Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers with guest ZJ Czupor

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Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re reading the best mysteries ever written, as well as interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers.

In Gaudy Night, Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater, Oxford, only to find the tranquil setting disturbed by a series of unsettling incidents. Published in 1935, it’s considered by some to be the first feminist mystery novel, and it’s a prime example of Dorothy L. Sayers’ elegant prose, complex characterization, and intricate, emotionally charged storytelling.

Guest ZJ Czupor (Zoltan James) joins Sarah and Carolyn in a delightful discussion. Join us, won’t you?

Zoltan James is the pen name of ZJ Czupor. He writes mysteries, thrillers, and the occasional poem, and is proud to be represented by Terrie Wolf, founder and owner of AKA Literary Management.

His monthly column ON TOUR WITH DEAD WRITERS features vignettes about famous mystery writers and is available exclusively on Rogue Women Writers blog. Check it out here.
zjames.substack.com
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We chose Gaudy Night as one of our “history of mystery” book reads. Let’s discuss why … and make a case for having chosen the other.

For instance, Gaudy Night shows up on several lists of important books. Written by a woman, with a woman acting as detective, at a critical historical juncture, AND this is a huge departure for Sayers, with A LOT of internal monologue for Vane, the detective. It feels very autobiographical in many ways.
Gaudy Night pushes the mystery genre in the direction of philosophical treatise, asking questions about duty and where our ultimate loyalty lies. It’s a social commentary, specifically on the question of prospects for women who are smart and would like both a career and family.

Sayers includes long passages of complicated dialogue — long scenes where Oxford dons debate matters of ethics and social policy or conversations where Harriet Vane ponders what it means to write mysteries.

Gaudy Night has been called the first feminist mystery novel. Is it a mystery novel posing as a philosophical treatise (or the opposite)? How did you feel about the many discussions of life, love, men/women, marriage and family, class/status, education, …. Is it less a mystery novel than a romance, social commentary, comedy of manners, philosophical exploration, feminist manifesto, novel of personal growth, künstlerroman (artist’s novel) …?

Which is paramount here: plot or philosophy? In what ways do the ideas introduced at the beginning of the book evolve throughout the book? In what ways does Harriet herself change?
Backstory: Harriet Vane is an Oxford graduate with a First in English. She attends Shrewsbury College then moves to London to write mystery novels. She’s wrongly accused of murder. Lord Peter Wimsey secures her release from prison. For the past five years, he has wanted to marry her. Harriet hasn’t been back to Shrewsbury since she finished her studies and is nervous about attending the Gaudy. (Contained in Strong Poison & Have His Carcase)

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