Dorothy L. Sayers
AUTHOR

Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) was a playwright, scholar, and acclaimed author of mysteries, best known for her books starring the gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey.

Born in Oxford, England, Sayers, whose father was a reverend, grew up in the Bluntisham rectory and won a scholarship to Oxford University where she studied modern languages and worked at the publishing house Blackwell's, which published her first book of poetry in 1916.

Years later, working as an advertising copywriter, Sayers began work on Whose Body?, a mystery novel featuring dapper detective Lord Peter Wimsey. Over the next two decades, Sayers published ten more Wimsey novels and several short stories, crafting a character whose complexity was unusual for the mystery novels of the time.

In 1936, Sayers brought Lord Peter Wimsey to the stage in a production of Busman's Honeymoon, a story which she would publish as a novel the following year. The play was so successful that she gave up mystery writing to focus on the stage, producing a series of religious works culminating in The Man Born to Be King (1941) a radio drama about the life of Jesus.

She also wrote theological essays and criticism during and after World War II, and in 1949 published the first volume of a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy (which she considered to be her best work).

Dorothy Sayers died of a heart attack in 1957.

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Best Sellers

    • Lord Peter Wimsey: BBC Radio Drama Collection Volume 1

    • Three classic full-cast dramatisations
    • By: Dorothy L Sayers
    • Narrated by: Ian Carmichael, Peter Jones
    • Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
    • Original Recording
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 212
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars 182
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 182

    Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in these definitive BBC radio dramatisations of Dorothy L. Sayers' best-selling novels....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • Great to have the LPW stories on Audible.

    • By Beau-Geste Washington on 09-26-17

    Regular price: $21.31

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Lord Peter Wimsey: BBC Radio Drama Collection Volume 2

    • Four BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
    • By: Dorothy L Sayers
    • Narrated by: full cast, Ian Carmichael
    • Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
    • Original Recording
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 165
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars 144
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 144

    Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in the radio dramatisations of: Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, Five Red Herrings and Have His Carcase....

    • 4 out of 5 stars

    • Fantastic Story & Voice Actors - Horrifying Music

    • By Gen on 04-13-18

    Regular price: $23.44

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Clouds of Witness

    • The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, Book 2
    • By: Dorothy L. Sayers
    • Narrated by: Ian Carmichael
    • Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 156
    • Performance
      5 out of 5 stars 141
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 142

    In a shocking scandal, the likes of which has not been seen in the English aristocracy since the 18th century, the Duke of Denver stands accused of the foul murder or his sister's fiancé....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • Ian Carmichael is the quintessential Wimsey.

    • By Gabriela on 04-22-17

    Regular price: $20.97

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Unnatural Death

    • A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery, Book 3
    • By: Dorothy L. Sayers
    • Narrated by: Ian Carmichael
    • Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 599
    • Performance
      4.5 out of 5 stars 533
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 529

    The wealthy Agatha Dawson is dead and there are no apparent signs of foul play. Lord Peter Wimsey, however, senses that something is amiss....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • At last! Sayers read by Ian Charmichael

    • By Alicia Czechowski on 10-25-12

    Regular price: $20.97

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Strong Poison

    • A Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane Mystery
    • By: Dorothy L. Sayers
    • Narrated by: Ian Carmichael
    • Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 355
    • Performance
      4.5 out of 5 stars 297
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 296

    Dashing detective Lord Peter Wimsey is caught up in the murder trial of mystery writer Harriet Vane. Her fiance has died of poisoning exactly as described in one of Harriet's novels....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • At Last

    • By Jerri C on 08-08-15

    Regular price: $20.97

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Striding Folly

    • Three Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries
    • By: Dorothy L. Sayers
    • Narrated by: Ian Carmichael
    • Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 81
    • Performance
      4.5 out of 5 stars 69
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 70

    Three perplexing puzzles - and three inimitable Wimsey solutions - told with wit, humor, and suspense....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • Lord Peter as a Father

    • By Jerri C on 01-08-18

    Regular price: $13.26

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Whose Body?

    • By: Dorothy L. Sayers
    • Narrated by: Roe Kendall
    • Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars 164
    • Performance
      4 out of 5 stars 107
    • Story
      4 out of 5 stars 108

    Meet Lord Peter Wimsey, stylish, eccentric, seeming a fool, but in fact one of the great English detectives....

    • 3 out of 5 stars

    • Great story; not so great narrator

    • By Sarah on 09-08-09

    Regular price: $19.59

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • The Floating Admiral

    • By: Agatha Christie, Simon Brett - preface, Dorothy L. Sayers - introduction, and others
    • Narrated by: David Timson
    • Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      3.5 out of 5 stars 90
    • Performance
      4 out of 5 stars 77
    • Story
      3.5 out of 5 stars 79

    Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesterton and nine other writers from the Detection Club collaborate in this fiendishly clever novel first published 80 years ago....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • great concept. great puzzle mystery

    • By Mariana on 07-27-17

    Regular price: $13.85

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • The Song of Roland

    • By: Unknown
    • Narrated by: A Full Cast
    • Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins
    • Unabridged
    • Overall
      4 out of 5 stars 49
    • Performance
      4 out of 5 stars 24
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 24

    Since his youth, living in poverty in a cave in Italy, Roland's mother has taught him that someday he will be a brave hero like his father....

    • 5 out of 5 stars

    • The Song of Roland

    • By D. B. Mann on 02-22-12

    Regular price: $20.97

    Free with 30-day Trial

    • Murder Must Advertise (Dramatized)

    • By: Dorothy L. Sayers
    • Narrated by: Ian Carmichael, Full Cast
    • Length: 2 hrs and 19 mins
    • Abridged
    • Overall
      4.5 out of 5 stars 235
    • Performance
      4.5 out of 5 stars 164
    • Story
      4.5 out of 5 stars 157

    When copywriter Victor Dean falls to his death on the stairs of Pym's Advertising Agency, everyone assumes it was an unfortunate accident....

    • 3 out of 5 stars

    • Abridging books is like amputation.

    • By Ellenaeddy on 05-15-12

    Regular price: $15.49

    Free with 30-day Trial

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