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Gaudy Night

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Gaudy Night

By: Dorothy L Sayers
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
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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 that she is not the only target of this murderous
malice - and asks Lord Peter Wimsey to help.

'I admire her novels ... she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a
wonderful eye for detail' P. D. James

(P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton©1935 The Trustees of Anthony Fleming Crime Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives
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DLS’s stories are old favourites of mine, read and re-reread many, many, times. These Jane McDowell readings are accurate and the French well rendered but the lady, hard though she tries, has a poor command of the idiomatic. She rather breathlessly renders many phrases with incorrect emphasis. Many an old-fashioned phrase is less than perfectly interpreted. Rehearsal and editing might help. A great pleasure tinged with irritation.

Beautiful story, accurately but poorly delivered.

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Fascinating portrait of an academic world with interesting references to eugenics and the Nazi regime.
The narrator however made several howlers. None of the classic Greek names were pronounced correctly not even Aesop. Several times words like row and bow were pronounced to rhyme with Ow! Not with hoe as the context made clear. Also hesitation at the end of pages produced a brief hiatus in the story. Was this actually AI reading not a real person?

Excellent story

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A great book by a favourite author. So many characters take a lot of concentration to remember who's who but I will probably listen again to take it all in! I would prefer to hear Ian Carmichael narrate. This narrator has a rather jilting way of speaking and odd phrasing. However I got used to her and the narration didn't spoil my enjoyment of the unfolding plot and relationships.

Lord Peter Wimsey Never Fails!

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A compelling tale that neatly reconciles crime with equable romance amid the colleges and spires of Oxford. Set in 1935 this fascinating portrait of the lot of academic, independent women shows attitudes not so very different from today. I enjoyed the calm narration but found it marred by inexcusable mispronunciations and occasional monotony (also noted in other Sayers' titles by the same narrator). The former would have been easily prevented by a little preparation and research.

Lord Peter Meets His Match

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If you could sum up Gaudy Night in three words, what would they be?

Oxford; romance; mystery

What did you like best about this story?

A Continuation of the ongoing story of Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, as well as a love-letter to Oxford and a detective story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

in many, many, ways. I will avoid any book she is reading - she could spoil any book! She pauses irritatingly after every few words, at inappropriate places, she stresses the wrong words to make sense of a sentence, and she frequently mispronounces words - even homophones, such as 'bow' are pronounced incorrectly (revealing that she has little understanding of what she is reading. Why on earth was she recruited as a reader????

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

the book delighted me, but the reading made me scream with frustration and irritation.

Any additional comments?

PLEASE restore or re-commission new readings of the Sayers books, and don't let this woman loose on any books again.

Awful performance nearly spoils good book

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