Harriet Vane - Tumblr Posts
Follow the link! If you've read Gaudy Night or any of the Peter/Harriet novels, this essay is so very worthwhile!
The essay “Gaudy Night” by Dorothy L. Sayers, discussing the hows and whys of her writing of the novel. First published (in a longer version) in Titles to Fame (1937), edited by Denys Kilham Roberts, in which several authors reflect on their most well-known work.
I could not marry Peter off to the young woman he had (in the conventional Perseus manner) rescued from death and infamy, because I could find no form of words in which she could accept him without loss of self-respect. I had landed my two chief puppets in a situation where, according to all the conventional rules of detective fiction, they should have had nothing to do but fall into one another’s arms; but they would not do it, and that for a very good reason. When I looked at the situation I saw that it was in every respect false and degrading; and the puppets had somehow got just so much flesh and blood in them that I could not force them to accept it without shocking myself. So there were only two things to do: one was to leave the thing there, with the problem unresolved; the other, far more delicate and dangerous, was to take Peter away and perform a major operation on him. If the story was to go on, Peter had got to become a complete human being, with a past and a future, with a consistent family and social history, with a complicated psychology and even the rudiments of a religious outlook. And all this would have to be squared somehow or other with such random attributes as I had bestowed upon him over a series of years in accordance with the requirements of various detective plots.
Thanks, smokeandsong, for sharing this!
Bonus: the first page of a typescript of the essay (from the Dorothy L. Sayers Papers at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin):
It's a sign I need to do a rewatch!
Really, really into all three of these people.
if I had a nickel for every time Harriet Vane had to awkwardly comfort a heartbroken middle-aged woman who was sobbing on her shoulder over much younger man, while trying to soothingly fix said woman's makeup, while also trying to hide how Deeply Uncomfortable she (Harriet) is, I would have two nickels.
Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Well! Last Monday evening, when we were down at Denver, we got a wire from Peter, which coolly said, "If you really want to see me married, try St. Cross Church, Oxford, to-morrow at two."
guys, the calender has lined up!! Tomorrow is Tuesday, the 8th of October, aka Lord Peter and Harriet's wedding day (and 89th anniversary). this is your chance to read Busman's Honeymoon in real time! (aside from the Dowager's diary, unfortunately)
If you do keep track of the days in Busman's Honeymoon, it's a bit unsettling how quickly it all happens, because SO MUCH happens. Tomorrow they will be married in Oxford; and the mystery (of which they are as yet blissfully unaware) will be solved on Friday. On Saturday, they will arrive at the Dower House in the small hours of the morning, and on Sunday Peter will read the lesson in church...
(Yes, in spite of all their mutual angst about the Peter's potential failure, he solves this one in forty-eight hours.)
A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery (1987).
I’ve re-watched the excellent Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mystery series. Based on the Dorothy L Sayers books Strong Poison, Have His Carcasse and Gaudy Night (the production team sadly couldn’t get the rights to Busman’s Honeymoon. The series features Edward Petherbridge as the aristocratic sleuth and Harriet Walter as detective writer, Harriet Vane.
I just love this series. Petherbridge brings a romantic vibe to the quirky sleuth and Walter is lovely as the plucky mystery writer. Wimsey falls head-first in love with Harriet in Strong Poison as she’s on trial for murder. When he helps clear her name, Harriet goes on holiday and stumbles upon another body. Peter races to the seaside to help investigate. After solving this murder together, Harriet’s on her own when someone is causing trouble at Harriet’s old college in Oxford. Peter arrives to help in the end, continuing to woo Harriet along the way. They come together in the end, but it’s a slow burn all the way.
Fans of this pair will enjoy the Jill Paton Walsh books(I do) that continue on where Dorothy L Sayers left off. Peter and Harriet continue to solve mysteries, make babes and basically be lovely to each other.
One of Harriet’s lines to Peter in Strong Poison is perfect: “If anybody does marry you, Peter, it will be for the pleasure of hearing you talk piffle.” He does talk piffle, usually to camouflage his true feelings or to make others thing he’s sillier than he really is.
The two sleuths suit each other in so many ways. Peter loves and worships Harriet, but he doesn’t control her or smother her. She still keeps her career as a writer. He comes to her aid when she needs it, but never forces himself into her business unless asked. Harriet is always on Peter’s side and is never afraid of his darker, vulnerable moods. It would be nice to find someone like Peter - someone who can make you laugh and comfort you and love you and think you are the smartest woman in the world and still be your champion when you’re in trouble.