Forging English Identity: Dorothy L. Sayers’s Detective Fiction in the Interwar Years
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67431/an1pe261Keywords:
Dorothy L. Sayers, Interwar England, Golden Age Detective Fiction, English Identity, Gender RolesAbstract
Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), a leading figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, offers a compelling literary lens into Interwar English identity. Her Lord Peter Wimsey novels transcend mere puzzles, serving as rich social commentaries. This paper argues that Sayers’s work uniquely reflects and interrogates Britain’s post-World War I landscape by exploring themes of Englishness, critically examining class structures and intellectual elites, depicting the enduring impact of war trauma and fractured masculinity, and challenging gender norms through characters like Harriet Vane. Furthermore, her fiction is imbued with profound ethical and religious dimensions and offers nuanced social commentary on nascent industries like advertising and the dynamics of rural communities. Ultimately, Sayers’s blend of idealized settings with keen realism provides an invaluable cultural document of a nation navigating profound social and psychological transformation.
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