Don't Honeymoon Until You've Courted

Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers

I'm a sucker for a sentimental story, but Busman's Holiday made me feel as though I was gate-crashing. It was obviously an intimate affair meant for friends and family only. Sayers' larger-than-mere-type Lord Peter Wimsey was wedding his beloved mystery writer, Harriet Vane. Every marriage must have its wedding, and fans of Sayers must have theirs. For the stranger to Sayers, reading this book felt like an intrusion.

Not that I want you to think I arrived at this book completely without invitation. I just got my dates and places mixed up. I'm a big mystery fan, especially of the so-titled Golden Age. There isn't an Agatha Christie book I haven't read. Somehow, though, I had completely missed out on Sayers. A friend of mine has recently re-discovered Sayers and encouraged me to read her. Two reviewers here had been singing her praises during one of their weekly write-offs. It was past time for me to fill that gap in my mystery reading. I just should have started with an earlier novel so that I could become acquainted with the characters before barging in on their wedding.

Nonetheless, when we made a recent trek to the library, I had a choice of two Sayers novels. Not recognizing either title, I grabbed Busman's Holiday and ended up plopped mid-series into an intimate affair with strangers.

Sayers is a gracious host though. I wasn't shown the door or told to come back when I had the proper introductions. She allowed me to take a back seat and scratch my head through the proceedings, giving me clues here and there about why these events were important and what had caused them to come about.

The book opened amid a flurry of letters between people I'd never heard of and whose relationships I had to puzzle out. Apparently the wedding of Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey was quite the sensation. Though many of the references and incidents in the letters were lost on me, they did soundly establish the time period and social climate in which the book was set.

The book took a long time to get started and the pace never really picked up. While the pre-wedding diaries of the groom's mother was mildly interesting, it went on much too long while adding very little to the progression of the book. It was much too easy to set down. If I'd not had such trusted recommendations of this author, I probably would have given up and moved on to the next book and author on my list.

So that I can end the review on a positive note, let me tell you now what I disliked about the book:

Say What?

I haven't an Oxford education so much of this book was lost on me. Peter, Harriet, and later the Inspector all glibly trade literary references, speaking in quotes more often than they use original dialog. When I was able to place the quotation, it enriched the text and colored the meaning. Unfortunately, there were too many times when the references were obscure-or at least, obscure to me. It's very easy to get an inferiority complex while reading this book. I consider myself well read. Even those classics which I haven't read I at least have a passing familiarity with their themes and plots. Such knowledge was not sufficient to buoy one through this book.

Also, I'll confess that even the significance of the title was lost on me. What is a Busman's Holiday?

Parlez Vous Franglais?

I probably butchered that spelling, didn't I? For you see, like Barbara Manatee (Larry's heartthrob in the Veggie Tales), "I don't speak French."

I don't fault Dorothy Sayers for using French. At the time she wrote the novels, it was legitimate for her to expect her readers to know French and providing a translation for them would have insulted their intelligence. Yet, the many passages in French made me feel quite ignorant and uneducated-despite the fact that I speak three languages and have learned smatterings of two others. See, I'm even getting defensive about my lack of exposure to French.

Ultimately, between the French and the quotes that I couldn't place, I knew I was missing out on an aspect of this book and that my experience with it was not the full one that the author intended.

You Missed The Ending

This is a rather modern taste of mine, and perhaps unfair to expect of an author who wrote 60 years ago, but the book went on long past the point where it should have ended. The dramatic moment is long lost by the time the back cover is closed. We've gone through the climax, the resolution, and into the next few weeks of the domestic life of the Wimseys. Sayers throws in little details to show how angst-ridden Peter becomes at doing his duty and exposes some of the eccentricities of the aristocracy. All nice touches, but out of place. They would have fit better earlier in the story or not in it at all.

Hand-wringing

As much as Sayers tells us that Busman's Holiday is a love story upon which a mystery intrudes, not a mystery story with a love tale attached, the relationship between the newlyweds gets a little belabored. I enjoyed the sweetness of their wedding night and first few days. But then they seem to let matters get out of proportion-especially considering how sensible and logical they typically behave.

OK, back to the positive aspects of the book. After all, it is rude to criticize the food when attending someone else's wedding. And there is plenty to like about this book:

The Characters

OK, I can see why the rumor floated around that Sayers herself fell in love with Lord Peter and created Harriet Vane as an idealization of herself. Lord Peter is a lot of fun to read about. He's charming, quirky, and very British. Harriet is also a wonderful character. She's clever, wise, and very big-hearted. Unlike many fictional heroines, external beauty is not listed as one of her primary virtues. Instead, she's rather homely. We love her for her personality and her mind.

All of the characters seemed to leap from the pages. Even the most minor of character were easy to visualize and were portrayed with depth and thoughtfulness.

Rich Drawings

It was not merely Sayers' main characters who were rich. Every picture Sayers painted was wealthy with detail. From the flowers in the garden, to the dust on the wine bottles, Sayers is generous with her images.

The Mystery

Let's get to the meat of the matter. Sayers is a mystery novelist. What did I think of the mystery itself? It was very well-done. I would not say the solution was overly surprising, though it certainly had elements of originality and cleverness. It was a tough mystery to figure out. The suspects are all present fairly early on, but there is a dearth of clues and very few new ones are revealed throughout the course of the novel.

A dead man is discovered in the cellar of the home in which Peter and Harriet are spending their honeymoon. The victim was a pretty unloved guy and the only people unhappy about his death are those who can no longer collect their debts from him.

Delightful Dialogue

Sayers' handling of the dialog is masterful. Lord Peter has a dry wit that sometimes threatens to bubble over with mischief. Harriet is sensible and always has just the right thing to say to her newly wedded lord.

There were times when I could actually hear the hysteria in the niece's voice and the whispering malice in the voice of the next-door neighbor.

Would I Read Sayers Again?

All in all, this novel is far from classic and isn't one that I wouldn't be quick to recommend to another to read. However, I could see in the novel enough of Sayers' style to recognize that I would most likely enjoy her other works. There were plenty of delightful moments that intimate the brilliance I so often hear attributed to Sayers.

So when I found eight Dorothy Sayers' novels for a quarter apiece at our library's used book store last night, I snatched up all of them and am ready to immerse myself in a flood of Sayers that I might make a better judgement. And this time, perhaps I won't feel like the crazy aunt in the basement when I show up at the Denvers' manor home.

--B. Redman