The Seven Deadly Sins in the Work of Dorothy L. SayersThe impact of Dorothy L. Sayer's work is a powerful one. She was a gifted artist who worked in many genres and addressed many issues, but her achievement goes beyond creative skill and variety of range. What she consistently communicates about Sin--the basic problem of human existence--provides a core of content which evokes, as she believed artistic work should, a spiritual "response in the lively soul" (The Zeal of Thy House).
Janice Brown examines Sayers' major works, beginning with her early poetry and moving through her works of fiction to the dramas, essays, and lectures written in the last years of her life. She illustrates how Sayers used popular genres to teach about sin and redemption, how she redefined the Seven Deadly Sins for the twentieth century, why she stopped writing mysteries, and her application of the concepts of sin and redemption to society as a whole. |
Contents
Unpopular Opinions Find a Popular Voice | 1 |
Why Seven? Why Deadly? The Development of a Religious and Literary Concept | 9 |
The Shape of Sin Sayerss Understanding of the Seven Deadly Sins | 25 |
Trapped between Sin and the Cross The Concept of Sin in Sayerss Early Poetry | 45 |
All Have Sinned The Competent Delineation of Character in the Early Novels | 53 |
Deadly Serious The Serious Treatment of the Sins and Passions in Murder Must Advertise The Nine Tailors and Gaudy Night | 109 |
The Way to Heaven Is Paved with Interruptions Busmans Honeymoon | 173 |
Startling the World Prewar Drama and Nonfiction 19371939 | 215 |