Gaudy Night cover art

Gaudy Night

Lord Peter Wimsey, Book 12

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Gaudy Night

By: Dorothy L. Sayers
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.99

Buy Now for $33.99

About this listen

The best of the golden age crime writers, praised by all the top modern writers in the field including P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers created the immortal Lord Peter Wimsey. The twelfth book featuring Lord Peter (the third novel to feature Harriet Vane) is set in an Oxford women's college.

Harriet Vane has never dared to return to her old Oxford college. Now, despite her scandalous life, she has been summoned back....

At first she thinks her worst fears have been fulfilled, as she encounters obscene graffiti, poison pen letters, and a disgusting effigy when she arrives at sedate Shrewsbury College for the Gaudy celebrations.

But soon Harriet realises she is not the only target of this murderous malice - and asks Lord Peter Wimsey to help.

©1935 The Trustees of Anthony Fleming (deceased) (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Crime Detective

Critic Reviews

"I admire her novels...she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a wonderful eye for detail." (P. D. James)
All stars
Most relevant  
some attitudes no longer appropriate, but it was written more than 100years ago, once you accept that, the book is great

complexity of plot

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Unlike the half dozen unnatural deaths in many modern crime novels, Sayers gives us not one body in Gaudy Night. In fact, crime is almost a background noise. Yet her understanding of relationships as expressed through her characters is profound. This is definitely my favourite Wimsey/Vane. Jane McDowell's narration is expressive and enjoyable. Bravo all around.

Sayers at her zenith

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Every now and then I try to listen to this again because I love the story so much. However every time I do I’m mystified by how this narrator came to be employed for such iconic stories. She has a lovely vocal timbre but her delivery would be more suitable for an instruction manual. There is no characterisation, no warmth, no sense of Oxford and the stiff jerky pace is jarring. I kept longing for Edward Petherbridge or Harriet Walter - the best Peter and Harriet ever. This recording is six years old now. Surely it’s time for some better versions??

Horrible narration wonderful book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The performance was spoilt for me by a simple mispronunciation- the hideous ‘mischievEEOus’ for mischievous
Otherwise I found it well and sympathetically read.
As a love story with a detective interest it is one of, if not the, best.

A great classic nicely presented

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was so excited to learn of this narration of one of my favourite books. The narrator’s diction was lovely, but such a robotic delivery! And I would have thought that, before embarking on a narration of a book containing so much Latin, some research on Latin pronunciation might have been in order, but alas!

Disappointing narration of a wonderful book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was a fascinating time and place. I enjoyed learning about the culture and traditions of Oxford.
Good plot. Lots of intellectual snobbery which wasn't the most pleasant thing to listen to, but other than that great book.

An intelligently written book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Gaudy Night is one of my favourite Wimsey Vane novels. I've been looking online to see whether it is available with a different narrator. I very nearly did not start listening to it in the first place, after hearing 'gaudy' mispronounced. My mother loved Dorothy L Sayers' books, and though she had not been to university, nor had the benefit of the worldwide web, she told me that the pronounciation is not 'gordy' but the latin 'gowdy'. Anyone who has sung Gaudeamus Igitur, or Laudate Dominum, for example, would be amply aware of how to pronounce Latin words. There are similar mispronunciations of latin words throughout the reading; and as it is a while since I could bring myself to listen again, I have no doubt there other errors of pronunciation throughout. I am amazed that anyone who undertook reading such a text would not have made themselves familiar with pronunciation. The icing on the cake however, came this morning, when I decided I really should give it another go, putting my prejudices behind me, and trying to cope with the the grating feeling of listening to this reader. I was horrified when the last few minutes of the book started playing, and horror of horrors she was saying MISCHEEVEEUS! instead of mischievous. How could a person supposed to be a professional newsreader POSSIBLY pronounce the word in that way? I would accept a dramatised version of the book, but it would have to be the full text. This is not a story to be trifled with.

Very disappointing delivery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.