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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 50 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Sayers, Dorothy L.
Body. "Whose Body" was Ms. Sayers' first mystery, and introduces Lord Peter Wimsey, who, much to the despair of his family, has taken up crime-solving as a hobby. In this book, he must discover the murderer of an unknown corpse that is found in a man's bathtub one morning.
Mr. Tallboy. Victor Dean was blackmailing Tallboy, who was involved in the dope traffic. Thank you for playing my quiz. :-)
| Which character is introduced in "Unnatural Death", and is a great help to Lord Peter in some of the books following that? | Dorothy L. Sayers Characters
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Miss Climpson. Miss Climpson is an elderly lady who does a lot of undercover investigating for Lord Peter, and is FOND of ITALICS in SPEAKING and WRITING!
Photography. Lord Peter often uses Bunter to take pictures of crime scenes.
Sir Julian Freke. Sir Julian killed the man, dumped his body in another guy's bathtub, and put a gold pince-nez on the body's nose.
Annie . Annie is one of the scouts at Shrewsbury College (invented by Sayers) at Oxford University. Near the end, when Lord Peter accuses her, she admits that she did it.
| What was the name of Lord Peter's first love? (Hint: He mentions her occasionally, but their love affair is never actually described in any of the books.) | Dorothy L. Sayers Characters
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Barbara. Lord Peter tells Harriet about her, and occasionally, in some of the books, he says things like, "Ah, Barbara, I suppose you fancied someone else."
| One of the characters in "Murder Must Advertise" is Miss Parton, who works at Pym's Publicity, Ltd. What is her job? | Dorothy L. Sayers Characters
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Typist. Miss Parton is one of the typists at Pym's.
| In "Strong Poison", Inspector Parker, one of Lord Peter's good friends, confesses that he has a crush on Mary. Who is Mary? | Dorothy L. Sayers Characters
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Lord Peter's sister. Inspector Parker says that he's liked her for a long time, but he was too afraid to tell her. Lord Peter responds by saying that if Parker doesn't tell her, he himself will.
| What gives the solution to the mystery in the story "False Weight", a tale of the murder of a commercial traveller who takes advantage of his job to indulge in a bit of bigamy? | Dorothy L Sayers' Montague Egg
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the weights in a grandfather clock. The brother of one of the victim's "wives" is the main suspect, but Monty solves the mystery, and shows that the salesman was killed for the contents of his travelling bag.
| In the story "Maher-shalal-hashbaz", Montague Egg does a good turn for a young girl, and finds himself involved in a particularily nasty murder. Who IS Maher-shalal-hashbaz? | Dorothy L Sayers' Montague Egg
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a cat. Monty helps the girl and her cat answer an odd newspaper ad: "Wanted: hard-working, capable Cat to keep down mice in pleasant villa residence and be companion to middle-aged couple. Ten shillings and good home to suitable applicant. Apply to Mr John Doe..." It turns out that Mr and Mrs "John Doe" are gathering dozens of cats, to frighten their old, cat-hating, uncle to death so they can inherit his money.
| Several Montague Egg mysteries hinge upon time and clocks for their solution. In "Dirt Cheap", Monty is staying at an inferior inn when the murder of a fellow commercial traveller occurs. What is the time-related solution to the mystery? | Dorothy L Sayers' Montague Egg
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two clocks have a similar-sounding chime. Monty almost gives the murderer an alibi when he swears he heard the kitchen clock chiming midnight when the murder occurred. Luckily he discovers his mistake before the murderer can get away.
| In the story "A Shot at Goal", the solution to the mystery (the murder of a wealthy mill-owner) hinges upon what common mistake? | Dorothy L Sayers' Montague Egg
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a spelling error. A scrap of paper, torn from a letter, with the words "should be in goal" was found clutched in the victim's hand. This threw suspicion on the goaltender of the mill's football team, who had recently been replaced. Monty, however, discovered that the words should have been "should be in GAOL", which pointed to the true culprit. This was the father of a man whose invention had been appropriated by the thieving mill owner. Monty always uses the spelling "jail", himself, to avoid these little mix-ups.
The Bodleian Library. The murderer establishes an alibi by taking out a "Phi" book ("a book deemed by Bodley's Librarian to be of an indelicate nature", which has to be signed out), and retiring to his "usual corner of Duke Humphrey's Library". He there diguises himself as a woman, walks out, commits the murder, returns, and changes back into his own clothes.
| In "Sleuths on the Scent", we know that the murderer is a man who has been trained in pharmacy. How does he give himself away? | Dorothy L Sayers' Montague Egg
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his characteristic method of opening a flask stopper. "'There's only one way I know of to take out stoppers, and that's to take 'em out. What d'you expect me to do? Whistle 'em out?' 'You do it that way because you aren't accustomed to measuring and pouring with one hand while the other's occupied. But a doctor or a chemist pulls the stopper out with his little finger, like this, and lifts the bottle in the same hand, holding the measuring-glass in his left, so -'".
| In "The Poisoned Dow '08", the victim had been given some poisoned port wine. How is the poison introduced into the wine? | Dorothy L Sayers' Montague Egg
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through a hollow corkscrew. Monty feels some urgency to solve this crime. After all, to have a customer die after drinking some of their port does not reflect well on his employers. "Not but what the wine was wholesome enough when we sent it out...But it's not the sort of publicity we care for."
recites rhyming couplets. The maxims from the "Salesman's Handbook" sustain Monty through every problem that comes up. After all, "The salesman who will use his brains will spare himself a world of pains."
Plummet and Rose. Montague Egg is not the only detective of the period to be a seller of wines. H. Warner Allen created his detective William Clerihew in 1930 for the story "Tokay of the Comet Year". Clerihew later appeared in several novels.
Wines and spirits. Monty's expertise in the wine and spirits line leads to the solution of two mysteries, "The Poisoned Dow '08", and "Bitter Almonds".
| "'...and he himself has said it,' muttered Freddy, 'and it's greatly to his credit.'" Whose lines is Freddy Arbuthnott remembering in "Strong Poison"? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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W.S.Gilbert. From "H.M.S. Pinafore."
| The chapter headings in "Have His Carcase" are taken from the poems of Thomas Lovell Beddoes. "The Bride's Tragedy" is one, which is the other? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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Death's Jestbook. The quotes are all suitably gory and atmospheric for this novel about the murder of a haemophiliac Russian dancer.
The Divine Comedy. Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" was written in the 14th century in Latin. Its three parts follow Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, guided by the poet Virgil. "Carmina Burana" is a twelfth century poem, made famous by Carl Orff's setting of it to music. "The Canterbury Tales" were the fourteenth century work of England's Geoffrey Chaucer whose most famous modern translation is by Nevill Coghill. "Beowulf" is considered the first work in English.
| 'By the pricking of my thumbs, something evil this way comes.' These lines are used by Sayers at the start of Chapter 2 of "Unnatural Death". Which Shakespearean character originally spoke them? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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Second Witch. From "Macbeth". "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" is also the title of an excellent Agatha Christie novel.
A very conceited, metaphysical conclusion!. The sonnet is left by mistake in Harriet's dossier which she hands to Peter. He says nothing to her about it, but adds the final sestet of lines, with this comment, before handing the file back to her. His completion of the poem helps Harriet to understand how he views life and love and is influential in her finally agreeing to marry him. This is practically the only letter he writes Harriet which doesn't contain a proposal!
| 'Here, then, at home, by no more storms distrest,
Folding laborious hands we sit, wings furled.'
This poem was written by Dorothy L. Sayers herself. True or false? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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True. Although, of course, in "Gaudy Night" these are Harriet Vane's words.
| 'Bredon went to Balliol
And sat at the feet of Gamaliel.
And just as he ought
He cared for nought
And his language was sesquipedalial!'
Characters from which novel write this limerick? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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Murder Must Advertise. Mr Garrett produced the first two lines, Miss Meteyard added the next two, challenging Garrett to find a further rhyme for Balliol. Unfortunately, she points out, 'It isn't sesquipedalial, it's sesquipedalian.' The subject of the rhyme is, of course, Peter Wimsey, masquerading as Mr Death Bredon, advertising copywriter.
Frank Crutchley. Frank Crutchley murdered Mr Noakes hoping that his fortune would go to Aggie Twitterton whom he would then marry. When Frank discovered that Noakes had left behind no money, only debts, he promptly dumped Miss Twitterton and went back to his other girlfriend, Polly Mason. He was a sullen prisoner, refusing to admit his crime which made Lord Peter's nervous reaction at the conviction even worse. Harriet ends by cradling Peter's head in her arms in the hope that he will not hear the hour strike.
| 'So here I'll watch the night and wait
To see the morning shine
When he will hear the stroke of eight
And not the stroke of nine.'
Who wrote these words which begin the final chapter of "Busman's Honeymoon"? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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A. E. Housman. They are taken from Housman's famous work, "A Shropshire Lad".
| 'Towery city, and branchy between towers.
Cuckoo-echoing, bell swarmed, lack-charmed, rock-racked, river-rounded,
The dapple-eared lily below.'
Oxford is described thus at the end of which novel? | Poetry in Dorothy L Sayers' novels
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Gaudy Night. From Gerard Manley Hopkins' wonderful poem "Duns Scotus' Oxford". The sonnet begins with the lines quoted above which should have the characteristic Hopkins' accents.
Latin. The mystery is solved, and Lord Peter has taken Harriet to a Sunday evening concert at his college (Balliol). As they make their way along New College Lane, he proposes to her in Latin: "placetne, magistra?" ("Is this agreeable, my lady?"). Her reply is "placet" ("it is agreeable").
In a punt on the river.. Lord Peter has just arrived the previous day from Warsaw and has fallen asleep in the punt after they have had a picnic on the river. He wakes up as she has been gazing at him, much to her embarrassment.
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