Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L Sayers

Published in 1935, Gaudy Night is a novel very much of its time, with some obscure language, class consciousness and assumed knowledge that is well and truly out of date. Nevertheless its central issue is timeless; the struggle for women’s equality and independence. It is somewhat depressing to realise how little progress has actually been made in 80-odd years. Ostensibly a detective story, the mystery takes second place to the developing relationship between writer Harriet Vane and detective Lord Peter Wimsey, ‘will she-won’t she?’ taking precedence over ‘whodunit?’. Ultimately the resolution of the romance is more satisfying than that of the crime, with more questions than answers remaining, including one of justice. It is difficult to imagine that Ms Sayers would have tolerated the number of typos that appear in this work, so yet again it must be noted the lamentable state of modern publishing with regard to proofreading and editing. Feminist credentials notwithstanding the novel serves as a rather extended ode to Oxford with too many (dull) quotations demonstrating the scholarship of the writer and the likely ignorance of the reader.