Probably a must read for a student of the genre or of Sayers' life and works. Does an excellent job of relating the stories and novels both to the events of Sayers' life and to the historical events. Points out that the past war is very much part of the scene in the earlier books and, because of Lord Peter's shell shock, never is completely written out. In later novels, particularly Gaudy Night, the coming war looms. I would not recommend this for a casual fan of Sayers or of the genre.

The authors combine history, biography, and literary criticism to provide context for The Lord Peter Wimsey novels and map the development of Peter's character. Next time I read the books I will be more aware of current events and social conditions during which they were written. I really enjoyed the analysis of each of the novels, even though they fail to appreciate the wonderfulness of Murder Must Advertise. Very highly recommended to any Wimsey fan. Just make sure you've read the books first, as every novel is reviewed in detail, including who, how, and why. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's a scholarly yet very accessible work which traces the development of Dorothy L Sayers' detective hero Lord Peter Wimsey in the context of English social history of the 1920s and 1930s and Sayers' own life. The authors explore Sayers' use of Lord Peter to comment on issues such as the upheaval in English society caused by World War I, shifts in the class system and the expanding role of women. They relate the development of Lord Peter's character over the course of the eleven novels in which he features to the evolution of Sayers' worldview. The book includes two interesting appendices. The first is a timeline coordinating events of English history, Lord Peter's fictional life and Sayers' actual life. The second is an analysis of the sonnet started by Harriet Vane and completed by Lord Peter in [b:Gaudy Night|93575|Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey, #12)|Dorothy L. Sayers|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171257114s/93575.jpg|341789]. There's also an extensive bibliography, which provides an excellent jumping-off point for further reading.

This is highly recommended for fans of Sayers' writing. Readers not familiar with the entire Wimsey canon should beware: the plots of the novels are discussed in some detail, so spoilers abound. ( )

An excellent take on the world of Lord Peter Wimsey, one which I enjoyed vastly more than [book:Dorothy L. Sayers' Wimsey and Interwar British Society], although they covered some of the same ground. It could be here the emphasis on the chronological aspects of Wimsey's career, and how it corresponded to Sayer's life at the time, rather than the topical analysis seen in Lewis' work. I really did find the biographical bits interesting - although I'm familiar with the a relatively detailed summary of Sayer's life and career, this was very helpful. The exploration of women in this book was extremely well done, particularly the identification of all the "strange" Victorian ladies featuring prominently in the early books, certainly something I hadn't considered. I also thought the treatment of Harriet Vane to be very through, particularly as a follow-up to their previous discussion on modern women.I do somewhat object to the authors' complete dismissal of the Wimsey short stories: no, they aren't to all the caliber of the full length works, but they are still interesting in and of themselves. However, with that small cavaet, an interesting look at the Wimsey stories as a whole, and the society which inspired them. ( )

If you are steeped in the "old school" mystery stories, or caught the many adaptations on PBS of the Lord Peter Wimsey you should enjoy this book. I purchased it because it should have been a useful reference for my library. I found that as I cracked it open a wonderful book which read like a novel. Granted I had more than a passing interest in the subject matter but in a very skill manner the authors weaved together the life of Dorothy Sayers, the unfolding events in the world and how it all came out in the Lord Peter books. I found out much of which I was unaware of as well as the true sequencing of how the books should be read. ( )