First post! and some random thoughts through Gaudy Night

[nivcharayahel]

I've been reading steadily, but am just now getting to the posting. Perhaps I'll have more coherent thoughts later, although much of what I'd want to say on sex and class and whatnot in Gaudy Night has already been said, and far better than I'd be able to muster, by truepenny. But, for now, some random thoughts on the first three Wimsey/Vane novels, in no

Comments

[mswyrr]

3) Compared to other books (Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books, for example) where characters make with the references and I get frustrated and feel dumb, I rather like the way Sayers handles this. Perhaps because I get a lot of them, but also because I think she does it in a way that makes it easy to just ignore them if one wants. YMMV on this point. I think she handles them with a light enough touch not to make one feel an idiot for not being as well read as the characters--and, by extension, the author.

Well said. I agree. Sayers' use of quotations makes me feel ...enriched, curious. I always end up making notes on the ones that particularly interest me and looking them up later.

[mswyrr]

In fact, I would say I'm not much of a reader of detective fiction in general, except for certain series in which the authors (almost all women, I might add) seem to be doing detective fiction and something else, or detective fiction as a means of getting at something else

If you have a moment, would you mind giving me a couple names of these other detective fiction writing ladies you like? I've wanted to find stories that would strike my interest the same way the Whimsey books have since I read them, with limited success.

[mswyrr]

*Wimsey

::facepalm::

[liquoricesun]

Mmmm, yes. Very much agree. Lord Peter-puns are so terrible, and yet so good...! And love the quotes -- I blame DLS for getting me into Donne... the nice thing is that they're usually not too hard to look up if you're obsessive about finding things out, like me :)...