Episode 4: Gaudy Night, Ch. 1-3

Today’s episode of The Literary Life is the first in the Gaudy Night book discussion series of podcasts, covering chapters 1-3. Angelina gives a little biographical background on the author Dorothy Sayers herself. Cindy shares some context for the characters Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey. They also talk about how to approach a book like this and discuss some of the major themes that Sayers presents in Gaudy Night.

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A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Robert Graves

Why have such scores of lovely, gifted girls
      Married impossible men?
Simple self-sacrifice may be ruled out,
      And missionary endeavour, nine times out of ten.

Repeat ‘impossible men’: not merely rustic,
      Foul-tempered or depraved
(Dramatic foils chosen to show the world
      How well women behave, and always have behaved).

Impossible men: idle, illiterate,
      Self-pitying, dirty, sly,
For whose appearance even in City parks
      Excuses must be made to casual passers-by.

Has God’s supply of tolerable husbands
      Fallen, in fact, so low?
Or do I always over-value woman
      At the expense of man?
                                          Do I?
                                                  It might be so.

Book List:

Gaudy Night and Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

Lost in Wonder by Esther de Waal

Are Women Human?, The Mind of the Maker, and Letters to a Diminished Church by Dorothy Sayers

The Abolition Man by C. S. Lewis

Connect with Us:

Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/

Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/

Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

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