The Devil to Pay

by Dorothy L. Sayers

London. 1939. Victor Gollancz. 22x14. 112p.

Genres: Plays, Drama

147 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

The detective stories of well-known British writer Dorothy Leigh Sayers mostly feature the amateur investigator Lord Peter Wimsey; she also translated the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri.

This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.

Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...

Reviews

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for the Canterbury Cathedral Festival of 1939, Sayers reprises the story of Faust, rewritten with her trademark twist, which is present in all of her sacred plays. She was a marvel.

[Mariangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles in play form, with some interesting theological discussions thrown in. The conversation between Faustus and Mephistopheles about the problem of evil and God's tyranny is spot on, and later on the Pope gives a suitable reply to the argument.

[Ansley Burnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little harder for me to read than Zeal of Thy House, but still really good. The story generally follows with the Faustian legend, of course, but I loved how Sayers weaves scripture into the play and portrays the gospel so much more beautifully than Goethe or Marlowe do in their adaptations. Others use Faust as an intriguing tale that holds up over time; Sayers uses Faust as a means to tell a good, gospel-centric story.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping in mind that this is a stage play and not a novel, it may be a quirky take on the Faust story - I've never read Faust, so I'm not sure. Someday, I'm going to have to buy it and re-read it because I suspect there's a lot more to it than I've realized or recognized.
If I got nothing more out of it than this - this is a gem - that what we prize or dream will be ruined by the touch of the devil even if we think we're asking for good.
Definitely, if someone wants to give me a copy for a present, I'll add it to my shelf.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Devil to Pay was fascinating, but ultimately just a bit disappointing.

There were so many incredible questions raised regarding the nature of God and evil, and Sayers attempts to answer all of them, but in my opinion no conclusion was fully satisfying. The greatest question of the drama, I think, was asked by Mephistopheles: "and what, pray, would become of religion if there were no such thing as suffering?"

It is this question that plagues Faustus, and it is because of the suffering of others that makes his choices. Yes, he uses devils; but he does so in order to do good deeds. His works are good until (and this is no spoiler) he actually gives up his soul. The play fails to tell me, in my opinion, why we should be judging Faustus when he is using evil to accomplish good in a way that hurts no one but, really, himself.

There is a false dichotomy, in my opinion, wherein one can only be good by accepting limitations and trusting in norms of modern religion or being an atheist and therefore susceptible to infinite evil.

The tone of all that I have been saying may make my overall impression seem somewhat negative, but I did enjoy reading this play. Though I may not find much worth in Sayer's theodicies, the dialogue was quick and the plot well paced. It is definitely, though, something that is better suited to be viewed or read in a group in order to talk through Sayers's ideas, regardless of whether or not one agrees with them.