Gaudy Night has EVERYTHING I like in it. To name a few:

1. Mystery

2. Academic regalia

3. Romance

4. Quotations from John Donne

5. Feminism

6. Early 20th-century British prose

7. Bach

8. Ornate chess pieces

9. Awkward alumni events

10. University campuses in the summertime*

Which is probably why I re-read it, say, once a year. This book might be the book I have re-read the most times. So good.

*They really are one of my favorite things.