Author: Charis Ellison

Episode 26: The Nine Tailors, part 1

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon are back to begin discussing THE NINE TAILORS. We cover the first section of the book, the strong sense of place and atmosphere, and puzzle over where this book fits into the Wimsey chronology.

The Ngaio Marsh book that Charis found so tediously lacking in corpses was TIED UP IN TINSEL (1972)

As part of our discussion about the various young women in Sayers’ novels we refer back to our special episode with Mo Moulton, in which they joined us to discuss their book THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY: HOW DOROTHY L. SAYERS AND HER OXFORD CIRCLE REMADE THE WORLD FOR WOMEN and which you can listen to here.

Episode 23: Murder Must Advertise, part 2

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon continue our conversation on MURDER MUST ADVERTISE, beginning with a discussion of literary Modernism and why Sharon views this as the most Modernist of the Wimsey novels. We also run through the copy department staff and their merits as coworkers, summarize the Great Nutrax Row, get a welcome dose of domestic bliss and a glimpse of marital equality during a visit to the Parkers, and touch briefly on Peter’s antics moonlighting as a masked harlequin.

This episode touches on events and revelations through the eleventh chapter, and does not give away the whodunnit.

Shownotes:

  • Sharon refers back to our second episode on Whose Body, which also discusses literary Modernism. She mentions THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford, and ULYSSES by James Joyce–particularly the episode ‘Aeolus’, which Sharon connects with the end of chapter five in MURDER MUST ADVERTISE. Sharon references THE GREAT WAR AND MODERN MEMORY (Paul Fussell), an influential book of literary criticism. Fussell’s thesis is that the trauma of WWI necessitated the changes in poetic language and narrative representation that gave rise to Modernist forms.
  • In discussing the plethora of minor characters, Sharon refers to Alex Woloch’s THE ONE VS. THE MANY: MINOR CHARACTERS AND THE SPACE OF THE PROTAGONIST IN THE NOVEL
  • Charis paraphrases chapter three of MURDER MUST ADVERTISE, the exact quote being “…if, by the most farfetched stretch of ingenuity, an indecent meaning could be read into a headline, that was the meaning that the great British Public would infallibly read into it…”
  • The lamp that brought the quote to mind:
  • “This is the most Bruce Wayne–” Bruce Wayne is, of course, the billionaire playboy behind the mask of Batman.
  • “What in the Sexton Blake is that, Peter?” Sexton Blake was a popular pulp detective fiction character during the era of Dorothy L. Sayers, and a particular favorite of Peter’s young friend Ginger Joe.

Episode 22: Murder Must Advertise, part 1

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon begin our conversation on MURDER MUST ADVERTISE and introduce the mysterious goings-on at Pym’s Publicity that summon one Death Bredon to investigate. We cover the difference between the “mystery of the mystery” and the “mystery of the text,” Dorothy L. Sayers’ own work at an advertising agency, her views on mass consumption and the tricky ethics of the advertising trade, and more.

This episode touches on events and revelations from the beginning of MURDER MUST ADVERTISE to approximately halfway through the fourth chapter, and does not give away the whodunnit.

Shownotes:

  • The excerpts Sharon pulls from Sayers’ letters to her publisher regarding writing MURDER MUST ADVERTISE and to her parents about her job at Benson’s ad agency come from The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers 1899 to 1936: The Making of a Detective Novelist (edited by Barbara Reynolds). Regarding MMA, the full quote from her letter to Victor Gollancz, her publisher, reads as follows from a letter she sent him in September 1932: “The new book is nearly done. I hate it because it isn’t the one I wanted to write, but I had to shove it in because I couldn’t get the technical dope on The Nine Tailors in time. still, you never know what the public will fancy, do you? It will tell people a little bit about hte technical side of advertising, which most people are inquisitive about, and it deals with the dope-traffic, which is fashionable at the moment, but I don’t feel that this part is very convincing, as I can’t say I ‘know dope.’ Not one of my best efforts. The Nine Tailors will be a labour of love—and probably a flop!”
  • We briefly mention the TV shows Mad Men and Leverage
  • Note that Sharon initially correctly notes the dates Sayers worked at Benson’s ad agency (1922-1931) and then immediately misspeaks twice and says she left in 1929.
  • The essay on “The Other Six Deadly Sins” that Sharon brings up in our conversation about Sayers’ disapproval of mass consumption and advertising as a means to create a public appetite for goods that people do not need was initially delivered in 1941 and then published in her Creed or Chaos? collection in 1949. Sharon cites from the essay as it appears in the more widely available collection Letters to a Diminished Church.
  • We bring up Amanda Mull’s essay “Your Sweaters Are Garbage” (The Atlantic, October 2023) in our conversation about fast fashion. For further reading/listening on this topic, we recommend the Culture Study podcast episode “Why Do Clothes Suck Now” as well as Aja Barber’s book Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism. Charis refers as well to “the Vimes boot theory” which is taken from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels and proudly has its own Wikipedia page.
  • When Sharon mentions Ursula K. LeGuin’s injunction that we must imagine our way out of capitalism, she is referring to LeGuin’s remarks in her acceptance speech for the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters: “We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable — but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art. Very often in our art, the art of words.” You can find video of the full speech and transcript here.

Episode 21: HAVE HIS CARCASE, part 4

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon wrap up our discussion (finally!) of HAVE HIS CARCASE. We pick up about halfway through the book with an emotional watershed moment for Peter and Harriet, cover the discovery of the corpse and subsequent hullabaloo, and give away the whodunnit and howdunnit. Also in this episode: some fond ribbing of Theater People, Mrs. Weldon as the series’ Final Girl when it comes to elderly women murdered for their fortunes, our impatience with ciphers, and more!

Shownotes:

  • Many thanks to supporters who’ve joined us on Patreon! We’ll be sharing behind-the-scenes content, creating open posts for patrons to chat with us after each episode drops, and if you sign up at the $20/month Dowager Duchess level, Charis will sing every verse of “On Ilkla Moor Baht’at” to you (or the victim of your choosing).
  • Sharon is never not bringing up The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and this episode is no exception.
  • Sharon also mentions the American competitive cooking show Chopped, in which chefs must create three courses out of secret ingredient boxes.
  • The audiobooks that Charis listens to are the ones narrated by Sir Ian Carmichael.
  • You’ll also get to hear us look up details of Thomas Beddoes’ Death’s Jest Book in real time in this episode.
  • Sharon quotes from Sayers’ letter to her cousin Ivy Shrimpton, collected in The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: 1899 to 1936: “I am struggling wiht another book—horribly complicated! But it must be done, under contract, so there’s nothing for it but to wire in and work it out.”
  • Charis would like it to be known that all her comments about Theater People come from a fond place, as she herself is also a Theater Person and can do the Alpha Psi Omega secret handshake to prove it!
  • Thank you to our patrons who’ve joined the Patreon at the $5 and up/month level as of the date we recorded this episode: Rose O., Jan L., Caisee F., Jessie S., Sarah C., Katherine S., and Kindra C. Your support literally makes this work possible!

Episode 19: HAVE HIS CARCASE, Part 2

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon return (at last!) to Wilvercombe, where Harriet Vane is joined by a familiar monocled face. Their discussion takes them through Chapter 8, including a summation of the evidence gathered so far, mild raptures over witty dialogue, the detective partnership of Peter and Harriet, and the question of taste, style, and class–when the distinction matters, and to whom. 

This episode covers the fourth through eighth chapters of HAVE HIS CARCASE and does not give away the whodunnit.

Download the episode 19 transcript (coming soon!)

Shownotes:

Please Note: We touch on the topic of suicide throughout the episode, but discuss it directly between 14:00 -17:00. 

  • “Good morning, Sherlock. Where is the dressing gown? How many pipes of shag have you consumed? The hypodermic is on the dressing-room table.” — Peter is, of course, referring to details from the Sherlock Holmes stories. 
  • Romance tropes – ‘Meet cute‘, ‘enemies to lovers‘, ‘friends to lovers‘.
  • Sharon “imprinted at a young age” on Han Solo and Princess Leia from the original Star Wars trilogy.
  • “His Girl Friday-ing” refers to the 1940 film starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.
  • “Impossible dream casts” – Sharon would have loved to see Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey take on Peter and Harriet’s rapid-fire dialogue, while both Charis and Sharon agree that Leslie Howard would have been the ideal casting choice for Peter.  
  • Charis’ silhouette portraits of Peter (by way of Leslie Howard) and Harriet:
  • Sharon spends the episode trying valiantly not to mention Pierre Bourdieu and Walter Benjamin …but fails. 
  • “The Charis cameo”–Dorothy L. Sayers named one of the professional dancers after her friend Charis Frankenburg. Learn more about them in The Mutual Admiration Society by Mo Moulton, who joined us in episode 3.5!
  • NOTE: At 53:50 Sharon misspoke and said Unnatural Death when she was really talking about The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.

Episode 15: FIVE RED HERRINGS, part 2

~ Charis Ellison

In which Charis and Sharon discuss the second half of THE FIVE RED HERRINGS. We’re joined once again by our friend Angela Hines, who represents the pro-timetables point of view.

We reveal the Thing That Was Missing, briefly round up all the suspects, and re-visit our discussion of the Farren marriage as part of Sayers’ continuing theme of equality and inequality in relationships. We also discuss why Peter seems to get along well with artists, what Charis and Sharon find lacking (fraught emotions!), and what Angela finds in abundance (complex puzzle solving!) before revealing the whodunnit and outlining the final confrontation of the book.

This episode covers the second half of the novel and gives away both the vital clue and the whodunnit.

 

Download the episode 15 transcript.

Shownotes:

  • “…and in the future Bob Ross is gonna show everyone how to do it.” Bob Ross, host of the PBS show The Joy of Painting, frequently demonstrated techniques using a palette knife.

  • The Charlie Day meme references an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and features the character in front of a ‘conspiracy theory wall’ of images and text linked with string.

    • angela meme

  • “You think a depressed person could make this?” is a quote from Parks & Recreation, Season 4, Episode 11: ‘The Comeback Kid’.