golden age mysteries golden age mysteries

Go Back   Golden Age Mysteries > Authors > Dorothy L. Sayers

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old September 17th, 2002, 11:00 AM
Damaris Tighe Damaris Tighe is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 2
D. L. Sayers and the Inklings

Does anyone know of a resource with more information about Sayers and her friendships with C. S. Lewis and Tolkein? C. S. Lewis is mentioned in the biography I read on Sayers, and in an edition of Tolkein's collected letters he says how awful he thinks Gaudy Night is, but I want to know more!
In Dulce Jubilo,
Damaris Tighe
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old September 20th, 2002, 12:27 AM
Sinister Sinister is offline
Registered User - Promoted
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 17
Hello. I recently listened to an old radio show evidently from the BBC, in which a lady named Caroline Reynolds (I think) was collecting and editing Ms. Sayers' letters, and she mentioned C.S. Lewis in passing, saying that he had written that Dorothy Sayers would be remembered as one of the greatest letter writers of the 20th Century. No mention of Tolkien, but this was only a 30 ,minute radio program (or programme if you prefer). An actress read from Ms. Sayers' letters of the 20's and 30's, and they dileanated an affair with an American writer named Cornos (or Kornors, sorry, never heard of him) who evidently she was very serious about, but he dumped her. Then she took up with a chap who was staying with the folks above her, on the next floor. His name was Bill White,and she rode motorcycles, took him to meet her mother (or her folks), and got pregnant by him. He unfortunately had a wife he hadn't told her of, so she decided to have the child and put it up for adoption (the wife helped her with the doctor's fees, etc.), and she bore a son, named (oops, drawing a blank here) and arranged to give the boy to a cousin as if she were arranging an adoption from an unnamed unwed mother. Later, though, she wrote another letter, and came clean with her cousin, admitting the baby was her son, although she never publicly did so, or told the name of the father. (Who the Brits would call a real rotter). Later on the writer she was crazy about moved back to England, and got married and started a family (evidently he said he would never do these things in the Bohemian 20's before he dumped her). She replied to this news by writing him to wish them the best, and said something about she was glad she had a son by a man she didn't love, rather than not having a child with a man she loved too much . . . (it was poetic, but I've probably butchered it). Later on her son went to the same college that Peter Wimsey did. (I am not making this up.) An interesting radio program, It's on the web somewhere, I can give you directions if the copyright police don't shut me down.
Inis
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old May 9th, 2007, 07:01 AM
Columbo's Avatar
Columbo Columbo is offline
Registered User - Promoted
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 168
Re: D. L. Sayers and the Inklings

I'm not surprised Tolkien didn't think highly of Gaudy Night. The man was an absolute genius, but if you read his letters, you will see he is awfully opinionated and didn't care much for the Narnia series either. Mystery fictin didn't seem like it would be his cup of tea.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old May 9th, 2007, 11:20 AM
Orinoco Orinoco is offline
Registered User - Promoted
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 217
Re: D. L. Sayers and the Inklings

Slightly off-topic, but I heard that C S Lewis was given Tolkein's LOTR to read before it was published. As he ploughed through it, he was heard to say at one point "Oh God, not another f*****g elf!"
Interestingly, another famous Don, M R James, absolutely adored Sayers, Christie, Doyle etc. I have a James biography which quotes from his private diary about it. If I can find the damn thing in the terrible clutter of my bookshelves, I'll post it here.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old June 21st, 2007, 11:31 AM
Columbo's Avatar
Columbo Columbo is offline
Registered User - Promoted
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 168
Re: D. L. Sayers and the Inklings

Found this on wikipedia. . . It's hard to find much about her association wit the Inklings:

As was typical for university literary groups in their time and place, the Inklings were all male. (Dorothy L. Sayers, sometimes claimed as an Inkling, was a friend of Lewis and Williams, but never attended Inklings meetings.)
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:20 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.