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Gaudy Night
A full-cast dramatisation specially recorded for BBC Audiobooks, starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey and Joanna David as Harriet Vane.
When Harriet Vane attends her Oxford reunion, known as the ‘Gaudy’, the prim academic setting is haunted by a rash of bizarre pranks: scrawled obscenities, burnt effigies and poison-pen letters – including one that says, ‘Ask your boyfriend with the title if he likes arsenic in his soup.’ Some of the notes threaten murder and one of them involves a long Latin quotation, which makes Harriet suspect that the perpetrator is probably a member of the Senior Common Room. But which of the apparently rational, respectable dons could be committing such crazed acts? When a desperate undergraduate, at her wits’ end after receiving a series of particularly savage letters, attempts to drown herself, Harriet decides that it is time to ask Lord Peter Wimsey for help. As his investigation draws near to uncovering the culprit, Harriet’s life comes under threat. And when the mystery is finally solved, she is faced with an agonising decision: should she, after five years of rejecting his proposals, finally agree to marry Lord Peter?
Adapted by Michael Bakewell and directed by Enyd Williams.
When Harriet Vane attends her Oxford reunion, known as the ‘Gaudy’, the prim academic setting is haunted by a rash of bizarre pranks: scrawled obscenities, burnt effigies and poison-pen letters – including one that says, ‘Ask your boyfriend with the title if he likes arsenic in his soup.’ Some of the notes threaten murder and one of them involves a long Latin quotation, which makes Harriet suspect that the perpetrator is probably a member of the Senior Common Room. But which of the apparently rational, respectable dons could be committing such crazed acts? When a desperate undergraduate, at her wits’ end after receiving a series of particularly savage letters, attempts to drown herself, Harriet decides that it is time to ask Lord Peter Wimsey for help. As his investigation draws near to uncovering the culprit, Harriet’s life comes under threat. And when the mystery is finally solved, she is faced with an agonising decision: should she, after five years of rejecting his proposals, finally agree to marry Lord Peter?
Adapted by Michael Bakewell and directed by Enyd Williams.
- GenresMysteryCrime20th Century
2 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2005
8 people want to read
About the author
Michael Bakewell
72 books6 followersMichael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.
His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.
He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.
His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.
He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 23, 2012
I was looking forward to getting to this radioplay. It wasn't one of my favourite books when reading it, I don't think, but I'm already very attached to Peter and Harriet, while listening to the radioplays, and I knew that this would be a crux of both characters' development. I believe this was recorded a long time after the others: certainly, Ian Carmichael remains wonderful but you can hear age and tiredness in his voice. He's not quite so jolly and smooth as he used to be. Not enough bounce to still be the perfect Peter Wimsey, I'm afraid. Still, it would've sounded wrong to have anyone else do it.
I'll confess that I was mostly hanging on for the bits about Peter and Harriet. I wasn't so fond of the way this was narrated, by Harriet, instead of being a radioplay in the same style as the others. That made some of the transitions feel a little clunky to me -- but the ending made up for it all. Oh, Peter.
I'll confess that I was mostly hanging on for the bits about Peter and Harriet. I wasn't so fond of the way this was narrated, by Harriet, instead of being a radioplay in the same style as the others. That made some of the transitions feel a little clunky to me -- but the ending made up for it all. Oh, Peter.
April 2, 2014
Love these books! This was abridged, which was fine since I'd read the full version already. I wouldn't recommend it if you haven't read the full length book, though. It would be hard to follow. Still, the readers were great and I enjoyed listening to the story again.
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June 18, 2018Harriet Vane returns to Oxford and becomes embroiled in a puzzling mystery of vandalism and threats made at her college. While she does enlist the assistance of Lord Peter Wimsey, she realizes that attitudes about women in the workplace are a key part of this tale.
December 4, 2025
This was more of a Harriet Vane mystery than a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery. (Which is okay, considering how you can hear that Ian Carmichael has gotten a bit older 🥺 Although, it makes sense if you choose to interpret it as Peter's weariness at Harriet's rejections...)
Despite the fact that no murder takes place, Gaudy Night feels the closest to an Agatha Christie novel of all the Dorothy L. Sayers I have read so far, in terms of tone and characters. As such, I really enjoyed it - especially the academic setting!
Even though I guessed the culprit and found it unfair that Lord Peter kept clues from the audience, this is one of my favourite Peter Wimseys so far!
Despite the fact that no murder takes place, Gaudy Night feels the closest to an Agatha Christie novel of all the Dorothy L. Sayers I have read so far, in terms of tone and characters. As such, I really enjoyed it - especially the academic setting!
Even though I guessed the culprit and found it unfair that Lord Peter kept clues from the audience, this is one of my favourite Peter Wimseys so far!
December 13, 2012
Very fun. Great BBC production.
March 3, 2011
Very good book. This is an intelligent mystery and the readers are very good as well.
October 26, 2012
full-cast version, starring Ian Carmichael
March 30, 2014
Dorothy L. Sayers combines british cosy crime with a love story. Carefully crafted characters and place creates a tangible atmosphere that is indicative of it's age.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews