I know at least Eden is waiting for someone else to post; I don't know about the rest of you. I guess I'll break the ice then. I'm enjoying the book; I 've always wanted to read some Sayers, so I'm glad for the opportunity/push to do so now.
One of the possible talking points that I noted was the issue of class. In 1923 when this was published, we're between the two World Wars, when the aristocracy is having its last hurrah in terms of significant social hierarchy. (See Evelyn Waugh's works for examples.) On one hand we have Lord Whimsy being portrayed as a jolly sort, who is very friendly with his manservant, as we see he and Bunter drinking and talking together when Parker comes to visit. Whimsy is clearly a likeable fellow, and he's only the second son of a duke, so he doesn't have all the political aristocratic responsibilities that I presume his father and older brother have. Yet, he seems to be positioned as superior, in crime solving as well as social niceties, to the more working class Investigator Sugg*. Phipps's (Fipps?) mother indicates that she is comforted knowing that a gentleman is helping sort out this bathroom incident, simply because he's a gentleman, not because she's aware of any special skills on Whimsy's part (although he does have them).
I know that Sayers and Agatha Christie were writers in the "Golden Age" of Detective fiction, which existed during the 1920s and 30s, and it is interesting to read an early book. It seems to me that this was the time that the genre was becoming clearly defined and developed, and I find genre studies quite interesting. How can a writer follow a formula that a reader expects and wants, while still being innovative and new, which a reader also wants?
Because I can't do anything with out at least a little bit of background reading, I'll share what I found in my research. First, some background on the top three writers of the Golden Age, including Sayers, from a class on crime fiction that has an awful lot of good links for one to explore. Second, a lecture from the same class about the Golden Age and the formation of the genre. These both come from an amazing site that has everything you ever wanted to know in an introduction to crime fiction.
*Is that his name? I can't quite tell from my audio book.
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2 comments:
Roomie, count on you to do all the research on the genre etc while I'm theorizing on "Who done it." I did read the first article and parts of the lecture. I happen to like the crime literature from the Golden Age, despite the class distinctions and prejudices. I enjoy the structure of the stories as well as the detachment from real life. I read these stories to be entertained and to exercise my mind by attempting to solve the crime.
thipps
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