Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Monika Ščípová

The Great in Selected Works by Dorothy L. Sayers Bachelor‘s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: PhDr. Lidia Kyzlinková, CSc., M.Litt.

2013

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

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Author‘s signature

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my supervisor, PhDr. Lidia Kyzlinková, CSc., M.Litt., for her patient guidance, advice and encouragement. I would also like to express my gratitude to my family and friends who have supported me and without whom I would not have been able to finish my work.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ...... 2 2 Development of the Detective Story in Great Britain ...... 5 2.1 The Early Years ...... 5 2.2 The Golden Age ...... 8 3 Dorothy L. Sayers ...... 14 3.1 Education, Jobs, Relationships ...... 14 3.2 Writing Career and Wimsey ...... 16 4 Wimsey ...... 22 4.1 Introducing the ...... 22 4.2 The Evolution of the Detective ...... 29 4.2.1 Visual Appearance ...... 29 4.2.2 Personal Characteristic ...... 31 4.2.3 The Great Detective ...... 33 5 Conclusion ...... 38 Works Cited...... 41 Primary Sources ...... 41 Secondary Sources ...... 41 Resumé ...... 44 Résumé ...... 45

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1 Introduction

Detective fiction is one of the most popular literary genres in the present days and deals with various significant issues which have been objects of many scholarly researches throughout the years. The Great Britain introduced the first detective stories in the second half of the nineteenth century and reached the

Golden Age in the period of the 1920s and 1930s, which this thesis puts its main focus on. One of the main contributors to the Golden Age of the Detective

Fiction was Dorothy L. Sayers introducing her most popular detective character,

Lord Peter Wimsey, in Whose Body? (1923), and promoting him to a Great

Detective in her later novels, such as her masterpiece, Murder Must Advertise

(1933).

This thesis discusses various aspects of the genre of detective story, pointing out special contribution of Dorothy L. Sayers to it. Also, it considers her personal life and writing career, showing some features typical for her style of writing. The thesis focuses mainly on analysing the character of Sayers‘ Great

Detective, connecting him to other popular Great of the Great

Britain, and pointing out the evolutionary changes in his behaviour throughout the two novels consulted, gradually making him a role model for a typical

British .

The first chapter deals with the development of the detective story writing, analysing it through the most inspiring writers at the creation of the genre. Here, an overview of three detective characters is given; ‘s

Walter Hartright, G.K. Chesterton‘s Father Brown, and Sir ‘s

Sherlock Holmes. Later, the Golden Age of is introduced, where

2 mostly British woman writers dominated; among these was with one of her Great Detectives – and Dorothy L. Sayers with Lord

Peter Wimsey. The chapter provides a brief comparison of all these investigators of crime, accentuating the personality of Wimsey, and Sayers‘s position among these writers. Two other representatives of the Golden Age

Detective Fiction, and , are also briefly mentioned.

The next chapter is devoted to Sayers‘s biography; it mentions her education, various professions and relationships with men. These and other situations in her personal life are linked to the creation of her Great Detective, who also shares some life experience with her, such as living during the First

World War. This chapter also reveals the individuality of Sayers‘s writing which provides the development of detective fiction by going against certain standards of writing in that period of time; in particular, making the characters of her novels at least equally interesting as the plot. The intensity of her style of writing justifies her position among the most influential authors in the Golden

Age of detective fiction.

The main and final chapter focuses on the appearance and personality of

Sayers‘s most known , and examines the growth of this character between the two novels discussed in this work. In the early book, he is constructed out of idealistic and rather conventional elements, whereas in the later book, the transformation of this Great Detective into a much more serious figure, present in the second book mentioned, has been observed. Wimsey‘s strong skills as a detective are also analysed, always supporting his aristocratic

3 background. The way he investigates, uncovers the mystery and handles the people involved with the case is explored as well, considering both of the novels examined. Moreover, there is a preview of other characters which are frequently engaged in the investigation with Wimsey, and the often changing relationship between him and these characters is illustrated.

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2 Development of the Detective Story in

Great Britain

2.1 The Early Years

Detective fiction in Britain developed from the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century and introduced many characters of the

Great Detective with differences in their behaviour, distinctive methods and collaboration with certain companions. Also, a diversity of the environment in which the detectives solve their cases, as well as different social strata, in which they work, have been considered since the very beginning of the genre through the Golden Age, until the present days. Although this literary genre did not seem that significant to scholars and literary critics at first, it was subsequently revealed that detective stories represent a very peculiar and unique genre.

There are a number of subgenres of detective fiction, such as whodunit, which seemed to be the most common one in Britain, hard-boiled fiction, connected with American , historical crime fiction, crime thriller, etc. The early development of the detective story in Britain is usually connected with authors such as Wilkie Collins, G.K. Chesterton and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The The Woman in White (1859) by Wilkie Collins is generally considered a predecessor of a typical detective novel and is often even classified as a detective novel, comprehending many features typical of the genre. Its hero, Walter Hartright, holds some of the characteristics important for a detective in the classical detective story and some later crime books as

5 well. Also, Hartright preserves a mystery of his own throughout the story; his secret love for Laura, not expressed, however, right away out of ―propriety‖, by which his character is strongly influenced; ―Hartright behaves correctly during the remainder of his abbreviated stay at Limmeridge House, though his heart is under cruel ‗restraint‘‖ (Meckier 112). This characteristic also interferes with his research methods and deducing skills in some respect, since he believes it would be improper to wear a disguise while investigating the crimes of Sir

Percival. On the contrary, the character of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock

Holmes, does not use any direct form of disguise but is in hiding and investigates in private most of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901), which is still considered a classic among detective stories and many characters of the

Great Detective follow the example of in many ways. In G.K.

Chesterton‘s The Blue Cross (1910), the disguise is actually used in reverse, where the criminal is masked, in order to keep the reader in the dark and distracted from him almost until the complete resolution of the story. The detective character of Father Brown, however, investigates in private, too, by letting the reader, as well as the seemingly inspecting officer, believe he is being outwitted by the criminal.

The diversity of investigative methods of the different individualities has been in some respect connected to their personalities from the beginning. For instance, in Sherlock Holmes‘s case, the ―bizarre crime is not only conceived with ingenuity, it exudes the mystery and horror of the supernatural‖ (Kissane and Kissane 353). But while even some educated and reasonable men start to doubt their own minds and begin to believe in a ghost-hound murderer,

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Holmes, together with his investigating partner Dr. Watson, always knows there must be something else behind the case, despite not knowing any details by then. According to Kissane and Kissane, Doyle uses this to ―dramatize the struggle of scientific reason against superstition and irrationality‖ (355). Being one step ahead of everyone, especially of the reader, is an exemplary attribute of any good detective character, present in all of these early novels, and preserved in the later years, as well. Their thoughts could be sometimes hard to follow, leaving their partners, as well as the reader, rather confused. Still, these helpers or assistants are always loyal and faithfully follow the instructions of their prominent associate. Father Brown, for instance, is seemingly aware of all aspects of the case since the beginning; when the police , seeking the criminal, is following them both, Brown ―has already outwitted the criminal and changed his own role from that of victim to manipulator‖ (Hayes and Tololyan

398), proving his masterful nature. Furthermore, Sherlock Holmes is unwilling to tell anyone about his full plans and works on the case secretly, proving his unique intelligence and ability to solve most of the case by himself.

The use of partners, or getting help with the investigation, changes within the novels. In the first detective stories, the sleuths are mostly working on their own, relying just on themselves, as it is with Walter Hartright and

Father Brown. This shows the authority and independence of the detective characters, however, with the gain of a companion, the character is given a contrasting personality to help him deal with the crime from a different, more ordinary perspective than his genius mind does. For instance, Dr. Watson is rather impulsive, ―a man of action‖, with the instinct ―always to do something

7 energetic‖, and wants to arrest the suspect immediately (Doyle, 160), whereas

Holmes is more patient, calm and waiting for the right moment. Besides, the partner is usually at a comparable level of understanding of the case as the reader, keeping the reader more eager to uncover the mystery while the Great

Detective is already familiar with most of its vital clues.

2.2 The Golden Age

Between the First and the Second World Wars, murder mysteries became more popular and the era is now known as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Most prominent British authors of detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s were

Agatha Christie with her most popular detective character, Hercule Poirot, and

Dorothy L. Sayers with Lord Peter Wimsey. The beginning of this era is mainly connected to Christie‘s Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), where she introduces her Great detective. Additional interesting women writers, who represented the genre from the 1930s, were Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh, whose Great

Detectives shared some attributes with Wimsey. This period introduced many changes in the detective fiction in comparison to the early stories, but some model aspects of the genre were preserved.

Hercule Poirot, despite being written in the Sherlock Holmes tradition, is a much more conventional character than Holmes is, displayed as a little foreigner with a funny appearance but serious expression. His looks are best described by his good friend Hastings: ―He was hardly more than five feet, four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of

8 an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military‖ (Christie 14). For him the most important part of investigation is getting people to talk and gathering all pieces of information from them, even those seemingly unrelated to the case at first. He uses the method of being a confessor to the possible suspects, often referring to himself as ―Papa Poirot‖, helping to earn their trust, sometimes even lying to get confidence of other characters. In addition, he often tries being deliberately underestimated by the people around the case, using this as an advantage, so that the potential criminal does not suspect him of knowing too much. When missing a little detail while investigating, he calls himself a ―miserable animal‖, who has ―behaved like an imbecile‖, and rushes ―like a madman from the room‖, leaving others in confusion (Christie 54). The other prominent detective character of these years,

Lord Peter Wimsey, also relies strongly on talking to the people connected to the case, his main goal being an effort of blending in; in Murder Must Advertise, he actually begins to work for the advertising agency to get a proper insight into the case. He explains himself how his acquaintance recommended him there to reveal the crime: ―Why not get somebody in to investigate it, and he said, Who? So she said she knew somebody—not mentioning my name, you see—and he said would she ask me to buzz along, so I buzzed and there I am‖

(Sayers, MMA 81).

Furthermore, the feature of politeness and proper behaviour, typical of the British, and presented in the early detective novels, for example in the speech of Sherlock Holmes: ―At ten o'clock to-morrow, Dr. Mortimer, I will be much obliged to you if you will call upon me here, and it will be of help to me in

9 my plans for the future if you will bring Sir Henry Baskerville with you‖ (Doyle,

38). These manners is present with the Belgian detective, too; Poirot always shows respect to people involved with the case and when revealing the mystery at the end of the novel, he patiently explains all the clues and factors of the mystery to the family members gathered in one place.

The use of partners in detective stories develops in the Golden Age as well. It becomes more common for the investigator not to work on the case alone. For example, the companion of Hercule Poirot, the ―intent, if slower- witted‖ Hastings ―does not reason as acutely‖, and the Great Detective by his side ―always seizes the solution long before Hastings can recall what simple observation he made which enabled Poirot to see everything so clearly‖

(Hardesty 37). Lord Peter, on the other hand, does not have any particular sidekick accompanying him throughout the novels in which he figures, however, he often discusses the case with various family members, for example with

Detective Inspector Charles Parker, who eventually becomes his brother-in-law, the most consulted partner in the stories, or his manservant, Mervyn Bunter, in some cases.

The narrative techniques of the later novels differ considerably, especially contrasting to Collins‘s The Woman in White, which is written as a ―series of documents which have been put in their present order for a specific purpose‖ and the character of Hartright ―explains the rationale of the arrangement‖ of these narratives of the different participants in the case as

―answering to immediacy and continuity‖ (Kendrick 24). Similarly to Doyle‘s The

Hound of the Baskervilles, written fully in the first-person narrative of Dr.

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Watson, Agatha Christie also uses Hastings to narrate her story, which serves as a balance to the detective character and as a surrogate for the reader. John

Scaggs describes this narrative technique in his work as contrasting ―to the abilities of the detective, emphasising in the detective‘s genius a difference in degree, rather than a difference in kind‖ (21). By contrast, the above mentioned The Blue Cross and Murder Must Advertise are both written in the third-person narrative, as is the second Sayers‘s novel discussed, where the narrator is omniscient and reveals facts to the reader gradually, though not forgetting to express the dominion of the Great Detective over the case.

This authority of the detective over the partner and the reader is still typical in the Golden Age novels. The stories traditionally contain a lot of clues and misleading tracks, and are supposed to be an intellectual game for the reader. As Molander interprets, ―the early detective fiction did not put as much emphasis on character and characterization‖, leaving the plot almost always dominant (43). Together with Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot takes the aspect of the detective‘s control over the case to the most extreme level by concealing relevant facts about the case even from his own companion, either as a test, or, to make sure nothing is revealed before it is absolutely clear. On the other hand, Lord Peter Wimsey chooses different characters in the novel to help him with different pieces of clues, confiding in them with a certain aspect, though still not telling the whole truth to anyone.

Another interesting aspect is the detective‘s background and the conditions in which he lives and works. The early detective stories portray, for example, Walter Hartright, a young poor artist who ends up investigating

11 injustice after meeting a mysterious woman, or, Father Brown, a Catholic priest who ends up solving a mysterious crime incidentally using his wits and instincts.

On the other hand, Sherlock Holmes is presented to the reader as professional , accenting his experience and seriousness in the process of inquiry. Although serious and professional, too, the detective protagonists of the Golden Age do not necessarily have the qualified detective manners at first;

Hercule Poirot is already retired from this profession in the first book of his appearance, whereas Lord Peter gradually evolves from an amateur into an experienced and acknowledged investigator. This background might also lead to a certain preference of a specific environment in which the detectives work; it was typical of these puzzles to take place in closed settings like a locked room or a city apartment. Hercule Poirot, for example tends to solve crimes in the

English countryside and usually within one particular family, while Sherlock

Holmes works in the middle of , although also travelling to the outlands on account of his case. Lord Peter is a city-based investigator as well; in Murder

Must Advertise he works in a company of spiteful and jealous co-workers of a prominent advertising agency.

As Trodd notices, detective fiction was a ―genre associated specifically with women writers and readers‖ in the Golden Age (129). Together with

Christie and Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh, who started dominating the genre in the 1930s, are often called ―the sanctified English

Queens of Crime‖. Allingham introduced her Great Detective, , in

The Crime at Black Dudley (1929) as a ―lank, pale, fair-haired, spectacled‖ man giving the impression of being ―well-bred and a trifle absent minded‖ (Symons

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129-130). These characteristics make him similar to Lord Peter Wimsey, and

Trodd sees this as a ―problem of distinguishing yet another eccentric and effeminate detective‖ (135). Marsh then presents the character of Roderick

Alleyn as a Yard inspector, who is a professional detective, but shares his ―Oxford education, discriminating literary tastes‖, and other features with

Wimsey (Trodd 135).

In general, the Golden Age of Detective Fiction in Great Britain provided a number of significant works of fiction which presented some of the most remembered detective characters of all time. One of these is indisputably the character of Dorothy L. Sayers, who, in contrast to other of the writers mentioned, ―had a relatively short career as a writer of detective fiction, but she created a persona who continues to captivate readers and to attract followers‖

(McManis 319). Furthermore, Lord Peter Wimsey now serves as an of the English gentleman detective.

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3 Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy Leigh Sayers was born in 1893 in Oxford to Helen Mary Sayers and Rev. Henry Sayers, who was a director of Christchurch Cathedral Choir

School at the time. The family later moved to less prestigious places, where

Sayers felt isolated and did not have many friends of her own age. As Williams points out, ―her most intense relationships were with books, not people‖ (80).

She studied languages quite easily, even at a young age; mostly learning Latin and French under the supervision of her father and governess. She said that the knowledge of Latin could be very useful for her and would place her in a superior position compared to her mother and aunt (Hitchman 9). This displays her early pro-feminist views which she developed in later years and reflected in some of her works.

3.1 Education, Jobs, Relationships

Sayers started her official education at a boarding school in Salisbury, where she excelled in the academic part of her life, and was appointed a house prefect, but was not very popular among other students for not having enough social skills. Her incredible talent for languages was appreciated when she started studying medieval literature and modern languages at the Oxford women‘s college in Sommerville after winning a scholarship in 1912. There had extraordinary academic results, graduating ―as first woman with first class honours in modern languages‖ in 1915 (Göpffarth 4). Only a year after that she got her first poetry volume, called OP I (1916), published. In 1920, Sayers also

14 became one of the first women to be granted an M.A. degree. McGregor and

Lewis comment on her abilities with language:

At Oxford, Sayers received an unparalleled education in language

and never betrayed its dictums. She loved to play with language

and to experiment with idiom, with point of view, and with the

problem of revealing a character‘s thoughts in contrast to his or

her expressed words. (7)

After her studies she became a teacher in Hull, but this work was not satisfying for her, so she continued writing poetry, mostly influenced by her religious upbringing. She was raised in the traditionally Anglican church with emphasis on doctrine. In her adolescence, though still a member of the Church of England, she adopted ―her own unconventional way‖ of religion; she saw

Christianity as ―a dramatic, exciting world-view, but not a tame and pious one‖

(Williams 81).

After teaching she joined Blackwell‘s, a publishing company in Oxford, and later tried out copywriting in an advertising agency, Benson's, in London, providing her with useful experience of advertising, which she used in one of her most famous mysteries, Murder Must Advertise. She stayed at the agency for seven years and enjoyed the job, however according to Williams, a character most resembling herself in Murder Must Advertise does not present the job as something she would consider appropriate: ―My sort make nothing.

We exploit other people‘s folly, take the cash and sneer at the folly. It‘s not admirable‖ (83). During the time working there she published her first novel,

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Whose Body?, where she introduced her distinguished character of Lord Peter

Wimsey.

She had a few relationships with men, one of them being a writer John

Cournos, who, however, refused to commit to marriage, so Sayers decided to end it. Afterwards she had a short affair with a motorcyclist, Bill White, even though she was primarily interested in serious commitments. An illegitimate son

Anthony was born out of this relationship in 1924, but she kept her pregnancy a secret and let her cousin, Ivy Shrimpton, bring him up, however, Liukkonen indicates that Sayers was very interested in his life and adopted him informally with her husband later. Still, but it was never officially known he was her son; this fact was revealed only sixteen years after her death (Williams 82).

In 1926 Sayers got married to a journalist, Captain Oswald Arthur ‗Mac‘

Fleming in a registry office, because of Mac‘s previous divorce, restraining herself from her religious principles. After some years, Mac became unable to work properly because of his injuries from the war. Moreover, he grew jealous of his wife‘s growing popularity, causing him to drink a lot. She claims none of the men in her life gave her inspiration while creating Wimsey, although readers and scholars tend to find a connection between the fictional character and her close friend from Oxford, Eric Whelpton. In 1957, Sayers died unexpectedly of a heart failure.

3.2 Writing Career and Wimsey Novels

During her life, Dorothy L. Sayers was always very close to literature, both reading and writing. Hitchman points out that ―she had read every book in

16 the house, as well as the novelettes and adventure stories borrowed from the servants‖ (11). When it comes to writing, she started off with poetry even before starting school; however, she became most well-known for her mystery thriller novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. After the first book of the series,

Whose Body?, she published 10 more novels and 21 short stories where this exceptional amateur sleuth of aristocratic origin solved a number of the most baffling mysteries. Many literary critics agree that these novels are much more interesting than the short stories, causing them also to be more memorable.

―Knowing that the English love lord, she created a titled sleuth, Lord Peter

Wimsey, although she had absolutely no personal experience of aristocrats‖, considering that she herself came from a middle-class family (Williams 81).

Additionally, as mentioned earlier, she is also considered having early pro- feminist views, which could also have lead her into making Lord Peter such a gentleman, who is generally considerate of women.

All her novels are written in the time between the two world wars, and her professional life was influenced by the First World War more than the personal one; after having lost her job in 1919, she decided to write thrillers to make some money, heavily influenced by G.K. Chesterton and his writing. Later in her life, she moved to France after the First World War to work there for a year. McGregor and Lewis see her presence in France as an ―escape from the bonds of Victorian gender roles: she was unescorted, working assistant to a young scholar whom she wished to love‖ (1). Another important writer who served as an example to Sayers was Wilkie Collins; she believed he was able to make the detective novels also novels of manners. As she ―was frustrated with

17 the formulaic nature of the detective novel and its detachment from reality‖

(Connelly 36), she also tried to follow Collins in accomplishing this in her writing, combining the entertaining factor of the stories with creating solid individualities. She was then able to create plots which would ―reflect the real world, however romantically she distorted it‖ (McManis 329), making this her distinguishing writing style. Molander claims, that while writing, she tried to let

―real human beings into a detective story‖, though it was not a simple task.

(41)

Her debut among detective novels, for instance, although being constructed as a standard puzzle, also contains interesting characters, giving the reader a notion of some social issues in England at the time. James comments on these social and economic changes after the First World War:

―These included the growth of circulating libraries‖, also ―greater leisure, particularly for women, a larger educated reading public which demanded books which were exciting and entertaining, and an increase in general prosperity‖ which made the ―affordable forms of escapist literature‖ very popular among people at the time (6). The structure of Sayers‘s typical novel then also contains lengthy speculations and challenges the reader, as both of the novels explored testify. Sometimes the ―attention to the nuances of behavior‖ would be so strong that the reader of Sayers‘s novels was ―almost glancing over the fact that a violent crime is the reason for its plot‖ (Dale 147), which also helped promoting the genre among more people. While renovating the genre, however, she was rather conflicted: By joining the Detection Club in

1930, ―Sayers had sworn to remain within the established boundaries of her

18 chosen genre‖ (Connelly 35). Among these boundaries, which are demonstrated by Symons, was a norm in which the characters were not supposed to be described in any depth, no kind of emotion was advised as this would take the interest away from the plot itself (108). Still, she managed to become special among other writers of murder mystery novels, where the plot used to be the crucial part and characters were often shallow, without any deep portrayal.

Sayers managed to create an exception to this in Wimsey. Comparing her to another influential writer of the Golden Age, McManis observes:

Sayers shared many characteristics of the mystery genre with

Dame Agatha but had a different prose style. Sayers was more

concerned with how a crime was committed than why it was

committed. She created a master detective, ingenious in his

solutions of baffling mysteries, be they violent crimes or lesser

illegal happenings. (329)

The readers of Sayers‘s writing either appreciated it or disregarded it, and the people who supported her usually split into either loving her religious writing or the detective writing; many of the fans of her theological books claimed she only wrote mystery novels to earn money. Nevertheless, as

Hitchman outlines, Sayers only tried to promote the genre with the ambition ―to make the mystery story a thing of literary art, something which no don, philosopher or bishop would be ashamed to be found reading‖, and quoted

Sayers herself, who enjoyed writing about the detective: ―There is not only a trick but a ‗craft‘ of writing mystery stories. It does give just that curious

19 satisfaction which the exercise of cunning craftsmanship always gives to the worker. It is almost as satisfying as working with one‘s hands‖ (Hitchman 65-6).

Despite being generally very popular with the reading audience, Lord

Peter Wimsey started to annoy his creator after a while, and Sayers intended to remove him from the mystery fiction world by marriage for some time before actually doing it in Busman‘s Honeymoon in 1937. This meant bringing the adventures of the beloved Great Detective to an end, but enabled Sayers to improve in different kinds of writing. First of all, presenting her last Wimsey novel on stage strengthened her interest in playwriting and she eventually wrote eight more plays. The Dorothy L Sayers Society implies that while writing full time she rose to be the doyen of crime writers and in due course president of the Detection Club. By this she remained connected to the world of detective stories writing; cooperating with other members of the Club on some novels, for instance. Furthermore, she wrote a series of short detective stories featuring her other amateur sleuth Montague Egg. She spent all of her free time writing: ―She broadcast and wrote about theology, the war, and the position of women; her views ranging from the thoughtful to the simply silly‖

(Williams 83).

For her religious writing she was also offered an honorary Doctorate of

Divinity in 1943, but refused. The most considerable works she created in this area were The Mind of the Maker, which concerns the subject of creativity in the light of Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and The Man Born To Be King, a series of radio plays on Jesus‘s life. The Biography Base states that in 1950

20 she was offered another honorary doctorate in literature from the University of

Durham, which she accepted.

In addition to writing, Sayers dedicated a lot of her time and energy into translation. After discovering Dante in 1944, she became fascinated with his writing and taught herself old Italian so that she could translate his epic poem,

Divina Commedia. Despite being unable to finish the third volume before her unexpected death, her translation of this piece is considered her best work. Her friend Dr Barbara Reynolds then decided to complete her work. On the other hand, the press criticised her decision to start translating for ―turning up from popular fiction to take up a pretentious high-browism‖, to which she responded:

―I am going on from where I began, after twenty years at the money-making mill of fiction‖ (Hitchman 159). She also translated the Song of Roland from old

French.

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4 Lord Peter Wimsey

4.1 Introducing the Character

A young man with aristocratic background and the hobby of detective investigation is introduced in Whose Body?, the first in the series of eleven books by Dorothy L. Sayers, which include the presence of Lord Peter Wimsey.

The first novel gives the reader a preview of the character‘s appearance, personality and methods of investigation. Generally, Wimsey is illustrated as a

―brooding amateur detective, aristocratic man of fashion, talented musician and intellectual, wealthy collector of first editions‖ who, throughout the later novels, becomes ―a recognizable man to legions of readers throughout the western world‖ (McGregor and Lewis 1).

It is visible Sayers considered the current course of events around her, as well as her own life, while forming the character; in fact, both of her novels selected ―are saturated with references to her times and are, in a way, documents of them‖ (Kenney 111). For instance, the First World War had just ended when she started the creation of Lord Peter, whose direct participation in it influenced his life, too, therefore being mentioned in Whose Body?, as well as some other of the Wimsey novels, as for example explored by McGregor and

Lewis; they state that ―the war in some way affects behaviors in every one of the Sayers novels. At times its effect is on Peter himself, as he displays the aftereffects of shell shock‖ (204). His mother, Honoria Lucasta, mostly referred

22 to as the Dowager Duchess, speaks about the effects of the war on him in the novel:

Peter always did have nightmares when he was quite a little boy—

though very often of course it was only a little pill he wanted; but

he was so dreadfully bad in 1918, you know, and I suppose we

can't expect to forget all about a great war in a year or two, and,

really, I ought to be very thankful with both my boys safe.

(Sayers, WB 135)

Additionally, both the author and her creation were born between the Victorian era and the inter-war world, helping Wimsey to ―comprehend the changing

British culture‖ and therefore growing as a character during the progress of his appearance in the novels, ―reflecting the developing subtleties of his creator‘s enhanced understanding of her world. In the end, Wimsey was a most reflective man‖ (McGregor and Lewis 2). The character‘s name, too, is very adequate; not only is it a sign of Lord Peter‘s playful impulsiveness, which characterizes him, but also an ―expression of Sayers‘s whimsy‖ (Dale 37).

According to Hitchman, ―Wimsey was something of an anachronism when he was created‖ (76), considering the economic situation in England at the time; when comparing his family to the American millionaire Milligan, Lord Peter declares: ―we've none of us any money—not what you'd call money‖ (Sayers,

WB 65). Still, compared to the rest of England, Hitchman sees Wimsey as having ―sufficient funds from undisclosed sources to indulge his eccentricities and hobbies, including playing a detective‖ (76).

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At first, it might seem Lord Peter really is not taking the investigating hobby seriously, and also his mother has a distinctive opinion about it: ―The

Duchess was always of the greatest assistance to his hobby of criminal investigation, though she never alluded to it, and maintained a polite fiction of its non-existence (Sayers, WB 11). She does not think of him as a detective yet, even though the mystery dealt with in the first of Sayers‘s novels is ―far from being Wimsey‘s first case‖, and ―he has already undertaken enough major investigations to acquire close friends and bitter enemies among the official police‖ (McGregor and Lewis 10). Nevertheless, investigating is not the only thing on his mind; besides that, he is a passionate collector of original book editions and as he states himself, ―it‘s a dreadful mistake to ride two hobbies at once‖ (Sayers, WB 13). This reading interest of his is also shared with Sayers; like her, Wimsey is a scholar and his familiarity with popular literature is expressed by frequent quoting of classical literature. In Whose Body?, there are several references to literary classics quoted by Wimsey; for example ―O Sugg,

Sugg, how art thou Suggified!‖ (39), refers to ―O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!‖ in Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scene IV), or ―Where

Alph, the sacred river, ran…‖ (128), is a citation from Samuel Taylor Coleridge‘s

Kubla Khan.

The looks of the character examined are described as quite ordinary.

Sayers portrays Wimsey as a ―typical aristocrat‖, not having ―any pretentious good looks‖, being ―spoilt by a long, narrow chin, and long receding forehead, accentuated by the brushed-back sleekness of his tow-coloured hair‖, with

―long and muscular fingers‖ and ―rather hard grey eyes‖, (WB 37). The

24 appropriate clothing is also an important factor of Wimsey‘s characteristic appearance. In Whose Body?, quite long passages are dedicated to the choice of the right clothes, which does not only represent his personal taste, but also illustrate him as a proper detective:

Can I have the heart to fluster the flustered Thipps further - that's

very difficult to say quickly - by appearing in a top-hat and a

frock-coat? I think not. Ten to one he will overlook my trousers

and mistake me for an undertaker. A grey suit, I fancy, neat but

not gaudy, with a hat to tone, suits my other self better. Exit the

amateur of the first editions; new motive introduced by solo

bassoon, enter Sherlock Holmes, disguised as a walking

gentleman. (Sayers, WB 5)

Also, he often wears a monocle, which accents his gentleman-like features and makes him look more serious in his work, although according to Symons, it emphasizes his ―immensely snobbish loving seriousness‖ (114).

His actions, though, are more relevant than his looks; throughout the first novel discussed, Wimsey appears to be quite distracted and absent-minded on some occasions. His behaviour, often seemingly confused, could be the result of his genius mind working faster than with other people. There are long passages in Whose Body? with Lord Peter speaking about facts he has noticed about the case, repeatedly even speaking of more than one thing at once, making it quite hard for the people around him, as well as the reader, to follow his train of thoughts.

25

‗It's not an old chain — hardly worn at all. Oh, thanks, Bunter.

Now, see here, Parker, these are the finger-marks you noticed

yesterday on the window-sash and on the far edge of the bath. I'd

overlooked them; I give you full credit for the discovery, I crawl, I

grovel, my name is Watson, and you need not say what you were

just going to say, because I admit it all. Now we shall — Hullo,

hullo, hullo!‘ (Sayers, WB 50)

Still, he is very devoted to investigation and excited about crime;

―Parker, I hope you‘re full of crime – nothing less than arson or murder will do for us tonight‖ (Sayers, WB 21). He even shows his admiration for the criminal to Parker: ―…we're up against a criminal—the criminal – the real artist and blighter with imagination – real, artistic, finished stuff. I‘m enjoying this, Parker‖

(Sayers, WB 35). This devotion is accented by his extraordinary detecting skills; from the very beginning Lord Peter shows the ability to notice important details which others have missed. Parker observes this fact and comments: ―That‘s the sort of question you would ask, straight off; it took me an hour to think of it‖

(Sayers, WB 26). Even though he always seems to be the first one to anticipate the importance of particular clues, in Whose Body?, he still asks for Parker‘s opinion, despite already knowing almost everything, and then he simply states:

―Well, I think you‘ve got most of the points‖ (32). The detective methods of

Lord Peter Wimsey also include the use of various useful gadgets; for example his stick which contains a measurer, a sword and a compass, or an electric torch disguised as a matchbox.

26

The language expressions Wimsey uses do not seem to correspond with the proper gentlemanly behaviour at first. With the two very first words of

Whose Body? being ―Oh damn!‖, one can see that this polite nobleman can also be quite rude at times (9). Likewise, his examination of the body without any permission is judged as ―unwarrantable interference‖ by Suggs, a fellow police officer, to whom Wimsey refers to as ―a beautiful, braying ass‖ at one point

(Sayers, WB 24, 25). Moreover, the language he uses does not always relate to the aristocratic manners of his high-class status, and rather reflects the verbal expressions of some citizens of the working class. One can indicate Wimsey seems to be a very eccentric lord, or at the same time a master of camouflage, able to maintain any kind of language to appear closer to the people he interrogated.

Furthermore, Lord Peter‘s interactions with other characters in the introductory detective story are slightly different from the later novel selected; he often does not let other people speak, trying to shadow them with his wits.

McGregor and Lewis remark that ―Peter Wimsey is a dashed clever fellow, but he must take care to avoid his most common failing: trying to be too clever‖

(178). In addition, Kenney argues that the initial , Sir Julian Freke, is

―Sayers‘s most despicable ‖, and his only flaw is being ―one-dimensional‖

(109-110). Wimsey himself sees him as a man who ―likes crime‖ and ―gloats over a hardened murderer‖ (Sayers, WB 159). When examining him closely, he can see ―a man taller than himself‖, with ―impassioned and inhuman face‖, and

―fanatical, compelling eyes‖ (Sayers, WB 166), suggesting a real threat to the genius detective, because of his brilliant, while also insane, mind. Freke is truly

27 aware of his intelligence and after killing himself, he wants his body to be given to his hospital for dissection, ―I feel sure that my brain will be of interest to the scientific world‖ (Sayers, WB 195).

The novel also introduces the character of Bunter, a loyal manservant, whom his Lord treats very fairly, thus breaking the traditions of strict class distinctions. Lord Peter appreciates Bunter‘s contribution to his life, and his reasonable opinions about the case; he asks him to ―stop fiddling about‖ and

―join the merry throng‖, while discussing the initial clues (Sayers, WB 25).

Bunter, reciprocally, addresses his master with nothing but respect and stands by him constantly, appreciating the fact he is being treated equally on some levels of their relationship. Still, the difference in his position is explicit in Whose

Body?; when wishing for something from Lord Peter, he refrains from asking directly and does not forget to mention that ―[his] lordship is so good‖ (Sayers

WB, 21), for giving him the opportunity to buy something for himself. This character develops even throughout the first of the novels analysed, to the position of an assistant detective, and his advanced photographic skills and bright deductions help Lord Peter a lot. Symons points out the resemblance of

Bunter to Wodehouse‘s character of Jeeves, who is also a manservant with similar relationship with his master; Sayers imitates Wodehouse‘s protagonists to a considerable extent, in the language, relationship and comic manners (114-

115).

28

4.2 The Evolution of the Detective

The character introduced in the first novel and described in the subchapter above, however, matures radically as a person, and also as a detective throughout Sayers‘s following detective novels. For example, in

Murder Must Advertise, considered one of the most noticeable of her works, the reader can clearly observe this evolution, which contributes Lord Peter Wimsey to become one of the most renowned representatives of Great Detectives of all times. Dale comments on this as a development of the ―persona of Lord Peter himself, who is portrayed at the beginning of the canon as a caricature of an

English gentleman, but who grows into a well-defined human being with a complex inner life and all the ambiguities of a complex personality‖ (147). The second of the books analysed also presents Lord Peter in a different environment than before; as Wimsey manages to reveal a murder and drug dealing in a prominent advertising agency, disguised as a new employee, and his approach to different personal and professional situations which occur there.

4.2.1 Visual Appearance

First of all, the appearance of Lord Peter is described rather briefly and similarly in Murder Must Advertise; the first remark by a woman working with him is quite short but eloquent: ―Tow-coloured, supercilious-looking blighter. I ran into him coming out of Pymmie‘s room yesterday. Horn-rims‖ (Sayers, MMA

2). Nevertheless, the importance of nice clothes is further inspected in this novel and the way he is dressed seems to be the fundamental element of his image, at least this is more frequently discussed than the features of his face

29 and figure. As Lord Peter‘s colleagues observe: ―his shirts are simply too marvellous. He won‘t be able to keep that up on Pym‘s salary, bonus or no bonus. Or the silk socks either‖ (MMA, 28). Being dressed too well can be unusual for a copywriter and might suggest that he did not come to the advertising agency because of the money reasons. But in this case, the long economic crisis, present in England during that time, is of help to Lord Peter: one of the typists thinks of him as ―one of the new poor‖, who ―lost all his money in the slump or something‖ (Sayers, MMA 28). McGregor and Lewis also observe this fact:

Passing himself off as an educated man willing to work for four

pounds a week, he forgets to dress accordingly, showing up in silk

socks and a Saville Row suit. The typists attribute this suspicious

circumstance to the cruel effects of the slump; obviously Mr.

Death Bredon was a wealthy man who had lost all his money. He

would be one more among thousands. (157)

Moreover, his knowledge of style, which he possessed since the first book, becomes really useful for him. In Murder Must Advertise, for instance, he finds a person with the ability of identifying the man who made his hat: ―There are two hatters in London who could have made this hat, and you have doubtless already observed that the crown is markedly dolichocephalic, while the curve of the brim is also characteristic‖ (Sayers, MMA 290-291).

30

4.2.2 Personal Characteristics

More focus is, however, put on the personality of Lord Peter Wimsey, whose behaviour is always very noble and polite. His co-workers in Murder Must

Advertise notice that ―he‘s got beautiful manners‖ and that ―he pays his tea-bill like a little gentleman‖ (29). By Scaggs, he is also seen as ―cultured‖ and

―aristocratic‖, but also ―slightly distracted‖, which remains a common factor from the first novel mentioned (26). When describing himself, he recognizes:

―Well, I suppose I‘m naturally inquisitive. I always like to know about people‖

(Sayers, MMA 60), which is an essential attribute of a good detective, and might also justify his inquisitive questions in front of the characters which are not aware of his true identity. Likewise, he is described to have ―the curiosity of a baby elephant‖ (Sayers, MMA 38), so becoming a detective was probably quite natural for him. Another great hobby of his book collecting is not mentioned in Murder Must Advertise, suggesting Wimsey had chosen the path of crime investigation to be his primary interest. He does not talk as much as in the first novel, yet his comments are always relevant, and he usually says more with fewer words. Occasionally, he is careful not to say too much and stay mysterious for most of the book‘s characters, in order not to reveal any information about the case, and rather listens to what various people think.

Compared to Whose Body?, he seems more confident and focused when interacting with people around him. Still, he remains a little extravagant in his spontaneity. One of his colleagues describes him as ―loopy‖, because of ―doing acrobatics on dirty pipes in this heat‖, when he was, in fact, gathering clues connected to the case (Sayers, MMA 58). On the one hand, he is calmer and

31 more peaceful, compared to the beginning of his presence in the literary world, on the other hand, he also acts more assertively and radically, in order to get what he wants.

It is quite interesting to observe more personalities of Lord Peter in this story. Firstly, he is the elegant aristocrat, who helps the police with the investigation of murder and drug trafficking. Secondly, he is the charismatic new copywriter – Mr. Bredon, who sometimes asks strange questions, but works hard and gets on well with everyone in the company, and starts a very successful advertising campaign at the end. Thirdly, he is masked as the mysterious and adventurous , who likes to pull stunts and hang out with the dangerous ―De Momerie crowd‖, joining their wild parties full of drugs, but nobody knows anything more about him. Each of these individuals is fairly different, but all of them seem to express different parts of Wimsey‘s personality. He is undoubtedly charismatic and remarkable as a personality and the readers ―become so involved with Wimsey as a character that the mystery aspects of plots sometimes become secondary interests‖ (McManis 328).

The language is here, again, used to recognize the difference of a social status. Characters such as Ginger Joe, or the cleaning lady, representing the lower-class, speak often grammatically incorrectly, and use a lot of slang words:

―We ain't supposed to carry them sort of things in our uniform pockets, sir. Mrs.

Johnson caught me a-showin' it to the other fellows, sir, and constickated it‖

(Sayers, MMA 109). On the contrary, people of the higher-classes present themselves in a more sophisticated way. Wimsey, in particular, tries to appear as a refined man, and his use of slang and swear-words decreased significantly

32 since Whose Body?. Even as Bredon, he does not join the many gossipy conversations among the co-workers and tries to stay polite to everybody. To the people in Wimsey‘s surroundings, a proper education is also an essential factor of one‘s personality. They lead long discussions about who achieved education on which school, thus categorizing these people according to their social positions.

―I am quite aware, Tallboy, that I never was at a public school,

but that is no reason why I shouldn't be treated with ordinary,

common courtesy. And from those who have been to real public

schools, I get it, what's more. You may think a lot of Dumbleton,

but it isn't what I call a public school.‖ (Sayers, MMA 195)

The First World War is mentioned only very briefly in this novel, referring to the changes in society, more specifically in the workplace, since the end of the war; ―Before the War there would have been no women in advertising offices, and none of these silly mistakes‖ (Sayers, MMA 137). Still, the whole time after the First World War formed Wimsey‘s personality; increasing his social awareness and giving him a lot of understanding, responsibility and sympathy; he ―reflected its experiences and its values, at least as Dorothy L.

Sayers understood them‖ (McGregor and Lewis 202).

4.2.3 The Great Detective

All of the mentioned personality traits of Lord Peter Wimsey are connected to his work as a detective; he projects them into the way he deals with the case. Most importantly, even while investigating, he is a gentleman

33 aware of the proper manners and always manages to solve the mystery using his exquisite techniques of criminal investigation.

In the second of Sayers‘s novels examined, Murder Must Advertise, the detective disguises himself repeatedly, and at different levels. At the beginning of the novel, he baffles the reader expressively when his name is not mentioned until the fifth chapter and he poses as a different character to everyone at first, though the reader finds out about his true identity sooner than the rest of the book‘s characters. This form of disguise, however, is not enough for him, and to get information from Dian de Momerie, the leader of the ferocious crowd, he dresses up as a harlequin, drawing her attention to his wild stunts; for instance, he ―dived off a fountain into a fish-pond‖ (Sayers, MMA

94). His detective skills depend on his admirable charm a lot and include flirting at times; not only when trying to impress Dian, but also when gathering information about the victim from his sister: ―I say, er, how about, er, coming out and honouring me by taking in a spot of lunch with me, what?‖ (Sayers,

MMA 63).

Lord Peter is shown as very adaptive and has the ability to work both by himself, as well as with a partner. Even though the character of Bunter does not figure in the later novel explored, the police inspector Parker is now not only Wimsey‘s good friend, but also a brother-in-law; thus making their personal relationship closer than before and strengthening the ability of relying on each other when uncovering the mystery. Besides, Parker‘s wife and

Wimsey‘s sister, Lady Mary, also helps them out with the case occasionally.

Moreover, Lord Peter sometimes uses help of complete strangers who provide

34 him with different insights into the mystery, observing it from a different perspective. He is able to make an estimate about who is competent enough to assist him, also among the seemingly inadequate candidates; such as Ginger

Joe, depicted as a simple-minded, uneducated young boy, who is, however, showing impressive deducting skills in his own, humble way. When including him in the search for clues, Wimsey proclaims: ―You are the kind of man I am proud to do business with‖ (Sayers, MMA 115).

While being undercover, Lord Peter is willing to deliberately lower his social status and start working on a low position in an advertising firm, pointing out the knowledge of current social issues which he establishes throughout his life. Even though he does not make much money with this job, it gives him the opportunity to blend in with the working class and enables him to investigate more easily. This working experience further gives him a new life perspective and strengthens his social awareness: ―Yes; I'm pulling down four solid quid a week. Amazin' sensation. First time I've ever earned a cent. Every week when I get my pay-envelope, I glow with honest pride‖ (Sayers, MMA 80). It is demonstrated here that he starts to understand and sympathize with the people of the working-class more.

The change of the character of the criminal described in Sayers‘s novels is worth noticing as well; Sayers inclined from the higher-class evil genius to a more common criminal, driven to committing the murder by more accidental circumstances. Compared to the evil genius depicted in Whose Body?, the villain of the latter novel, Mr. Tallboy, is an ordinary copywriter who was brought to the disgraceful business of drug dealing incidentally by a stranger,

35 agreeing because of a serious lack of money and fear of not being able to provide for his family. The way Lord Peter handles this criminal is also very noble; he listens to him while he explains all the reasons for his crime and tries to justify his actions. Wimsey shows a lot of sympathy and understanding, although still being very strict with him. He does not force a confession from

Tallboy, but rather waits until he starts talking about the whole situation himself:

―Look here,‖ he said, ―you need not tell me a thing, if you don't

want to. But if you do, I want you to understand that it won't

really make any difference. I mean, if you feel like getting it off

your chest, I don't think it will prejudice matters for you at all.‖

(Sayers, MMA 371-372)

Despite being more focused on being a detective compared to the first novel analysed, Wimsey still refers to his hobby of book collecting by making references to some pieces of literary classics: ―Nothing in life became him like the leaving it?‖ (47), which quotes Shakespeare‘s Macbeth (Act I, Scene IV).

Also, he mentions ―muchness‖ (57), originally from Lewis Carroll‘s Alice in

Wonderland. Still, criminal investigation is now his primary passion, as he believes he can help with it; ―he has gone from the ostensibly independent agent‖, through various changes, ―to someone working in close contact with the law because he is now landed with enough propriety and responsibility‖

(Molander 50).

Although dealing with a lot of different elements, both novels discussed

―depend finally on the cleverness of Lord Peter‖ (Dale 34), truly accenting his

36 greatness as a detective and as a person. According to Kenney, this ―greatness as a fictional creation is witnessed by his fan‘s ability to speak of him as if he were an actual, historical person, with a life that extends beyond the pages of his stories or the limitations of his time and place‖ (97). It is natural to say that

Lord Peter Wimsey turned out to be a really memorable embodiment of the

Great Detective and the honourable aristocrat, who captured the imagination of a wide public and who continues to intrigue readers within and outside Britain‖

(McManis 328). Combining all the elements of his personality and appearance, and concerning the ability to compare his character in the two novels selected,

Lord Peter Wimsey serves as a model of the exemplary English gentleman even today.

37

5 Conclusion

Dorothy L. Sayers is a notable representative of detective fiction, particularly well-known for the most significant figure of her writing, Lord Peter

Wimsey. This character appears in most of the novels and several stories she wrote between the 1920s and 1930s, and throughout these years gradually became the Great Detective, who serves as an example of the typical hero in the world of murder mystery novels.

Providing the preview of other famous mystery novel writers in the beginning of the genre, and specifically in the Golden Age of the Detective

Fiction between the First and the Second World Wars, it is possible to observe some specific aspects of Sayers‘s writing. For example, when comparing her to

Agatha Christie‘s works including the character of Hercule Poirot, it is visible that Sayers chose to create a similarly distinctive, but much more visible Great

Detective, at least when he was first created. Lord Peter Wimsey is not only an extraordinary detective with a great sense of humour, but also a tall, handsome aristocrat with brilliant speaking demeanour and gentlemanly manners, and his methods are crucial for the development of the genre, too. In addition to this, commenting on Sayers‘s personal and professional life, one can understand the circumstances around the author which led her to the creation of her Great

Detective. The escape from traditional Victorian values and the influence of First

World War were the most inspiring aspects which she reflected in the novels selected. Sayers‘s style of writing detective fiction helped to popularize and further improve the genre, also by breaking conventions of the time.

Throughout her years of activity, she attempted to upgrade the mystery to the

38 novel of manners where the characters would be as fascinating for the reader as the mystery, and denied the static flatness of the Great Detective. The novels selected represent English life in the period between the wars, and provide the synthesis of the mystery with many social issues and economic changes.

The main aim of this thesis was to describe the individuality of Lord Peter

Wimsey himself, accenting his qualities and pointing out the changes the character underwent during his existence. These are particularly visible when comparing the two novels discussed, Whose Body? and Murder Must Advertise, which have the interval of ten years between their publications. The first mentioned, although having an interesting plot, represents a traditional mystery, while the latter one is a more serious novel demonstrating a deeper analysis of the main character. When Sayers became aware of the fact that the character of her detective in the first novel was created as very conventional and idealistic, she gradually changed Wimsey‘s characteristics; from a rather shallow amateur investigator with snobbish mannerisms, he transformed into a deep and compassionate gentleman with extraordinary abilities to solve mysteries.

This work then provides an overall image of Wimsey; both his outside appearance and personal qualities, and also depicts his professional brilliance as a detective. Despite showing some unrealistic attributes, the creation of

Wimsey in Sayers‘s works considerably contributes to her writing, as well as the whole genre. She managed to create an undoubtedly confident and strong

Great Detective with a sense of compassion, who is classy, ingenious, sleek and

39 knowledgeable, but also provocative at the same time. The complex personality of Lord Peter Wimsey, gradually developing throughout the years of Sayers's attempt to establish a modern form of detective fiction, proves him to be one of the most significant representatives of a Great Detective.

40

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Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. London: Chatto & Windus. 1920. Print.

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43

Resumé

Účelem této práce je analýza osobnosti detektiva Lorda Petera Wimseyho z různých perspektiv. Práce se soustředí na dva romány od spisovatelky

Dorothy L. Sayersové, ve kterých Wimsey vystupuje – Whose Body? a Murder

Must Advertise, a které poukazují na postupné změny v chování a odborných schopnostech dané postavy.

Táto práce v první řade zkoumá roli Sayersové jako významné a inovativní autorky detektivních románů; na základě přehledu jiných představitelů detektivních románů, obzvlášť v tzv. Zlatém Věku Detektivní

Literatury, je možné ustanovit její převratný styl psaní. Kromě toho jsou v práci zohledněné jisté aspekty z osobního života Sayersové, jelikož jsou spojené s její tvorbou postavy Lorda Petra Wimseyho.

Hlavním cílem této práce je poukázat na vývoj postavy Wimseyho, co se jeho osobnostních kvalit, jako i kvalit v oblasti kriminálního vyšetřovaní týče.

V průběhu své existence se zformoval v seriózní literární postavu s hloubkou osobnosti a silnými schopnostmi skutečného detektiva, jako je to zřejmé ve druhém z analyzovaných románů. Na konci je možné pozorovat Wimseyho jako silnou osobnost plnou zodpovědnosti a porozumění, co z něho dělá ukázkového gentlemana.

44

Resumé

The aim of the thesis is to analyse the character of a Great Detective,

Lord Peter Wimsey, from various points of view. The thesis focuses on two novels by Dorothy L. Sayers, featuring Wimsey – Whose Body? and Murder

Must Advertise, which express a gradual change in the detective character‘s behaviour and professional skills.

First of all, Sayers‘s role as a significant and innovative writer of detective novels is explored; providing the outline of other representatives of the genre, especially of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Sayers‘s distinguished style of writing is established. Moreover, certain aspects of

Sayers‘s personal life are considered, as they are connected to the creation of

Lord Peter Wimsey.

The main ambition of this work is to point out the growth of Wimsey‘s character considering his personal qualities, as well as qualities as a criminal investigator. Throughout his existence, the character is formed into a serious figure with a deep personality and strong abilities of a Great Detective, as it is visible in the second novel analysed. In the end, one can see Wimsey as a strong person full of responsibility and understanding, making him an exemplary gentleman.

45