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Gaudy Night

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Gaudy Night

By: Dorothy L Sayers
Narrated by: Jane McDowell
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About this listen

 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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All stars
Most relevant
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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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 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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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoy this book very much so the time wasn't wasted but the narrator let the story down.

What did you like best about this story?

The story line itself.

What didn’t you like about Jane McDowell’s performance?

There were a couple of shocking mispronunciations that irritated me more than somewhat and made nonsense of what was being said. English lends itself to this but context usually makes it clear. In this case 'row' and 'bow' both caused confusion to the narrator but it was clear from the context which pronunciation was required. I found the word 'mischievous' being mispronounced 'mischeevious' most annoying.Sayers' use of language in Gaudy Night is quite complex and is a demanding read. Perhaps due to this the narrator lost her way at times.. For me, she simply didn't manage to capture the 'feel' of the book at all. On the other hand her French was good.

Could you see Gaudy Night being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

There was a TV series made some years back that was very good. Harriet Walters played Harriet Vane very well.

Any additional comments?

I see that Jane McDowell has recorded a lot of the Wimsey stories. I won't be buying any more. I have a couple narrated by Ian Carmichael and Edward Petherbridge, which were excellent.

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