A Favorite Non-Romance Romance
I expect a good romance when I’m reading in the romance genre, but I’ve learned not to expect the same from other genres. I’ve also learned rather painfully that there is no guarantee of a happy ending in other genres. Not that I’m still bitter about how things turned out in His Dark Materials or anything. However, sometimes in my non-romance reading I come across a love story so well done that it stays with me.
Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey are just such a couple. Created by Dorothy L. Sayers and detailed in several of her books, these two are one of my very favorite couples ever. Lord Peter Wimsey, the very educated and highly intelligent sleuth, meets his match in the more serious but also intelligent and well-educated Harriet Vane over a murder. In their earlier encounters (which involve Peter proving Harriet innocent of murder, among other things), Peter falls for Harriet but is rejected. Harriet does not want a marriage based on gratitude and she also sometimes views Peter as too superficial. So, it is not until Gaudy Night that things finally gel between them. Not coincidentally, Gaudy Night is one of my very favorite books.
As well as being unusual because the mysterious doings in the book do not center on murder, Gaudy Night is a brilliantly crafted book. The mystery feels ominous and clues keep the reader guessing while the author uses very witty dialogue and subtle hints to show Harriet and Peter moving ever closer to one another. Though written in 1936, this romance somehow feels very modern.
For starters, Harriet is no blushing virgin. In her early 30s, Harriet has returned to Oxford for her college reunion. Mention is also made in the text of her past life with a live-in lover, something which would have been scandalous in those days (not to mention sending some modern romance publishers to their couches with fits of the vapors were their heroines to try such a thing). From the earlier books and from the text of this one, the author makes it plain to the reader that Harriet’s past is no secret to Peter. However, Peter does not go about throwing past mistakes in Harriet’s face. He learns to accept her as she is, respects her and wants her happiness.
In addition to romance, these two have camaraderie. In the initial sections of the book, Harriet tries to make clear to Peter that she is not interested in a relationship. Though Peter does not give up on Harriet, neither does he belittle her opinions. His constancy sometimes irks Harriet, but even at his most overbearing, Peter is still more reasonable than many men I meet in fiction. Though concerned about Harriet’s safety, Peter is not heavyhanded in his treatment of Harriet. She is not cloistered in Peter’s quarters at the first hint of danger or forbidden to move freely without him being there. In fact, for part of the book Peter is not even present and Harriet finds herself seeking his advice by phone or letter.
Still, once Peter arrives on the scene and the two work together long enough, it becomes obvious that Harriet and Peter will wind up together after all. They work out their differences and move beyond Harriet’s concerns over her own suitability by actually talking about it to one another. That’s one of the best parts of their relationship really. These two somehow manage to say so very much using so few words. Not only are many things simply understood between them, but the author manages the amazing feat of bringing the reader into that understanding.
Though sometimes understated, the dialogue between Peter and Harriet is wonderful. Their sparring is quite intelligent and sometimes humorous, and these two have mastered the art of appearing to speak on one topic while truly addressing another, more personal, one all together. Whenever these two are together, I feel as though I am privileged to watch a wonderful relationship between equals developing. After all, who can resist a man who in his declaration of love says such things as, “I have found you beyond all hope or expectation, at a time when I though no woman could ever mean anything to me…” and then goes on to tell his beloved that he wants for her to know that, “If you have found your own value, that is immeasurably the greatest thing…”?
-Lynn Spencer
Busman’s Honeymoon was my first Sayers — my mother warned me that most of the literary references would go sailing past my head, so I might not enjoy it, but I loved it to pieces.
I also love Gaudy Night — I skip the parts about the mystery because they annoy me, but Harriet trying to find the point of balance between her independence and her attraction to Peter continues to fascinate. I love that he won’t push her, which completely deprives her of the opportunity to push back and push him out of her life.
He leaves the decision to her; if she wants him out of her life, she has to say so. He wants to marry her, so he’s not going to set things up that will allow her to jettison him without making a conscious decision to do it.
I love the part when Harriet asks one of the women of the college how you recognize an overmastering passion: “”When it overmasters you,”” is the answer. I remember that often when trying to make a decision.
Anyway, highly recommended.
Virginia and Donna Lea, I love the Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh books as well. Their series and the Sayers books were the start of my fascinating with mysteries with ongoing love stories (particularly with married couples.
Lynn, Peter actually makes a cameo appearance in “”A Letter of Mary,”” which got King in trouble with the Sayers estate, apparently, so it probably won’t be repeated. “”Monstrous Regiment”” has a lot in it about academia and Russell’s internal struggles over career and marriage, being an autonomous individual and being part of a couple, which definitely echoes “”Gaudy Night.”” Not to mention the echoes between Harriet and Peter on the riverbank and Russell and Holmes in the bolt hole.
@Caffey – Thanks for the list of historical mysteries. Even though these were contemporary at the time they were written, when I read them now, I certainly feel dropped into another world. Have you ever read the Maisie Dobbs books? They’re set in the 1920s/30s, and the author’s picture of British society is at least as interesting as the mysteries themselves.
@Barbara Mentzel – I had no idea there was a PBS series of these (though I shouldn’t be surprised). I’m going to have to see if I can get my hands on these at Netflix or the library.
@Tracy Grant – I LOVE Laurie King’s books! I read Monstrous Regiment of Women years before I discovered Gaudy Night, so I’m going to have to go back and try to find these references now.
@ Donna Lea Simpson – I love Ngaio Marsh! Alleyn’s love interest and eventual wife is Agatha Troy. He meets her on one of his cases and woes her through several books. He has a tough time of it because of her bad experience with his first case. I’m working my way through the books in audio.
@ Barbara Mentzel – I’ve seen that series. It is very good.
Count me as another fan, although I discovered the books by way of a PBS series back in the 80s. It starred Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter and it was excellent–made me go out and find the books. I recommend it if you can find it. (Love the Jazz Age music and costumes!)
Sayers’s own love life was a bit tangled. She fell deeply in love with a man named John Cournous. She wanted marriage and children, he didn’t believe in them. She broke off with him and rebounded into an affair with a mechanic named Bill White. She became pregnant and White refused to have anything to do with her or the child. Sayers concealed her pregnance and had a son named John whom she sent him to her cousin who fostered children. John grew up with the cousin and Sayers paid for his keep. Later Sayers married Oswald Fleming – a marriage that began happily but broke down to a degree because of his poor health and the fact that she was the main breadwinner. John was formally adopted by Fleming, but he never lived with them.
Has anyone read Ngaio Marsh? She was a New Zealand mystery writer who wrote a series of books about… let me hope my memory is good, a detective named Roderick Alleyn and his love interest, an artist. I think there was a strong romantic thread through many of them. I read them all at one time, after I was done Agatha Christie and while I was reading Dorothy L. Sayers.
Just checked, and her first mystery was published in 1934!
Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion mystery series is back in print again also. The earlier books in it don’t have much romance, but at the end he and his Amanda are together.
These started in the 1930s and ran to the end of WWII, IIRC. Like Sayers’ books, they were contemporaries when written.
She also had delightful titles — e.g., The Fashion in Shrouds.
What a wonderful tribute to a book that is also one of my favorites, Lynn! In fact, I think “”Gaudy Night”” is my favorite love story. It’s so wonderfully rich and Peter and Harriet are such fabulous, nuanced, vibrant characters. I also love “”Have His Carcase”” (the book before “”Gaudy Night””; I wrote a code-breaking scene in “”Secrets of a Lady”” as a tribute to it) and “”Busman’s Honeymoon”” (the last scene between Peter and Harriet is so wonderfully powerful; it inspired the last scene in ‘Beneath a Silent Moon,”” which was my stating place for the whole book).
Laurie King sites Sayers as an inspiration, and her Mary Russell series has lots of wonderful, conscious homages to the Peter & Harriet books. “”A Monstrous Regiment of Women,”” in particular, references “”Gaudy Night.””
Caffey: The books were not written as historical mysteries, but as contemporaries: the first Peter Wimsey mystery was published in 1923 (Whose Body?). The books with Harriet Vane are: Strong Poison (1930); Have His Carcase (1932); Gaudy Night (1935); Busman’s Honeymoon (1937). (Of course they now seem “”period””!)
Thrones, Dominations is set before the short stories “”The Haunted Policeman”” (glimpse of Harriet and birth of their first child) and “”Talboys”” (written 1942). The partly written manuscript was finished by Jill Paton Walsh; it was published in 1998. A Presumption of Death, which is based on some writings of Sayers, is also by Jill Paton Walsh and is set during WWII (published 2002). It has more Harriet on the home front and less Peter.
For more bibliography and video info, see http://www.sayers.org.uk/bibliography.html
Hope this helps!
The books are strictly G-rated as I remember. Murder Must Advertise gives nice insight into the early days of big advertising agencies. WWI is a big factor in Peter’s history. Peter’s take on the abdication because of Wallace Simpson is interesting, too. (Peter doesn’t like it–king didn’t know/do his duty.) The books are set between WWI and WWII.
@Caffey: My mom loves some romance in her historical mysteries; however, they must be pretty much G rated. The books you mention cover some interesting eras…can you shed some light on the sensuality content?
By the way, I got my mom the first of the Julia Grey novels due to suggestions here at AAR and she is loving it!
Too I thought I’d mention a few historical mystery series I’ve read some of and enjoy with their bubbling (growing) romance through the books:
Victoria Thompson – Turn of Century NYC Gaslight series (She previous wrote Historical Romances)
Ashley Gardner – Regency England (Also writes Historical as Jennifer Ashley)
Anne Perry – Victorian Charlotte & Thomas Pitts Series
Shirley Tallman – Sara Woolson 1800’s San Francisco
Carola Dunn – 1920’s England – Daisy Dalrymple Series
I didn’t read yet but heard about these:
Deanna Raybourn – Lady Julia Gray (Regency London?)
Robin Paige – Victorian
Oh I have never read this author!!! I so love historical mystery series. Is the main characters the same for all the books? Is there one book you start with of the series? And whats the time setting of the books? Same as the date its written of the 1940’s or is it regency, etc? Sorry on the many questions. I do love to find more of historical mystery series. I’m excited about these! Great review too. I got into them by someone talking about Victoria Thompson’s books.
Excellent review! If I didn’t already adore this book, you would definitely make me want to read it. ;-) I have never particularly cared for any other Sayers, except Murder Must Advertise, which has such a fascinating setting.
Gaudy Night is one of my favorite books. The moment when Harriet realizes she does love Peter is wonderfully written, and that scene is what I always remember when I think of this book.
Wow, do you know, I’ve not read that book in a long, long time, but I do believe Harriet and Lord Peter are partly the inspiration for my Lady Anne and Lord Darkefell! I suppose the book affected me deeply, because I remember with affection the respect and subtle building of love between them.
Now I’m going to have to go back and reread it!
I found this book in the stacks in college and loved it too. I hope it’s not a spoiler to say that Peter proposes in Latin. I loved the Oxford setting with its many traditions. I recall that Harriet was afraid of being possessed by Peter. I understood that to mean she would be forced into a conventional wife role of the time.
The opening scene in which she finds her old lover’s necktie drew me into the book and sticks with me still.
The book in which they get married and go on their honeymoon–Busman’s Honeymoon–is also interesting. There is more about the murder. (I will say that many find the method of murder there rather unrealistic.) I ordered it when I was in college and stayed up all night reading it.
You didn’t mention Bunter, Peter’s butler/man. He’s a great character, too. If you like Bertie and Jeeves, you’ll appreciate the differences (and similarities).
There is a short story called Tallboys, as I recall, that carries the “”romance”” forward even more. I don’t think it is on a par with Gaudy Night.