Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy Leigh Sayers (13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English academic, linguist, writer and lay theologian. Well-respected in academic and religious circles during her lifetime, she is best remembered today for her fictional detective Sir Peter Wimsey, though she herself thought that her non-fiction was her best work. Her writing contained social commentary and explored themes of feminism (particularly women’s education and sexuality), business ethics, racism and other social issues before any of these were the well-defined fields of study that they are today.

Sayers approached even her writing of fiction with thoroughness and precision. Though her evident erudition and commitment to accuracy is often praised, some have attested to find it tedious and distracting. For example, Sayers went to extraordinary lengths to learn the elements of campanology for The Nine Tailors; some found her attention to detail compelling; others deemed it boring. The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will contains a complex literary crossword puzzle, the details of which are not integral to the story.

Sayers was a great friend of other Christian writers of the day, including C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams. Like most writers, Sayers’s works can reflect attitudes and the social mores her generation, her class and the prevailing thought of the day. This has led to charges of racism and anti-Semitism in her work; charges that have been vigorously argued on both sides by her critics and her defenders.