Gaudy Night (1935) is a mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, the twelfth in her popular series about gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, and the third featuring crime writer Harriet Vane.
The women of Harriet Vane's alma mater, Shrewsbury College (a thinly veiled take on Sayers' own Somerville College), have invited her back to attend the much anticipated 'Gaudy' celebrations. However, the mood soon turns sour when a malicious lunatic begins defac...
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Gaudy Night (1935) is a mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, the twelfth in her popular series about gentleman sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, and the third featuring crime writer Harriet Vane.
The women of Harriet Vane's alma mater, Shrewsbury College (a thinly veiled take on Sayers' own Somerville College), have invited her back to attend the much anticipated 'Gaudy' celebrations. However, the mood soon turns sour when a malicious lunatic begins defacing the all-female establishment with obscene graffiti, as well as destroying important manuscripts, sending dark messages to several people and crafting vile effigies. Desperate to avoid a possible murder on campus, Harriet asks her old friend Wimsey to investigate.
"Gaudy" derives from the Latin gaudium and Old French gaudie, meaning "merry-making" or "enjoyment". A college gaudy is a dinner; in this case an annual reunion one. The phrase "gaudy night" is taken from Shakespeare's Antony & Cleopatra:
Harriet Vane returns reluctantly to Oxford...
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