Sayers in London

On her return to England, Dorothy was depressed by the end of her relationship with Eric Whelpton but she was always a positive person. She started to look for work. She found a flat. She renewed friendship with her old pals, who were mostly writers and artists. She would later use this as background for her novels "Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club" and "Strong Poison". She was short of money and she was dependent on help from her father. At this stage, in the early 1920s, she met another man who would cause her heartache. His name was John Cournous and he was of Russian origin but had spent many years in America. She fell in love with him, and this time, her man friend responded. But he was like Whelpton in that he was not in love with her. Like Whelpton, he was pretentious and looked down on her interests such as reading detective fiction, doing crosswords and going to the cinema. She enjoyed other pursuits but was not snobbish about intellectual matters. She had begun to write her first Lord Peter novel and believed that she had created a character (aristocratic detective) who would do well and make money for her. She then secured a job in an advertising agency. Her relationship with Cornous did not go well. They had some sexual contact but she was essentially a conservative minded girl who did not eagerly embrace the freedoms of the 1920's.. Sexual freedom for women was still a new idea and she was very religious. Cornous wanted her to become his mistress and said that he did not believe in marriage, or want children. She felt that it would be an unhappy relationship and sinful, if she became his mistress. They argued about these issues, and Dorothy felt the strain of an unhappy love affair..

Sayers after Oxford Part II

Dorothy moved to France to take up her job with Eric Whelpton. She enjoyed being with him and liked France. Her French was excellent. However, while they were good friends, Eric did not see her as a romantic partner. The work was not demanding and Dorothy read a lot of detective stories. She believed that she could write such stories, and make her fortune. Whelpton looked down on light literature. He was fond of Dorothy and willing to make use of her devotion to him, but she knew that he was involved with other women. Then he fell in love with a married lady and wanted to marry her. However, his sophisticated persona was probably an influence in the creation of Lord Peter Wimsey who is similarly cosmopolitan and successful with women. Whelpton grew bored with his job, and began to plan for a move to Florence. He offered Dorothy a chance to buy into his business and take over, but she did not do so. She gave up the job and returned to England.. She decided to live in London and seek employment there. The job with Whelpton and their friendship seemed to have ended, and she was now looking for work again.

Sayers After Oxford

On gaining her degree, Sayers took up a teaching post in Hull, and stayed for a year. However, her experience of teaching was not that happy. She was enthusiastic, but realised that most of the pupils had not learned very much. It was difficult for her, who had always loved studying and been well taught, to get down to their level. She also knew that she wanted to be a writer or dramatist, even though most women graduates ended up as teachers. The War was still going on. After a year, she returned to Oxford, where she had been so happy. Her father had been helping her with a small allowance, until she was able to be self supporting. He paid out a sum of money for her to become an apprentice in a publishing house. She took up work at Blackwells, which was then a thriving business. Basil Blackwell, the owner, who became a good friend, engaged to teach her all about the publishing process. She was on a very small salary, but was happy to be back in Oxford. She felt she was much better suited to mixing with writers and artists, than with schoolchildren. She continued to write poetry, often on religious themes and had some work published. She enjoyed the social life in Oxford, seeing old friends. Through one of her women friends, Doreen Wallace, she met a man called Eric Whelpton. Like her, he dabbled in writing, and was a Francophile. He had several health issues, due to his war service. Dorothy began to grow fond of him. He was more sophisticated, especially in sexual matters than the inexperienced Dorothy. He did not reciprocate her romantic feelings... After 2 years in Blackwell's, Dorothy left the job. She continued to do some work for Basil, reading manuscripts but she seemed to be a standstill, career wise. She didn't like teaching, and publishing had not worked out. Whelpton got a job in France teaching, and decided to set up a sideline business, arranging for English schoolchildren to go to France to learn, and vice versa. He suggested that Dorothy might like to become his secretary. She accepted his offer.

Sayers At Oxford Part III

Sayers enjoyed her years at Oxford though she later said that she never particularly wished for an academic career, that she preferred working "in the world." In 1914, during the summer break, she and a friend took a holiday in France and were caught out by the sudden outbreak of war. Like many in England, she wasn't aware of how serious the international situation was. During World War One, she was busy with her student life and didn’t take much part in war work. She had cousins who were in the Army, and some of of her women friends had brothers who were serving.. but she had noone very close to her who was in danger. Her attitude was detached, which was common for civilians in the early years of the war. When she finished her degree, she toyed with the idea of taking up some kind of war work, such as nursing, but unlike her fellow writer Vera Brittain she did not follow through. She decided to get some experience in teaching.. which was the most common profession for women graduates.

Sayers Part II

Dorothy Sayers went to Godolphin School, where she studied until she went to Oxford. She had mixed feelings about school. She had never been away from home, and had usually mixed with older people. The school had an emphasis on academic subjects but there were also games, which she enjoyed less. She had always loved music, writing and drama. At home, she had acted out scenes from her favourite novels, especially Dumas' Three Musketeers. At school, she developed a love of music, including singing and playing the cello. She took part in plays and school entertainments. She was good at languages and seemed as if she would end up as a teacher or a college lecturer. She made friends and kept in touch with her younger relatives by letter. However she had some health problems. She caught pneumonia in her last year. She was very ill, and nearly died. Afterwards, she was taken back home to recuperate. She took her final exams after she had left and been tutored by letter, by her teachers. She had grown rather tired of the restrictions of school life, and noted that "everyone thought she loved school but she hated it"... After leaving school, she got a scholarship to Oxford. She was studying languages. She made many women friends at Somerville College, many of whom also became writers and she remained friends with them for her life. The young women at Oxford were restricted in their social lives, much more so than male undergraduates. They were new to the college. It was expected that they would conform to almost Victorian standards of propriety, in order to win the approval of male dons. It was felt that learning made women unfeminine or even immoral. The girls seemed to accept their probationary status with good humour, rather than resenting it.

Sayers Part I

Dorothy Leigh Sayers became famous as a writer, one of the early women detective novelists and a poet. She also wrote numerous plays about religious themes and was a well known lay theologian in her middle years. She was born in 1893 to a clergyman, Henry Sayers in Oxford. In childhood, her family moved to a remote parish in the Fens, where there were few middle class or gentry families. So she grew up somewhat isolated from her contemporaries. Her parents often had relatives living with them, such as elderly aunts or grandparents. Dorothy got on better with older people. She sometimes shared lessons with other children... but in her teens, she went to a good boarding school, to prepare for going to University. She was a very clever child and enjoyed lessons and it was clear that she had the talents to do well at Oxford... though at the time Oxford did not grant full degrees to women. Her family were not all that well off and Dorothy hoped to be able to earn her living.. unlike many girls of her class.

Dorothy Sayers

 Havent been posting for a few weeks but I hope to write about Dorothy L Sayers, one of my favourite writers and one of the creators of the modern mystery story...