
Dorothy L. Sayers
A Careless Rage for Life
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Narrated by:
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Wanda McCaddon
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By:
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David Coomes
About this listen
Known to millions as the creator of Lord Peter Wimsey and the best-selling author of a dozen detective novels, Dorothy Leigh Sayers was in reality a complex woman - moved, she said, by “a careless rage for life.” It is this complex Sayers, brilliant student, controversial apologist, witty, bawdy, intolerant of fools - he woman “terrified of emotion” - who is revealed in this new biography.
The production of Sayers’ radio play on the life of Christ, The Man Born to Be King, raised a storm of controversy. Reveling in the verbal battle, pugnacious, tenacious, she nonetheless pursued the Christian faith not merely as an intellectual godgame, but as the dominant force in her life. The Wimsey novels’ treatment of the themes of justice, guilt, punishment and the imperatives of personal responsibility reflect her beliefs.
©1992 David Coomes (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Dorothy L. Sayers
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Overall
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Dorothy L Sayers was a woman of contrasts. A strong Christian, she had a baby by a man she did not love - out of wedlock. Possessing a fierce intellect, she translated Dante - and also created one of the most popular fictional detectives ever, in Lord Peter Wimsey. With no new biographies on Sayers having been published for some time, Colin Duriez reassesses her, her life, her writings, her studies and her faith. Drawing on previously unpublished material, particularly her collected letters, he brings to life a fascinating woman.
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very thorough...
- By Deanna O'Shaughnessy on 09-02-24
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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
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C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?
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Excellent
- By andrew wilson smith on 03-08-22
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Dorothy and Jack
- The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C.S. Lewis
- By: Gina Dalfonzo
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What happens when we push past the surface and allow real, grounded, mutually challenging, and edifying friendships to develop? We need only look at the little-known friendship between eminent Christian thinkers Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis to find out. Born out of a fan letter that celebrated mystery novelist Sayers wrote to Lewis as his star was just beginning to rise, this friendship between a married woman and a longtime bachelor developed over years of correspondence as the two discovered their mutual admiration of each other's writing, thinking, and faith.
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Friendship
- By Thomas D. Mackie Ph.D. on 01-12-25
By: Gina Dalfonzo
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Lord Peter Wimsey: Novels 1-3
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The first three mysteries for Dorothy L. Sayers' aristocratic sleuth: first, a body is discovered in a Battersea bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez, on the same night that financier Sir Reuben Levy disappears from his Park Lane home. Then, Wimsey returns to England when his brother, the Duke of Denver, is accused of murdering the fiance of their sister, Lady Mary, and a trial in the House of Lords looms; and finally, an overheard conversation in a restaurant begins an investigation of the strangely premature death of wealthy and terminally ill old lady Miss Agatha Dawson.
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Love Lord Peter
- By Mav's mom on 10-16-24
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The Man Born to Be King
- A BBC Radio 4 Drama Collection
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: full cast, Gabriel Woolf, John Westbrook, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothy L. Sayers was best known for her mystery novels featuring aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. But she was also a poet, playwright and committed Christian, and in The Man Born to Be King, she combined art and evangelism to powerful effect, making the story of Christ accessible, relevant and every bit as thrilling as her detective fiction.
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I would like a bit less dynamic range
- By Adam Shields on 02-23-23
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Seabiscuit
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Story
Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail.
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See you in the winner's circle
- By Janice on 06-26-13
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Dorothy L. Sayers
- A Biography: Death, Dante and Lord Peter Wimsey
- By: Colin Duriez
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothy L Sayers was a woman of contrasts. A strong Christian, she had a baby by a man she did not love - out of wedlock. Possessing a fierce intellect, she translated Dante - and also created one of the most popular fictional detectives ever, in Lord Peter Wimsey. With no new biographies on Sayers having been published for some time, Colin Duriez reassesses her, her life, her writings, her studies and her faith. Drawing on previously unpublished material, particularly her collected letters, he brings to life a fascinating woman.
-
-
very thorough...
- By Deanna O'Shaughnessy on 09-02-24
By: Colin Duriez
-
The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
- How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
- By: Jason M Baxter
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?
-
-
Excellent
- By andrew wilson smith on 03-08-22
By: Jason M Baxter
-
Dorothy and Jack
- The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C.S. Lewis
- By: Gina Dalfonzo
- Narrated by: Pamela Klein
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when we push past the surface and allow real, grounded, mutually challenging, and edifying friendships to develop? We need only look at the little-known friendship between eminent Christian thinkers Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis to find out. Born out of a fan letter that celebrated mystery novelist Sayers wrote to Lewis as his star was just beginning to rise, this friendship between a married woman and a longtime bachelor developed over years of correspondence as the two discovered their mutual admiration of each other's writing, thinking, and faith.
-
-
Friendship
- By Thomas D. Mackie Ph.D. on 01-12-25
By: Gina Dalfonzo
-
Lord Peter Wimsey: Novels 1-3
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Graham Scott
- Length: 26 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first three mysteries for Dorothy L. Sayers' aristocratic sleuth: first, a body is discovered in a Battersea bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez, on the same night that financier Sir Reuben Levy disappears from his Park Lane home. Then, Wimsey returns to England when his brother, the Duke of Denver, is accused of murdering the fiance of their sister, Lady Mary, and a trial in the House of Lords looms; and finally, an overheard conversation in a restaurant begins an investigation of the strangely premature death of wealthy and terminally ill old lady Miss Agatha Dawson.
-
-
Love Lord Peter
- By Mav's mom on 10-16-24
-
The Man Born to Be King
- A BBC Radio 4 Drama Collection
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: full cast, Gabriel Woolf, John Westbrook, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothy L. Sayers was best known for her mystery novels featuring aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. But she was also a poet, playwright and committed Christian, and in The Man Born to Be King, she combined art and evangelism to powerful effect, making the story of Christ accessible, relevant and every bit as thrilling as her detective fiction.
-
-
I would like a bit less dynamic range
- By Adam Shields on 02-23-23
-
Seabiscuit
- An American Legend
- By: Laura Hillenbrand
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail.
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See you in the winner's circle
- By Janice on 06-26-13
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What listeners say about Dorothy L. Sayers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Michael A. Fox
- 02-27-19
Rings true…
This is a wonderful book about a fascinating woman. As good as the book is, it is worth purchasing for its production. Otherwise spotless, at the 5:16 mark of the fourth chapter, an old rotary dial telephone rings once in the background. Just a little toast to human frailty in an age of perfection. Which is suggestive of Ms. Sayer' life, actually.
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Overall
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- Targuman
- 02-28-19
Excellent biography, occasional audio issues
Coomes has written an excellent and accessible biography of DLS. The voice (of the writer, not the narrator) is very similar to his subject, warm, colorful, and engaging. The author offers his own assessment of her life, adding commentary and a bit of critique without being too harsh or to fawning in admiration. A major positive aspect of this work is the extensive quotations from DLS's own works, particular her letters.
Only two things mar this book:
(1) The major plus, the quoting of DLS's material, is also the most troublesome aspect of the audio: It is often difficult to tell when the narrator is citing DLS as opposed to continuing Coomes' commentary. In written form you have visual indications, but in the audio, with no real change in voice from the narrator, it was often difficult to discern when we had moved into direct citation.
(2) On an iPhone X the audio quality was fine but there were occasional (and humorous) moments of scratchiness and even a ringing phone! Nothing too major and on the whole (unlike another reviewer) I did not find that this distracted from the experience.
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