Product Description
Dante (1265-1321) is the greatest of Italian poets and his DIVINE COMEDY is the finest of all Christian allegories. To the consternation of his more academic admirers, who believed Latin to be the only proper language for dignified verse, Dante wrote his COMEDY in colloquial Italian, wanting it to be a poem for the common reader. This edition is translated by, and includes an Introduction by, Dorothy L. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Dante the Medievalist
A window into the medieval world. Read it: the minds of the Middle Ages were not nearly so befuddled as those that claim it to be.

Medieval vision of the afterlife
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.
"The Divine Comedy" describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect.By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante.Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity).This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy".In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other language were assumed to be comedic in nature.Furthermore, the word "comedy," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good.By this meaning of the word, the progression of Dante's pilgrim from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: Each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternate meanings.Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the "Letter to Can Grande della Scala"), he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory (the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical).The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines.The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination.Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of "L'Inferno", allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" added later in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar Italian language and not the Latin language as one might expect for such a serious topic.

Paradiso
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology.Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. Thus, the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction.The addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it.Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love God.Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. All parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul.That is to say all experience God but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others.This is not determined by time or learning as such but by their proximity to God (how much they allow themselves to experience him above other things).It must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with God.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

DANTE THROUGH DOROTHY: IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS
please read the life and works of Dorothy L. SAyers to appreciate fully the effort she made here, her final writing, posthumously completed (no, not with any seance, which she adequately lambasted in her detective stories).

Her total translation of the Commedia is worth the price of admission (Do not abandon all hope, as she will bring you home to the beatific vision).

There are several translations of varying usefulness and grace, but Dorothy is the rock upon which to stand when comparing the rest.

Hame one cannot give 6 stars...
This is not the most up - to - date translation: however, it is one of the more worthy bits of the history that has grown up around the Comedy, and its perspective is still of practical use. (She actually tries to avoid Freud, for example). Her misunderstandings are ones we can overlook, and she could evenhelp to correct any new ones (not that I do not have full faith in our, er, "currentness", of course!) that might arise.
As for the work of the Master himself, what can one say? Its the best book in world history (have not read any better: and I am, in all humillity, considered something of a reader).
Simply put, its Heaven.

Quella che m'paradisa la mia mente
The elevated sound of poetry are here heard. Not fisical reality, but the ideal; In the Paradiso, ideas and feelings are visible. Dante sees God's unexpressible force: love. ... Read more

Product Description
90-year-old General Fendman was definitely dead, but no one knew exactly when he had died -- and the time of death was the determining factor in a half-million-pound inheritance.Lord Peter Wimsey would need every bit of his amazing skills to unravel the mysteries of why the General's lapel was without a red poppy on Armistice Day, how the club's telephone was fixed without a repairman, and, most puzzling of all, why the great man's knee swung freely when the rest of him was stiff with rigor mortis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

A classic
I've been meaning to read more Dorothy Sayers for a while; but when Susan hill mentioned it in Howards End is on the Landing, I knew that this had to be the next to read.


In the years just after WWI, an old military man (a veteran of the Crimea) dies in his club. Although it would seem that he died of natural causes, Lord Peter Wimsey determines that he was murdered; and he sets out to prove not only the time of death but the manner in which the General died. At stake is money, and who will inherit it.

Of her early Lord Peter mysteries, this one is undoubtedly Sayers's best. She seems to have gotten better and better with each book she wrote, and she really perfected her art with this book. She deals with not only the petty stuff, but the larger things that were going on in he world at the time; in this novel, although WWI is ten years past, it's still very much on people's minds. George and Robert Fentiman, grandsons of the General, are perfect examples of this; George has been extremely affected by experiences in the trenches, while Robert escaped untouched.

Dorothy Sayers has a very subtle sense of wit; what I love about Lord Peter is his dryness. You almost have to be looking in order to find the humor in this book, but it's well-worth it when you do. We learn more about Lord Peter's experience during WWI and his relationship with Bunter, too--surely one of the most patient butlers in fiction.

A Murder at the Club
Dorothy L. Sayers' THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB creates a world the reader perceives of a British club of the 1920s when England was slowly beginning to charge as they recover from the devastation of WWI.
The Admiral is dead, no one knows when he died sitting in his chair at the club, but the strange circumstances of his body leave no doubt that he was murder. Lord Peter is astounded that such as unseemly event could occur in the unlikely location.
This Lord Peter story ranks as one of the best produced by Mrs. Sayers and is often included in lists of one of the best detective stories written during the 20th century.
A must read for anyone who loves a good puzzle.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

She tricks you, and then she tricks you again
"The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" is a reminder of just how good Dorothy L. Sayers was at her very best. The mystery is well-constructed, Lord Peter is as sympathetically sharp as he ever was, and the secondary characters are well-rounded and realistic.

Highly recommended.

Wonderful period Brit mystery
For those who have heard of but never read Dorothy L. Sayers, this book would be a good start. The novel offers a glimpse of the English upper class between the World Wars.Sayers is skilled at strewing red herrings and making the reader suspect various characters.Enjoy the class consciousness and snobbishness as well as the unraveling of the mystery.Realize, also, how much more extensive vocabularies seemed to have been in the first half of the twentieth century than now, based on the author's use of language.

Classic Sayers, Classic Wimsey
This is the mystery of the death of old General Fentiman at the Bellona Club.Did he die before or after his sister?Her will either leaves the grandsons fabulously wealthy or leaves most of the money to a young female relation, depending on when he died.Peter is asked to try to determine the death time, although everybody deplores how "unpleasant" the whole thing is - the death itself at the club, the prying into the General's business, the need for Peter to even ask members of the club questions.

It's beautifully written, clever, and has a depth of characterization of even the most minor characters that makes you feel you know them.The mystery and its resolution are satisfying.Sayers never skimped on writing with a great level of detail but I've never been bored by digressions and peripheral plot lines.Peter's time spent with Marjorie Phelps is an example.Her taking him to a party does forward the plot, but by their few conversations and the meals they have together we realize the Marjorie loves Peter, he doesn't love her, yet wants to be friends.A very nice little subplot.

One thing I've always liked about this book, having read it perhaps half a dozen times, is how it describes men who've been through The Great War.What they came home to, how they were expected to hide their problems, how they were so fragile after such horrific events, especially if they were at all sensitive or badly wounded.George Fentiman, grandson of the old General, is a case in point, while his brother, Robert, took pot shots at rats in the trenches, laughing all the time.

Peter's own trauma from the Great War is alluded to but not gone into detail, but serious Sayers fans know that he was almost buried alive and through most of his life suffered from his nerves.

All in all a very beautifully written novel.One of my favorite Peter Wimseys.

I had a bit of a problem with Ian Carmichael's reading of this book.I had a hard time differentiating the characters, and only because I've read it so often was I able to figure out who was saying what among the upper-class accents. ... Read more

Product Description
Enter the 1920's Golden Age of Detection and meet Lord Peter Wimsey, the epitome of the elegant, eccentric sleuth, and one of the great characters of mystery fiction. In Whose Body, Dorothy L. Sayers' first book, Wimsey himself views the stark naked body lying in the tub. And of course, the brilliant detective untangles the ghastly murder in spite of incorrect assumptions by the police. British actor David Case captures the essence of this delightful mystery in this unabridged production. 5 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Accept no substitutes: Ian Carmichael is the ONLY person to read Lord Peter.
This is the unabridged audiobook of Lord Peter Wimsey's introduction, "Whose Body". Whatever you do, do NOT purchase any Lord Peter audiobooks unless they are read by Ian Carmichael. He is the perfect Lord Peter, and he reads all of the Lord Peter novels better than anyone else. It's a lot harder to find "Whose Body" than any of the others, especially if you're looking specifically for Ian Carmichael's version. But after listening to David Case and Roe Kendall, I've always returned to Ian Carmichael, no matter how hard it may be to find it.

The first Lord Peter story, well read.
The reader of this book does beautifully at distinguising the various voices of the characters, making it a joy to listen to.The story is a good puzzle - the first of many excellent Lord Peter mysteries! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
The wealthy old woman was dead -- a trifle sooner than expected. The intricate trail of horror and senseless murder led from a beautiful hampshire village to a fashionable London flat and a deliberate test of amour  -- staged by the debonair sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.

"Here the modern detective story begins to come to its own; and all the historical importance aside, it remains an absorbing and charming story today." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Not her best...
I've had this book on my shelf for a while, ever since I bought it used in a bookstore near where I used to live in Brooklyn. My interest in Sayers's novels resurfaced a couple of months ago, and since I'm reading her books in order of publication, this one was up on deck next after Clouds of Witness.

One day, Lord Peter and his confederate, Inspector Parker, hear the tale of an elderly woman who died apparently of natural causes--but the young doctor in the case thinks there's something suspicious in the circumstances under which she died--circumstances in which the old woman's niece has a lot to gain or loose by her death. When Lord Peter investigates the story, he starts to unravel a tangled web of legal and medical issues, made more interesting by a sort of twist about halfway through the book.

As a character, Lord Peter doesn't evolve much in favor of the story (beyond a biographical note at the beginning of the story, which didn't help very much), but there are some great supporting characters, including Miss Climpson, a spinster who becomes Wimsey's eyes and ears during the investigation--especially important considering that most of the main characters in the case never even have speaking roles, and Miss Cimpson's letters to Wimsey give the reader a great idea of what's going on. Miss Climpson is one of the sharpest women out there, and her skills are invaluable in the pursuit and catching of the murderer (yes, it's murder that happens--it's just the matter of how and why that need clearing up, and that are so much more important). The legal jargon that Sayers uses was a bit much for me, but in all I thought this was a strong mystery. It's maybe not as good as some of Sayers's other books, but I still enjoyed it.

Who Benefits from Death?
UNNATURAL DEATH by Dorothy L. Sayers establishes Lord Peter Wimsey as a major player as an amateur detective. Peter's sister Mary has married a policeman. His brother-in-law assists his investigations, but this one is a puzzle.
A elderly lady has died from cancer, her niece inherits, but the victim's doctor believes the death was premature.
As the investigation develops, others who could have presented evidence against eh niece seem to be dying. Lord Peter discovers he may be on the killer's list.
Enjoy and old classic that continues to enthrall readers nearly ninety years after it was written.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS.

witty
I don't remember ever reading D.Sayer's before. This was a delightful surprise. Such witty dialogue. I loved reading about the post-war, 1920s London society, where the older generation of women disparage the modern young women; the aristocratic young lord, whose nerves are a bit shattered from the war, doesn't really have a purpose--so he plays amateur sleuth, and pokes fun at himself quoting Sherlock Holmes. His side-kick, instead of a doctor, is a bona-fide police detective. Enjoyable read.

An old favorite.
At any given moment, I generally have at least one Dorothy Sayers book sitting in my to be read pile. Although I've long since read all of her Wimsey books (sadly!), I never really get sick of rereading them. Like many women, I suspect, I'm halfway in love with Lord Peter Wimsey.

This isn't one of the ones that I have read multiple times. I think that this was actually the second time that I read it-- the first time being in college. (I was introduced to Dorothy Sayers by the back smoker libraries in the Bryn Mawr dorm rooms.) It strikes me now that I was quite naive at that age-- particularly since I obviously missed large sections of the plot the first time that I read the book.

Lord Peter Wimsey is dining out with a friend and discussing murder, when they are interrupted by a thin-faced young man at the next table. He has overheard them talk about the duty of a doctor to report his suspicions, and wants to tell them his own story on the subject. He himself had lost his job and reputation for calling into question the apparently natural death of one of his ill and elderly patients. Lord Peter is interested in the story, and the investigation begins. Nobody is sure if he has really found a murder-- at least not until other corpses start to appear.

Unnatural Death is a chance for Sayers to work out the idea that the successful murderers are not the ones who are never caught. Instead, the really successful murders are the ones that everyone else thinks of as a natural death.

This book introduces the most excellent Miss Climpson as Lord Peter's employee and spy-- she acts as a more comical Miss Marple and a foil to the ever-so-elegant detective.

It was interesting to me to see Sayers develop the theme of women alone or together in this book. Lord Peter remarks about Miss Climpson: "Thousands of old maids, simply bursting with useful energy, forced by our stupid social system into hydros and hotels and communities and hostels and posts as companions..." Many of the main characters in the book are either quite directly (for the time) portrayed as lesbians (something that I can't believe that I missed the first time around) or are shown as clinging to the company of other women after rejecting the world of men. These relationships range from the healthy to the unhealthy, and the book directly touches on the problems of inheritance between women and relationships without heirs.

Unnatural Death was published in 1927, and comes bound with a short biographical note about Lord Peter. Certainly a must-read for fans of either Sayers or the series. Even if it isn't one of my favorites in the Wimsey books, still well worth reading.

Some of Sayers' best
Here we have Lord Peter Wimsey, teamed up with Inspector Parker, sticking his aristocratic nose into yet another heinous murder case. In fact, no one even discovers that this IS a murder until Wimsey ferrets out some key clues, albeit with the aid of a little old lady whom he's hired as one of his investigators. The initial crime: An old woman, on her deathbed, gets bumped off prematurely so that her last will and testament will get probated in a particular way. And before it is over, more murder follows. Within these pages, the mystery fan will find plenty of cool clues, spectacular locations, atmosphere galore, and just enough English cliche to make this one a top read. I recommend it for both newbies to mysteries and to seasoned veterans as well. You'll love the crusty old characters that Wimsey and Parker encounter out in the English countryside locations as they pursue this shrewd and heinous murderer. This is also available in audiobook and is well-read. ... Read more

Product Description
The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream.The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there are too many suspicious elements -- particularly the medical evidence that proves he'd been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses had seen him alive a scant hour earlier.And then there are the six prime suspects -- all of them artists, all of whom wished him dead.Five are red herrings, but one has created a masterpiece of murder that baffles everyone, including Lord Peter Wimsey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Good Mystery
Lord Peter visits Scotland and solves a good mystery that has the typical Sayers huge cast of characters.The best thing (besides the story) about this audio version is the masterful voice of Patrick Malahide.His ability to change from plain English to polished Scotch is remarkable!

Murder Must Advertise? You must be joking!
I agree that this is one of Sayers' weaker mysteries, but Murder Must Advertise is much, much worse. For beginners, I'd start with Whose Body?, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, or the short stories (which are all together in Lord Peter).

Of course, if one wants the most experimental of her mysteries, there is Gaudy Night, which combines a novel with a detective book. Or if one wants her MASTERPIECE, then it's The Nine Tailors. Those who like a little highbrow romantic comedy mixed in will want to read Have His Carcass, and Busman's Honeymoon.

The best idea, however, is to read them all.

Not her best
The least successful of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, this is alibi-driven, filled with timetables, and clocks, and such.Very mathematical, and not enough of the character development and social commentary that marks Sayers' best work.Nevertheless, a poor Sayers is better than most mystery authors' best.

Vacation with Murder
Step back in time with THE FIVE RED HERRINGS. Dorothy L. Sayers moves Lord Peter Wimsey to Scotland for a fishing vacation in a colony of artists who have an eye for detail, which Miss Sayers exploits.
Campbell has a tendency to badger and fight at the drop of a hat, which Lord Peter witnesses on a visit to the local pub. Campbell is discovered death at the bottom of a ravine with an unfinished canvas still wet on its easel above the body.
Was his death an accident or was it murder? Lord Peter assists the police to bring the mystery home with great attention to the details in each the alibis of the six suspects who have reason to celebrate Campbell's demise. Clever writing for which Miss Sayers is famous leads the reader down every path in this intricate puzzle.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Sadly, you can skip this Sayers entry
You need have no fear of missing out on the possibility of a good Sayers read here. This one is a jumble of train schedules, vague characters, and improbable caveats.

The Story: Lord Peter Wimsey is visiting in Scotland in a community of fishermen-artists (this seems odd right off the bat) when one of these men, Campbell, is killed. At first, it looks like an accident but Lord Peter wont let it rest and the police agree that he's right. This is a murder made to look like an accident.

There are six fishermen-artist suspects, five of which must be "red herrings" as none of the men seem to have a clear alibi for the probable time of the murder. It has to be one of these fellows because the killer faked a Campbell painting, and was dressed in Campbell's clothes as to be seen at a distance by witnesses, thus making it appear that the notorious and turbulent Campbell was alive later than he actually was.

All the suspects display "battle scars" on the day following the murder and various accounts are given to the police and to Wimsey to account for these injuries, most of which turn out to be lies. From there, Lord Peter spends his time analyzing train schedules for those suspects who left the community for various purported reasons, in an effort to break their alibis.

In the end, this mystery appears to have been written by formulating an introduction and an ending, and then going back to fill in a bunch of laborious details. However this mystery was inspired, it's turned out as an uninspiring, confused effort. The ending is also notably abrubt and not particularly well thought-out.

I did give Sayers two stars instead of one for her Herculean effort in one realm: she took on the incredible difficulty of writing Scottish dialogue in the native brog. Ironically, the end result of this is that it makes for very difficult reading and I'm still wondering what some of those words meant in regular English. Now I know why there aren't many Scottish mysteries!

Pass this one by and seize upon any of Sayers' other fine mysteries. ... Read more

Product Description
Lord Peter Wimsey’s enduring presence and popularityare a tribute to his creator, Dorothy L. Sayers. In this book,McGregor and Lewis explore how Sayers used her fictional hero tocomment on, and come to terms with, the social upheaval of the time:world wars, the crumbling of the privileged aristocracy, the rise ofdemocracy, and the expanding struggle of women for equality. Scholarsof the Modern Age, fans of the mystery genre, and admirers ofSayers’s fiction are sure to appreciate this incisive examinationof the literary, social, and historical context of the author’smost popular work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Engaging, Well-Researched
It is a pleasure to me as a long-time Sayers fan to come across this book. The authors bring to life the time period that Sayers wrote in and flesh out even more the stories themselves. Although evidently well-researched, the work does not come across as heavy-handed, as do some books that attempt to force the material to fit their thesis. Rather, the threads of history, Sayer's life and the stories blend together effortlessly. The writing style is engaging, straightforward, and exact. A very enjoyable read!

great review
This is a great review of Sayers work with Lord Peter.It joins the history of the period with Sayers own history in a quick reading manner.I recommend it for any Sayers fan.

Essential reading for the Wimsey fan
More than most popular mystery sleuths, Lord Peter Wimsey was a man (and a character) who belonged to a specific era. When the hopeful optimism and sense of promise of the 1920s and early 30s were overshadowed by crisis after crisis and the growing specter of war, Lord Peter became a fish out of water, and so faded into well-deserved retirement.

So argue the authors of this fascinating book -- one that any Wimsey fan, or fan of English mysteries generally, should find most rewarding. There's actually quite a lot more to this title than the argument described above. It is, to various degrees, a biography of Dorothy L. Sayers, a dual biography of Lord Peter and Harriet Vane, a social history of England between the wars, an exercise in literary criticism, and an at-least-partial survey of the history of the mystery novel. That's a lot to pack into fewer than 250 pages, but the authors pull it off really well.

As befits a book with so much going on, there were several elements of it I found most interesting. These included the discussion of Lord Peter's development as a character and the difficulties Sayers had in plausibly marrying him off to Harriet; the impact of contemporary events on Sayers' fiction; and why (tied into that last item) Sayers didn't publish, or even work on, with one exception, any more Wimsey stories after 1936, even though he was still immensely popular.

One of the reasons Lord Peter was, and remains, so popular is that he is a well-rounded character, not simply a crime-solving machine like Sherlock Holmes (which, of course, hasn't affected Holmes' popularity either). I highly recommend "Conundrums for the Long Week-End" for anyone interested in understanding Lord Peter still further and recognizing how impressive Dorothy L. Sayers' accomplishment truly is.

(Which reminds me, if you want to know more about Lord Peter's era, I also strongly recommend The Long Week-End: A Social History of Great Britain 1918-1939 by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge, a book which obviously influenced McGregor and Lewis, up to and including their choice of title.)

This Book Nominated for an Edgar Award
I agree that fans of the Wimsey novels will enjoy this book most, but I also think those interested in the period between the world wars, as well as those who like good biography will find much here. Mystery buffs who haven't read Sayers may find this book provides the motivation to do so. I particularly enjoyed the authors' discussion of how Sayers' Wimsey differs from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and the reasons for these differences. It should also be noted that this book was just nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for a 2001 Edgar Award in the category of biography and literary criticism.

Good book if you're a Wimsey fan
If you're a fan of Dorothy L. Sayers' character, Lord Peter Wimsey, you will likely find this book interesting and enjoyable. The authors, both professors, look at the Wimsey series in light of what was happening in England at the time they were being written, and show how Sayers incorporated so much of her surroundings into these stories.

If you're not a Wimsey fan, then there is probably little point in reading this book. Although it is well-written, most of its meaning will probably be lost. ... Read more

Product Description
Today you hear it even from many well-meaning Christians: "It doesn't really matter what you believe, so long as you're sincere." These pages demonstrate that such a "doctrineless Christianity" is not merely impossible; it's dangerous. Indeed, argues author Dorothy L. Sayers, if Christians don't steep themselves in doctrine, then the Christian Faith - and the world outside the Faith - will descend into chaos.It's a surprising argument these days, but once you've finished these lucid and often witty pages, you'll agree with Sayers that dogma is no exercise in hair-splitting about insignificant matters; it's a vibrant window into the splendor of God's truth, a window that each Christian soul needs.Doctrine is vital to your faith, to my faith, and even to the faith of the simplest believers. Each of us must make a stark choice: creed . . . or chaos! These pages show why there's no way you can avoid that choice - and they help you to choose wisely. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Good book to help think about work
I really enjoyed Creed or Chaos and especially the chapter on work.I don't hear a Christian perspective on work very often but Sayers' take on it was quite helpful.The whole book is good but that section really helped.

Choices, choices...
Dorothy Sayers, best known as the author of typically wonderful British mysteries, was also known in her lifetime as an engaging public speaker, and one of the topics she would speak about is the life of the church.A staunch and solid Anglican of Anglo-Catholic persuasion (read here, 'more Catholic than the Pope', in many respects), she in some ways shared a spotlight (and variously competed for the spotlight) with other such luminaries as C.S. Lewis.

This particular book, 'Creed or Chaos?' is a particular favourite of mine.Written in the 1940s, it is actually a compilation of pamphlets (or, perhaps more appropriately, tracts) that were issued along with her speaking engagements.This is a book of lectures, but these are no mere lectures.Sayers is a woman of wit and wisdom in addition to being a scathing and no-holds-barred critic of those things she finds deserving of critique.

There are seven essays in total, which deal with issues of art and culture, church and state, public and private morality, virtue, and more.The title of the collection comes from the fifth essay, 'Creed or Chaos?' in which Sayers argues for the necessity of strong dogma in the face of declining stability in the world.Watching the unfolding of events at the beginning of the second world war, after having lived through the aftermath of the first (which included the collapse of the old order in Russia), she lays part of the blame on the kind of touchy-feely Christianity that had come into vogue that was more concerned with feelings than with understanding and order.'The thing I am here to say to you is this: that it is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology.It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is vitally necessary to insist that it is first and foremost a rational explanation of the universe.'

Perhaps my favourite section of the entire collection comes from the fourth essay, 'The Dogma is the Drama'.In this, Sayers puts forward a catechism based upon popular conceptions and misconceptions of what Christianity and its attendant dogmatic points are, and suggests that, as misleading as her witty answers might be, they still bear remarkable relation to the way in which Christian orthodoxy is perceived, not only by those outside the dogmatic faith, but also those inside.

Sayer's play, 'The Zeal of Thy House', was high in her mind during several of these lectures.In her essay, 'Why Work?' she looks at the vocation of work and labour, spinning the question around from being 'should we work for the Lord?' to becoming 'how can our work be work for the Lord?'Any work, artfully done, can be sacred in this context.She has particular ire for those who insist on the moral or pietistic purity of those who should really be chosen for their work for their directly related skills.With regard to her own profession, she lists the virtues of the actors (being on time, knowing their lines, etc.) and states that only after such considerations were made would any attempt be made to find out the piety of the actors.'The worst religious films I ever saw were produced by a company which chose its staff exclusively for their piety,' she wrote.This excess of zeal with regard to the wrong aspects led to films so bad they would never be a credit to Christianity, no matter how 'good' the people involved might be with regard to morality and piety.

Sayers is also rather forward for her time at discussing sex, claiming that the primary sin of her time was seen as sex (in that regard, not much has changed!); hence the title of the final essay, 'The Other Six Deadly Sins'.Here she looks at sin and morality with her dogmatic lens intact, but also explores the ways in which human nature ignores the inconvenient on a regular basis.

This is a wonderful book, short and to the point, witty and serious, and surprisingly relevant to the church and world today.

Too Close for Comfort
This collection of essays and speeches covers more ground than the title suggests.The first portion, on the importance of dogma in an authentically religious life, is passionate, persuasive, and predicts the coming battle between Christianity and paganism in Western culture.Interesting as this is, I found the second part of the book more intriguing still, when Sayers turns her attention to the significance of work and then to the Seven Deadly Sins.She draws a crucial distinction between work as an end in itself and work as a means to an end.Instead of treating our work as our gift to God, are we merely looking for a paycheck so we can get more stuff?Sayers exposes the social ills wrought by excessive materialism and insufficient attention to our moral responsibilities, and carries this theme further in her discussion of the deadly sins.This final chapter makes for an excellent examination of conscience as well as an embarrassing commentary on the crass materialism that pervades our culture, almost invisible in the absence of moral reflection.And above all, this book exhorts us to moral reflection.With remarkable power and insight, Sayers encourages us to ask, "What am I doing, and why am I doing it?"

I'll take Creed, thank you.
Like some of the other reviewers, I found that some of the essays in this book did wander off from the main question as presented in the book's title. Particularly the last three chapter's do this, focusing more on socio-economic issues rather than on the significance of dogma or creed in the church. These essays were tangentially related, however, as Sayers pointed out the need for Christianity's influence to be pervasive in all aspects of life. The weakest chapters in this volume were, nonetheless, the 5th and 6th chapters, titled "Strong Meat" and "Why Work?" However, the remainder of the book was very well written, and enjoyable to read.

Sayer's primary intent was to show how Christianity collapses without dogmas or creeds. She marvelously shows how dogma is not the dusty, dull, and boring thing that modern Christians often claim, but rather, that the very excitement and drama in Christianity is in the dogma! She uses the doctrine of the incarnation in particular to illustrate this, and throughout the book she interweaves the historic Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds to show their profound relevance and interest to even modern humanity. The problem, she asserts, is not that the dogma is dull, but that the church has not properly taught or shown its meaning. This has created another problem, which is that most unbelievers despise Christianity without even ever understanding the truly radical nature of what it teaches: that God entered the world in human flesh. When Christianity isn't clear and creedal in what it teaches to its own, it won't be able to present a clear and vital witness of Christ to the world.

The best chapter of the book is the one titled "Creed or Chaos?" In it Dorothy Sayers affirms that "it is absolutely impossible to teach Christianity without teaching Christian dogma" (33), and then proceeds to list several dogmas which are especially in need of being taught on account of their being misunderstood. She states the case for dogma very well in this chapter, but makes one particularly false statement. She says that "The Church of Rome alone has retained Her prestige because She puts theology in the foreground of Her teaching"(33). Rome is not alone in retaining her prestige or dogma. The glaring omissionis that the confessional bodies of the Lutheran church also place theology in the foreground of their teaching. There are those in Lutheranism wandering toward Chaos (and who would do well to read this book), but the true heart of Lutheranism is a boldly creedal faith. Even though Sayers ignores the Lutheran church, it is interesting to note that in the 6th chapter, on "Why Work?", she comes surprisingly close to the Lutheran understanding of what Scripture teaches regarding vocation.

Overall, Sayers' book issues a much-needed call to return to the orthodox creeds of Christianity, as this problem has continued and worsened in the church at large since she wrote these essays in the WWII era.

Don't Miss Dorothy L. Sayers
If I have a gripe about this book, it's that the cover picture and blurb would be more at home on a tabloid at the checkstand. There's an earlier version of this book with a somewhat better cover. For that matter, these essays are drawn from two collections published in Sayer's day, Unpopular Opinions and another one I forgot. The best essays reappeared some time back in a collection called Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World (I wonder why that title didn't sell?!), and then again in a series by MacMillian called The Whimsical Christian (catch the play on the name of her detective, Lord Peter Wimsey).

However you have to get them, try to read the best of these essays, "The Dogma is the Drama" and "And Telling You a Story" among them. The first one relates to her experiences while writing The Man Born to Be King, the first radio drama of the life of Jesus for the BBC. Long before Jesus Christ Superstar and the many movies tackling the subject, she was at the front lines of critical crossfire for updating the gospels to everyday Cockney England (the sort of updating that was common in the Middle Ages in Mystery plays). The second essay tells how she fell under the spell of another British writer, Charles W.S.Williams, and was so inspired by his writings on Dante that she taught herself Italian and translated the three volumes of The Divine Comedy (the third volume, Paradise, being completed by her student, Barbara Reynolds). Other essays touch on her trials as a mystery writer and playright, and the zillion other things she did (that no one seems to know about). Fans of her sleuth, Lord Peter, may enjoy tracking down these witty essays by the divine Dorothy L. ... Read more

Product Description
Mystery writer Harriet Vane's murder trial is the talk of London, and naturally, Lord Peter Wimsey is fascinated by the case. He's not convinced she poisoned her fiancé in the same way she offed one of the characters in her books, but is it because the case against her is weak, or because he's fallen in love with her? Thus begins one of the most complex romantic relationships in mystery fiction.

Presented unabridged on 6 CDs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Job!!
I'm a huge fan of Lord Peter, and this is one of my favorites, the tale wherein Peter meets Harriet Vane, the love of his life.I love listening to Ian Carmichael's voice, and of course he's the perfect reader.Though Carmichael isn't the best at doing female voices, his version of Freddy Arbuthnot provides the sound of the quintessential upper-class and veddy British man-about-town of the 1920s and 30s.Well worth the cost, this audiobook will be on my MP3 player many times.

Highly recommend.
This is the first Dorothy Sayers book I ever read, and it led on to many happy hours spent with Lord Peter and Harriet Vane.

First in the Harriet Vane series
Personally I have always been an Agatha the Christie fan. My first encounter with Dorothy L. Sayers was the Mobile Mystery Theater series showing on PBS.

Naturally the TV media cannot fill in all the details that you would pick up from reading the book. So I read the book. This added more depth to the story, but now I appreciate Dorothy L. Sayers more than Agatha Christie. But Dorothy not only fleshes her characters out better but her side trips into philosophy and psychology make the story that much more interesting. And just when you say, "what is the relevance to this conversation?" it is wrapped up in the final solution.

This is the first of a fourth book series. The story is complete and can be used as a stand-alone story.

The notorious Harriet Vane is on trial for poisoning her previous live in lover. Naturally Lord Peter Wimsey falling in love with her, is determined that she is innocent and will prove this. To save her repartition he must fined the real culprit (if there is one), because if Harriet gets off on a technicality, she will always be under suspicion.

have his Carcase
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Dorothy L. Sayers mystifies us from the beginning
From the very beginning of this story we are capture by Sayers' writing style and character sketches. She only gets better from here. It is the interaction and relationship of her characters that make the story come alive.

We start off with two mysteries at once. A naked man, wearing sunglasses, is found in someone else's bathtub. Across town an important person goes missing. The local policeman had figured out the relationship already (or has he). He has even nabbed the suspects. Lord Peter (armature sleuth) and friend of Inspector Parker must figure out if one plus one is one or two.

Whose body?

... Read more

Product Description
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. 30 b&w photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Accurate Title - Her Life and Soul
The name Dorothy L. Sayers was unfamiliar to me until just a few years ago.Her mystery novels were hidden to my eyes.I knew nothing of her theological observations and writings.

Her name kept coming up in discussions, so I decided to read something about this marvelous women, Dorothy L. Sayers.This biography was written lovingly by someone who admired her as a friend.


The book is easy to read, loaded with lots of personal details and quotes from DLS.The writer did a great job of setting the historical and cultural background of DLS's life.

Sayers' Christian faith is clearly shown, too, as well as some of her conservative political ideas.She was soundly orthodox in her theology and clearly anti-socialist.


The author, Barbara Reynolds,lovingly portrayed the life and soul of this great Christian woman.It's a good read.

My New Friend Dorothy
I had barely even heard of Dorothy Sayers before reading this biography. Now I feel like I have a life long friend. From her idealic childhood and education, to her fiery personality to her insatialble intellect, I was enthralled. Her love of Wilkie Collins and Dante give a glimpse into the expanse of her mind and the breadth of topics she wrote on showed the expanse of her talent. I was especially moved by her love and committement to her country in time of war-inspiring. Her personal life was usually a shambles but so it seems to go with women of such brilliance. If you love liturature you will love this biography!

One of the most beautiful biographies I have ever read!
An amazing look at the life of this incredible Christian woman!This book dives into the depths of her mind and her life.No secret or interesting fact is spared in this delightful biography.I recommend it to anyone interested in the life of this fascinating visionary.

Anything But Whimsical
Dorothy L. Sayers did more in her life than just create the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey. In addition to writing the Wimsey novels and short stories, she was one of the first female graduates of Oxford, a translator of Dante, a poet and a Christian apologist whose reputation at the time rivaled that of C.S. Lewis.

Her longtime friend, Barbara Reynolds, draws on her memories of the woman as well as her voluminous correspondence and has written a lively account of Sayers' life.

Those who admire the Wimsey novels will find their enjoyment heightened after reading this book. As I found in researching the "Annotating Dorothy L. Sayers"..., Sayers flooded her work with literary, historical and social references that represented the best of her education as well as her interests in the murderous and the macabre: Shakespeare, John Donne, Greek mythology, contemporary English music-hall acts, Gilbert & Sullivan, notorious 19th-century murders and snippets of classical Greek and Latin. To write "The Nine Tailors," which featured a church and its bell-ringers, Sayers spent two years studying campanology, and had to endure, she wrote, "incalculable hours spent in writing out sheets and sheets of changes, until I could do any method accurately in my head. Also, I had to visualize, from the pages of instructions to ringers, both what it looked like and what it felt like to handle a bell and to acquire rope-sight.'" After the novel was published, she thought she had been caught out on only three small technical errors, but did well enough to be asked to serve as vice-president of the Campanological Society of Great Britain.

But the books also contain much of Sayers herself. Obviously, Sayers' alter ego was expressed in the character of Harriet Vane, the mystery writer she put on trial for murder in "Strong Poison," who was romanced by Peter in "Gaudy Night," and who married him in "Busman's Honeymoon." But Sayers also drew on her life experiences and her interests. "Gaudy Night" reflected her experiences at Oxford, her desire to live the scholarly life and the importance of intellectual achievement, while the parsonage she vividly recreated in "The Nine Tailors" was drawn from her childhood memories, and the gentle churchly Rev. Thomas Venables was modeled on her parson father.

Christianity played a great role in Sayers' life from the start, and the success of the Wimsey novels enabled her to shelve the detective and turn to writing plays and books that expounded the doctrine of the Church of England in laymen's terms. In this, she was enormously successful, and even sparked a ruckus when one of her plays featured the disciples talking in modern slang, predating the uproar over "Jesus Christ Superstar" by three decades.

Reynolds also tells the story ofthe illegitimate child Sayers bore. While it would be easy to condemn her for turning the boy over to a cousin to raise, Reynolds also made clear that Sayers did it to protect her parents, who she thought would be terribly hurt by her misjudgment. Considering that she visited and paid for his upkeep and education, and told him the whole story when he was an adult, it seems to have been the best of all possible choices.

The pleasure of meeting Miss Sayers can only be increased by looking into her letters, which have been published in several volumes. From the first, Sayers seems to have been bright, precocious and determined to make her own way, and it's a pleasure to see in Reynolds' biography that she did so splendidly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

First in the Harriet Vane series
Personally I have always been an Agatha the Christie fan. My first encounter with Dorothy L. Sayers was the Mobile Mystery Theater series showing on PBS.

Naturally the TV media cannot fill in all the details that you would pick up from reading the book. So I read the book. This added more depth to the story, but now I appreciate Dorothy L. Sayers more than Agatha Christie. But Dorothy not only fleshes her characters out better but her side trips into philosophy and psychology make the story that much more interesting. And just when you say "what is the relevance to this conversation?" it is wrapped up in the final solution.

This is the first of a fourth book series. The story is complete and can be used as a stand-alone story.

The notorious Harriet Vane is on trial for poisoning her previous live in lover. Naturally Lord Peter Wimsey falling in love with her, is determined that she is innocent and will prove this. To save her repartition he must fined the real culprit (if there is one), because if Harriet gets off on a technicality, she will always be under suspicion.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Lord Peter and Harriet Vane
These four stories are the series of encounters focusing on the relationship of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. There is a later novel "Thrones, Dominations" that was finished for Dorothy L. Sayers (posthumously.)

In the first novel "Strong Poison" Lord Peter discovers Harriet while she is on trial for the poisoning of her lover.Naturally Lord Peter knows she is innocent and sets out sleuthing to prove it. Can he prove it in time? All the clues are there and you have an opportunity to beat him to the conclusion. Let's see how good you are.

In the second novel "Have His Carcase" Harriet is on a walking tour and comes upon a body on the beach. If she did not have her camera with her there would be no proof as high tide is coming in. and without a carcass the coroner can not sit. Lord peter steps in to help with the mystery of if it was murder, the "who and how and why" it was done.This story may include Bolsheviks and coconut fiber. Mean time Lord Peter is still perusing Harriet.

In the third novel "Gaudy Night" Which is more of a joyous night or a school reunion. Mysterious threatening notes and acts have been happening at the all-female Shrewsbury College at Oxford, from where Harriet graduated. Because of her reputation she is invited to the Gaudy and at the same time implored to seek out the source. Soon the threats are also addressed to her. Once again Lord Peter hears of this and lends a hand in the investigation. We get to meet his nephew and also learn more of Lord Peter's background and relationship with Bunter his man servant.And Lord Peter is still perusing the aloof Harriet. Will she ever give in?

In the forth novel "Busman's Honeymoon" Finally Harriet gives in and they are married. As a wedding present Lord Peter gives Lady Harriet the house where she was raised. Looks like it is not without its mysteries as one again a body is found in the basement. Again we are presented with sufficient clues to beat Lord Peter to the conclusion. However by the time you get to this novel you will realize that the murder mysteries are all secondary to the true story with is the relationship of Lord Peter and Harriet.
... Read more

Product Description
Dorothy L. Sayers has been called the "the most significant female British Christian intellectual of the twentieth century." A contemporary of C. S. Lewis, she possessed keen theological sense, tremendous writing skill, and deep concern about how ordinary people understand Christian life. Creed without Chaos provides a cogent argument for Sayers's continuing relevance for today's church. This well-researched book examines Sayers's role as a lay theologian in clarifying matters of dogma for common consumption and in relating theological themes to everyday life.

Laura Simmons performs a service for theology students and interested laypeople alike by providing a theological, rather than a literary, introduction to Sayers's writings. The book also includes several detailed appendices for those interested in further study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent treatment of the Christian Sayers
Most people, when they hear of Dorothy Sayers, immediately think of her delightful detective novels based around Lord Peter Wimsey. But she was much more than another Agatha Christie. She was also a superb thinker and committed Christian. A contemporary of C.S. Lewis and T. S. Eliot, Sayers was a first-rate thinker who had a passionate belief in the importance of Christian doctrine and theology.

Unfortunately she has tended to be overshadowed by the likes of other famous Christian laypeople from England: Lewis, Eliot, Tolkien, Muggeridge and Chesterton. But she was in many ways their equal, and she can rightly be described as one of our most important Christian intellects and authors of recent times.

Sayers was appalled at the general lack of doctrinal knowledge amongst most believers, and she wrote extensively on the need to develop a Christian mind. And she strived to make theological truths accessible to the common man. It is her theological interests that make up the theme of this important book.

Laura Simmons is well versed in the writings of Sayers. Indeed, she spent one summer reading through the 30,000 pages of letters written by and to Sayers. This book demonstrates that Simmons has a very good grasp indeed of the mind and writings of Sayers.

The title of Simmons' book refers of course to the 1940 essay by Sayers, Creed or Chaos? In that important tract Sayers demonstrates her clear grasp of the importance of right belief as the basis of right living. Orthodoxy, in other words, precedes orthopraxis. We cannot rightly live the Christian life if we do not have a right understanding of basic Christian doctrines and teaching.

Simmons examines a number of theological concerns that Sayers addressed over her important career. Sayers wrote on many theological issues, on the nature of words and language, on women's issues, and creativity and art. Simmons explores all these vital topics in depth.

The very extensive bibliography of both primary and secondary sources shows that Simmons' has deeply mined the works of Sayers, and those written about her. Hers is a first-rate treatment of a first-rate Christian thinker and writer.

Simmons deserves praise for bringing the theological side of Sayers back into the public spotlight.
... Read more

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A collection of letters written by the great mystery novelist to friends and family provides revealing glimpses of Sayers's childhood, undergraduate career at Oxford, secret love affair and illegitimate child, mystery writing, and more.Amazon.com Review
C.S. Lewis suggested that Dorothy Sayers's letters would one day berecognized as among the finest epistles produced in the 20th century. Infact, this first volume, covering the years from Sayers's early childhood tothe later years of personal tragedy and literary triumph, shows abroad-ranging talent and reveals a rich life full of language study,poetry, and books.

Barbara Reynolds, author of the celebrated Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life andSoul, has selected a cross section of letters to represent the fullspectrum of Sayers's expressions and emotions. Most troubling are thosedesperate letters to John Cournos, the novelist's lover and the man whoultimately jilted her. Also fascinating are her notes to her illegitimateson John Anthony (fathered by Bill White, a "car salesman and motorengineer"), messages expressing deep love that are, simultaneously,touched with the restraint of a mother held distant by social convention.Beyond these very personal moments, however, one traces the budding andthen flowering of a literary career. Sayers's years at Oxford and after arepeppered with references to her reading, snippets of her writing, andrecords of her travels in France and elsewhere. As P.D. James writes in thepreface to the volume: "by the end of 1936, when this volume ends ... shecould look back on half-a-lifetime of courageous living and ultimateachievement.... The enjoyment with which I read this first volume of lettersis matched only by my happy expectation of pleasure to come." --PatrickO'Kelley ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Too late loved, too soon gone
Dorothy L. Sayers is known to many readers as the creator of the Wimsey detective novels. Written in the 1920s and 30s, these books earned Sayers a living and a great deal of respect in the genre, but they are not enough to know about this brilliant and complex woman.

Sayers was born in 1893 in Oxford, England. She was one of the first women to be granted a degree from Oxford University and earned her living at an advertising agency for some years, and then by her writing. Besides the detective novels and short stories, she wrote poetry, drama, essays and literary criticism, and translated Dante's Divina Commedia, a project which was incomplete at her death in 1957. In her late twenties she had a love affair that ended badly, and from a "rebound relationship" with another man she became pregnant; the child was raised by her cousin and the truth of his parentage was not known until after Sayers' death. In her early thirties she married a journalist who became disabled, leaving her with the ongoing responsibility of earning the family living.

Sayers was from her earliest years a prolific and entertaining correspondent. This first volume of her letters is presented by Barbara Reynolds, who is Sayers' god-daughter, literary collaborator and biographer. The annotations add enormous clarity and value to the collection so that it could be enjoyed by a reader with very little knowledge of Sayers' life and times.

From a six-year-old's domestic concerns, the letters go on to cover Dorothy's successes and enthusiasms at boarding school and Oxford. As her writing career begins to develop there is a fascinating look at the publishing world from an author's perspective. Wimsey fans: there is a wealth of background on the novels and short stories. The letters to her lover John Cournos are the most poignant, and her ongoing interest in her son is a constant theme.

Sayers' letters are breezy, literate, and ninety-miles-per-hour. While the entire book is wildly quotable, I include just a few examples of her style.

To her former lover: "I kept your letter for a week before I read it, because I do so hate getting worked up--it's such headachey work going to the office after howling all night..."

To her publisher in London: "Having first assured myself that it was NOT your offices which the crane fell through last night (which might have seemed an ill omen, had it occurred), I proceed to enclose ..."

To her publisher cataloging the renovation of her flat: "The Cat is investigating the mysterious cavities between the joists of the flooring, with a view to getting nailed down under the floor, if possible ... I am trying to look ... like Dido building Carthage, and hoping (as I daresay she did) that the hammering will soon be over. Life is very wonderful. We are doing our best."

Dorothy L. Sayers: hard-working woman in a world designed for men, passionate about education and religion, a fine writer and an inspiring correspondent, challenged in her personal life. My respect for her and her work is enormous. If you are interested in learning more about this prodigious woman, you'll find a treasure trove in this first volume of her letters.

Linda Bulger, 2008

A Lady of Letters . . .
As Baroness P. D. James states in her preface to this engrossing book, "we have what is in effect an epistolary autobiography" of the young Dorothy L. Sayers, from age five to forty-three, when the authorbecame the household word that she is today. (Later letters comprise volumetwo.)

The earliest letters are sprinkled with references to poems, playsor short stories that she had written, in any-or all-of the four languagesat her command (English, French, German and Latin.) She fell madly in lovewith the theatre, not to mention the leading men of the era. Before shereached the age of thirteen, she had read (in the original French)TheThree Musketeers, and from that time on, referred to her familiy andassorted locations by their assigned names from the book. She took forherself the identity of Athos. At eighteen, her headmistress announced thatDorothy had come top in all England in the Cambridge Higher LocalExaminations with distinction in French and spoken German. The followingyear she entered Somerville College at Oxford.

Men as men didn't enterher life until she had completed Oxford. She fell in love only once, butthey couldn't marry due to multiple differences in values. Subsequently,she had a short-lived affair with another man, who was the father of heronly child, a son raised by Dorothy's cousin. Their roles were reversed inthe boy's life; the cousin was his 'Mum' and Dorothy his aunt.Not untilafter her death did the truth come out.

These letters bring to vivid lifethe enigma who was known world-wide as the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey,the perfect foil.She couldn't afford a luxurious flat, a Daimler, or anAxminster carpet; she could, however, provide them for Lord Peter. She madehim and his family and his possessions incredibly real for her millions ofreaders.

Any devotee of Lord Peter Wimsey will be exceedingly gratefulto Barbara Reynolds for her years of loving care in sorting through andediting these letters of one of the world's great novelists. We can butwait-patiently-for volume two, in order to learn how Dorothy wore herhard-earned and well-deserved fame. ... Read more

Product Description
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Medieval vision of the afterlife
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.Norton edition has great articles to help explain the work and is a great translation.The other great translation is by Mark Musa."The Divine Comedy" describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142).

Dante wrote the Comedy in his regional dialect.By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression, and simultaneously established the Tuscan dialect as the standard for Italian. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante.Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity).This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Readers often cannot understand how such a serious work may be called a "comedy".In Dante's time, all serious scholarly works were written in Latin (a tradition that would persist for several hundred years more, until the waning years of the Enlightenment) and works written in any other language were assumed to be comedic in nature.Furthermore, the word "comedy," in the classical sense, refers to works which reflect belief in an ordered universe, in which events not only tended towards a happy or "amusing" ending, but an ending influenced by a Providential will that orders all things to an ultimate good.By this meaning of the word, the progression of Dante's pilgrim from Hell to Paradise is the paradigmatic expression of comedy, since the work begins with the pilgrim's moral confusion and ends with the vision of God.

The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory: Each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternate meanings.Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the "Letter to Can Grande della Scala"), he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory (the historical, the moral, the literal, and the anagogical).The structure of the poem, likewise, is quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns arching throughout the work, particularly threes and nines.The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination.Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of "L'Inferno", allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety."

Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" added later in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar Italian language and not the Latin language as one might expect for such a serious topic.

Paradiso
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology.Dante admits that the vision of heaven he receives is the one that his human eyes permit him to see. Thus, the vision of heaven found in the Cantos is Dante's own personal vision, ambiguous in its true construction.The addition of a moral dimension means that a soul that has reached Paradise stops at the level applicable to it.Souls are allotted to the point of heaven that fits with their human ability to love God.Thus, there is a heavenly hierarchy. All parts of heaven are accessible to the heavenly soul.That is to say all experience God but there is a hierarchy in the sense that some souls are more spiritually developed than others.This is not determined by time or learning as such but by their proximity to God (how much they allow themselves to experience him above other things).It must be remembered in Dante's schema that all souls in Heaven are on some level always in contact with God.

Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.

Book is for the more theologically minded
The book is a classic, and for those who are willing to spend time going through the explanations that follow the poem's text, it's an interesting read.In his poem, Dante comments on church history, theological topics like free will and determinism, and makes what were then scandalous comments about how there was corruption within the papal system of the time.It's tough to read, but if you are patient and interested in allegory on purgatory, it's for you!

Terrific spiritual classic
After seeing Dante referred to by so many Christian authors over the years, I finally decided I'd better read this "timeless spiritual classic."I was expecting a dry, dull slog.
Fortunately, I consulted a friend who is a Classicist.I told him I wanted to read Dante for spiritual value, not just as great literature (I'm no poetry expert, nor do I speak a word of Italian).He recommended Dorothy Sayer's translation.
Wow.Reading Dante during Lent is one long, detailed examination of conscience!It is great, and Sayers' explanations and commentaries are terrific: erudite, informative, drily witty, and full of spiritual insight.

Poetry even for us monoglots
Let's begin with Dante. Called "the divine poet" (hence the adjective attached to his humbly titled Commedia), it is a difficult moniker to argue with, not because Dante is writing of heaven but because his imagery, his imagination, and his humility are true imitations of the creative activity of God. Dante is a sublime "sub-creator" to use the coinage of JRR Tolkien. If you can read theCommedia and not be moved to tears, one is tempted to doubt your humanity for Dante portrays the race in all its beauty and putridness and denies neither. He neither celebrates mankind's faculties and achievements beyond their due nor fears to recognize the vileness of which humans are capable.

And it is Canticle II, the poet's ascent through Purgatory, which stirs so deeply the soul and inspires the very penitence and hope of purgation which Dante describes there. One need not be a Roman Catholic or ascribe to Purgatory as doctrine in order to recognize and appreciate what Dante has done in describing the landscape of repentance and hope. (Being a Christian may help, but even on this point one suspects that the divine poet may well perform the function of evangelist, as well as exegete, and lead the searching soul to beatific vision of its own.) Clearly his purpose is not merely to describe what sinners of the past are doing in the afterlife to purify their souls for Paradise, but also to inspire his contemporary readers (who are, of course, yet living when the poem is published in 1321) to examine themselves just as the joyful penitents do on the cornices of Mount Purgatory. It is refreshing--a sort of glorious wound, the healing of which leaves one stronger and more whole than he had been before the hurt.

But what of the translation? We who do not (yet) enjoy the privilege of reading the Commedia in Italian must read the poem in translation--and there are plenty to choose from! Given its primacy among the works of Western Literature in the Middle Ages, the poem has been translated by everyone from Dryden and Pope to Allen Mandelbaum and John Ciardi. So first of all, without question one MUST insist on a verse translation! Prose translations can hardly suffice to communicate the rhythm and terseness of Dante's terza rima which is so integral to the poem. Nor can the majesty of the subject, the grandeur of the poet's climb toward Paradise with all its anticipation and awe be fully communicated in a prose rendering. How well various attempts at verse have succeeded in doing so is the big debate.

In this reviewer's humble opinion, Dorothy L Sayers has succeeded to a degree which surpasses any extant English translation. Are there occasional awkwardnesses? Yes. Is the literal meaning of some lines lost from time to time? Yes, but always for the sake of a gain in some other important respect and always with explanation. Sayers' is the only translation of note which manages to render in English the full terza rima rhyme scheme employed by Dante--and even that feat is worth a few awkward passages or archaisms, it seems to me. One feels much closer to the Divine Poet reading Sayers' translation aloud than, say, Ciardi's half-attempted rhymes, lucid as he can often be.

Whatever else you do, read the Commedia--all of it! It is rather unfortunate that it has become common practice to publish the poem in three volumes rather than presenting it as an integrated whole. Though the familiarity of many ends with Inferno, those who press on I suspect will love Purgatorio best (but fortunately one is not forced to choose), and I am confident readers will be well rewarded for reading Sayers' brilliant translation. One would be hard pressed to find a translator who was more passionate about her subject and who labored more lovingly and meticulously over her rendering of this beloved work than Dorothy L Sayers.

DOROTHY L. SAYERS' GENIUS GLOWS IN HER TRANSLATION OF THE COMMEDIA
This project was her dying effort after a lifetime of great achievements in scholarship and literature. She again proves her genius here with Dante, as in her translation of the Inferno, making an intelligent translation into her contemporary and scholarly English. Incredible achievement for a woman, the first to graduate from Oxford, who wrote treatises in THeology as well as the wonderful Lord Whimsey detective series.

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Product Description
This Halcyon Classics ebook WHOSE BODY? is by 20th century British detective writer Dorothy L. Sayers.Sayers (1893-1957) is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between World War I and World War II that feature English aristocrat and amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.She also composed poetry, essays, plays, and translated Dante's DIVINIA COMMEDIA (The Divine Comedy) into English.

In WHOSE BODY?, Sayers introduces the character of Lord Peter Wimsey.Lord Peter is intrigued by the sudden appearance of a naked body in the bath of an architect, and investigates. A noted financier has also gone missing under strange circumstances, and as the case progresses it becomes clear that the two events are linked in some way.The book establishes many of Wimsey's character traits - for example, his interest in rare books, the nervous problems associated with his wartime shell-shock, and his ambiguous feelings about catching criminals for a hobby - and also introduces many characters who recur in later novels, such as Parker, Bunter, Sugg, and the Dowager Duchess.

This ebook is DRM free and includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.
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