A couple of months ago, my good friend R., from Seattle, crashed here for a night. As a thank you gift, she picked up a copy of Dorothy Sayers’ Busman’s Honeymoon at Powells Books.
Busman’s Honeymoon is good, if you’re into the genteel, witty English detective genre. However, if you haven’t read any of Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey stories, you’ll be lost. You’d be much better off starting with Whose Body? or Strong Poison, the first ones that I read.
I haven’t been much of a reader of mysteries in the last ten years or so–though I was mad for Sherlock Holmes when I was 12–and probably would never have started reading Dorothy L. Sayers, if R. hadn’t recommended them to me. I’m glad she did though. I probably wouldn’t have read any, otherwise.
Sayers was quite popular in the earlier 20th, about on the level of Agatha Christie, popularity-wise. Nearly all of her books have been turned into movies or television shows.
Shortly after writing Busman’s Honeymoon–a vacation where the busman is likely to be as involved with driving as he is throughout the rest of the year–Sayers apparently grew tired of the whole writing-detective-stories thing and turned to writing about religion, classical education, and translating Dante (or so I’ve been told).
Her detective novels are unique in that the lot of them contain a sort of ultra-narrative, focussed upon the courting of Harriet Vane by Lord Peter Wimsey. It’s fascinating. At times, more interesting than the murders themselves.
Don’t forget to check out the Dorothy L. Sayers Society.