom faith was central and wrote many theological books as well as the famous detective novels. Her radio play on the life of Christ, "The Man Born to be King", caused a furore when it was first broadcast and went on to win acclaim."

Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul

Barbara Reynolds

1993

"Mystery writer Dorothy Sayers is loved and remembered, most notably, for the creation of sleuths Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. As this biography attests, Sayers was also one of the first women to be awarded a degree from Oxford, a playwright, and an essayist--but also a woman with personal joys and tragedies. Here, Reynolds, a close friend of Sayers, presents a convincing and balanced portrait of one of the 20th century's most brilliant, creative women."

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Centenary Celebration

Editor: Alzina Stone Dale

1993

"In a tribute to the seminal mystery writer, Amanda Cross, Catherine Aird, Michael Gilbert, Carolyn G. Hart, Sharyn McCrumb, Aaron Elkins, and many other contemporary mystery writers discuss how Sayers influenced them."

Dorothy L. Sayers' Wimsey and Interwar British Society

Terrance Lewis

1995

"This study looks at interwar British society as Sayers portrayed it in the 11 novels and 21 short stories concerning her famous creation, detective Lord Peter Wimsey."

Conundrums for the Long Week-end: England, Dorothy L.Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey

Robert Kuhn McGregor with Ethan Lewis

2000

"Lord Peter Wimsey-amateur detective, man of fashion, talented musician, and wealthy intellectual-is known to legions of readers. His enduring presence and popularity is a tribute to his creator, Dorothy L. Sayers, who brought Lord Peter to life during "the long week-end" between the First and Second World Wars, as British aristocracy began to change, making way for a modern world.In Conundrums for the Long Week-End, Robert McGregor and Ethan Lewis explore how Sayers used her fictional hero to comment on, and come to terms with, the social upheaval of the time: world wars, the crumbling of the privileged aristocracy, the rise of democracy, and the expanding struggle of women for equality."

Dorothy Leigh Sayers and the Fens

Trevor Bevis

"Dorothy Sayers is associated with the villages of Bluntisham and Christchurch in the Fens and The Nine Tailors was written against the historic background of the flatland and its magnificent old churches and bells which did much for her imagination."

Dorothy L. Sayers: Chil And Woman Of Her Time: Volume Five: A Supplement To The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers

Chosen and edited by Barbara Reynolds

Dorothy L. Sayers Society

2002

"This lavishly illustrated volume serves as a supplement to the Letters of Dorothy L Sayers, not only to those of her childhood but also to the period of her life in which she wrote The Nine Tailors and Gaudy Night. The two texts which it contains reveal a number of unknown aspects of Dorothy L Sayers, the child and woman of her time."

Dorothy L. Sayers: More Than a Crime Fiction Writer

Sandra Percy

2010

"In the popular literature market, Dorothy L. Sayers is best known as a crime fiction writer; but she was much more than this. She was a writer of many genres, through which the constant thread is an interpretative mode of thinking. Added to this, she was a woman writer and a Christian woman writer."

Detecting Wimsey: Papers on Dorothy L. Sayers's Detective Fiction

Nancy-Lou Patterson

2017

The contents are:

• Introduction: Nancy-Lou Patterson's Wimsical Scholarship - Janet Brennan Croft
• All Nerves and Nose: Lord Peter Wimsey as Wounded Healer in the Novels of Dorothy L. Sayers
• Changing, Fearfully Changing: Polarization and Transformation in Dorothy L. Sayers's Strong Poison
• Bloody Farce: Irony, Farce, and Mortality in Dorothy L. Sayers's Have His Carcase
• A Comedy of Masks: Lord Peter as Harlequin in Dorothy L. Sayers's Murder Must Advertise
• A Ring of Good Bells: Providence and Judgment in Dorothy L. Sayers's The Nine Tailors
• Beneath That Ancient Roof: The House as Symbol in Dorothy L. Sayers's Busman's Honeymoon
• Eve's Sharp Apple: Five Transgressing Women in the Novels of Dorothy L. Sayers
• The Perilous Synthesis: Sacred and Profane Love in Dorothy L. Sayers's Thrones, Dominations
• Even the Parrot Knows Better Than to Eat the Peel: Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) Writes for Children
• A Bloomsbury Blue-Stocking: Dorothy L. Sayers's Bloomsbury Years in Their Spatial and Temporal Context
• Images of Judaism and Anti-Semitism in the Novels of Dorothy L. Sayers
• Cat o' Mary: The Spirituality of Dorothy L. Sayers
• Why We Honor the Centenary of Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957)
• Bibliography
• Appendix: A Supplemental List of Works By and About Dorothy L. Sayers - Janet Brennan Croft

Writing for the Masses: Dorothy L. Sayers and the Victorian Literary Tradition

Christine A. Colon

Routledge

2018

"In Writing for the Masses: Dorothy L. Sayers and the Victorian Literary Tradition Dr. Christine A. Colón explores how Sayers carefully negotiates the complexities of early twentieth century literary culture by embracing a specifically Victorian literary tradition of writing to engage a wide audience. Using a variety of examples from Sayers’s detective fiction, essays, and religious drama, Dr. Colón charts Sayers’s development as a writer whose intense desire to connect with her audience eventually compels her to embrace the role of a Victorian sage for her own age. Ultimately, the Victorian literary tradition not only provides her with an empowering model for her own work as she struggles as a writer of detective fiction to balance her integrity as an artist with her desire to reach a mass audience but also facilitates her growth as a public intellectual as she strives to help her nation recover from the devastation of World War I."

Thrones, Domination

Dorothy L. Sayers & Jill Paton Walsh

1998

A novel started in the late 1930's by Sayers but not completed.

"It is 1936 and Lord Peter Wimsey has returned from his honeymoon to set up home with his cherished new wife, the novelist Harriet Vane. As they become part of fashionable London society they encounter the glamorous socialite Rosamund Harwell and her wealthy impressario husband Laurence. Unlike the Wimseys, they are not in love - and all too soon, one of them is dead. A murder case that only Lord Peter Wimsey can solve."

A Presumption of Death

Jill Paton Walsh & Dorothy L. Sayers

2003

"The story opens in 1940. Harriet Vane - now Lady Peter Wimsey - has taken her children to safety in the country. But the war has followed them: glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalise the villagers; the blackout makes the night-time lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London. Then the village's first air raid practise ends with a very real body on the ground - not a war casualty but a case of plain, old-fashioned murder. And even before the second body is found, Lord Peter Wimsey and his brilliant wife are on their way to finding the killer."

The Attenbury Emeralds: Lord Peter Wimsey's First Case

Jill Paton Walsh

2010

"It was 1921 when Lord Peter Wimsey first encountered the Attenbury emeralds. The recovery of the magnificent gem in Lord Attenbury's most dazzling heirloom made headlines - and launched a shell-shocked young aristocrat on his career as a detective. Now it is 1951: a happily married Lord Peter has just shared the secrets of that mystery with his wife, the detective novelist Harriet Vane. Then the new young Lord Attenbury - grandson of Lord Peter's first client - seeks his help again, this time to prove who owns the gigantic emerald that Wimsey last saw in 1921. It will be the most intricate and challenging mystery he has ever faced."

Peter Wimsey Investigates The Late Scholar

Jill Paton Walsh

2013

"A new murder mystery featuring Lord Peter Wimsey - now a Duke - and his wife Harriet Vane, set in an Oxford college in the 1950s. Peter Wimsey is pleased to discover that along with a Dukedom he has inherited the duties of 'visitor' at an Oxford college.When the fellows appeal to him to resolve a dispute, he and Harriet set off happily to spend some time in Oxford. But the dispute turns out to be embittered. The voting is evenly balanced between two passionate parties - evenly balanced, that is, until several of the fellows unexpectedly die.The Warden has a casting vote, but the Warden has disappeared. And the causes of death of the deceased fellows bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder methods in Peter's past cases - methods that Harriet has used in her published novels."