The Wimsey Papers
Encyclopedia
The Wimsey Papers are a series of articles by Dorothy L. Sayers
published between November 1939 and January 1940 in The Spectator
. They had the form of letters exchanged by members of the Wimsey Family and other characters familiar to readers from the Lord Peter Wimsey
detective novels, but were in fact intended to convey Sayers' opinions and commentaries on various aspects of public life in the early months of the Second World War, such as black-out, evacuation, rationing and the need of the public to take personal responsibility rather than wait for the government to guide them. The subjects range from very practical and detailed advice on such issues as how pedestrians can avoid being hit by cars in black-out to quite Utopian and far-reaching schemes for the post-war reconstruction of Britain.
Among other things the letters expressed Sayers' displeasure with the Appeasement
policies enacted by Neville Chamberlain
in the previous years, and her doubts about his fitness to lead Britain in war (at the time of writing, it was not yet known that Chamberlain would soon be replaced by Winston Churchill
). The papers also attributed to Harriet Vane
a reluctance to go on wrtiting murder mysteries at the time when European dicators were committing mass murders openly and with impunity. This seems to have been Sayers' own feeling, as she in fact abandoned during World War II the writing of murder mysteries and never took it up again.
There is a repeated unfavorable opinion of the Soviet Union
, in the aftermath of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet attack on Finland. The opinion that there was little to choose between Communism
and Fascism
, and that the two kinds of dictatorship are equally reprehensible, is given special prominence by being attributed to Lord Peter Wimsey himself. Other characters are shown as expressing the opinion that, even had Britain managed to conclude an alliance with the Soviet Union in 1939, the Soviets would have proven an unreliable ally of little military worth, given their army's weak performance in Finland. On this point Sayers' opinion, as of most other Britons, was to change by 1941 when getting the Soviets on Britain's side would become highly welcome.
Some of the letters included in The Wimsey Papers were used by Jill Paton Walsh
as the preface for her own novel "A Presumption of Death
", an authorized sequel continuing the Wimsey series where Sayers left it off. The letters provided much information which Walsh used in the book - Peter Wimsey and his servant Bunter being on a secret mission abroad, Harriet Vane taking her own children and those of her sister-in-law Mary to the country house Talboys in Hertfordshire, Peter's nephew Jerry an RAF combat pilot, and the unsympathetic Duchess Helen working at the Ministry of Instruction and Morale (to whose work Sayers was rather disparaging). The village dance and air raid practice, which are the starting point for the plot of A Presumption of Death, are also derived from one of Sayers' fictional letters, though the idea of making this the scene of a murder to be investigated was Walsh's.
Other than the selection made by Walsh and incorporated in her book, The Wimsey Papers had never been re-published. In the Author's Note appended to A Presumption of Death, Walsh cautioned the eager Wimsey fans that that "The Wimsey Papers are not fiction, and were not intended to be read in a continuous chunk" and that "Some of them are about details of war-time history that would now require extensive footnotes in explication". Nevertheless, one such fan took the effort to retype them from archive copies of The Spectator and make them available online (see External Links).
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
published between November 1939 and January 1940 in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
. They had the form of letters exchanged by members of the Wimsey Family and other characters familiar to readers from the Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
detective novels, but were in fact intended to convey Sayers' opinions and commentaries on various aspects of public life in the early months of the Second World War, such as black-out, evacuation, rationing and the need of the public to take personal responsibility rather than wait for the government to guide them. The subjects range from very practical and detailed advice on such issues as how pedestrians can avoid being hit by cars in black-out to quite Utopian and far-reaching schemes for the post-war reconstruction of Britain.
Among other things the letters expressed Sayers' displeasure with the Appeasement
Appeasement
The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
policies enacted by Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
in the previous years, and her doubts about his fitness to lead Britain in war (at the time of writing, it was not yet known that Chamberlain would soon be replaced by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
). The papers also attributed to Harriet Vane
Harriet Vane
Harriet Deborah Vane, later Lady Peter Wimsey, is a fictional character in the works of British writer Dorothy L. Sayers ....
a reluctance to go on wrtiting murder mysteries at the time when European dicators were committing mass murders openly and with impunity. This seems to have been Sayers' own feeling, as she in fact abandoned during World War II the writing of murder mysteries and never took it up again.
There is a repeated unfavorable opinion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, in the aftermath of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet attack on Finland. The opinion that there was little to choose between Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, and that the two kinds of dictatorship are equally reprehensible, is given special prominence by being attributed to Lord Peter Wimsey himself. Other characters are shown as expressing the opinion that, even had Britain managed to conclude an alliance with the Soviet Union in 1939, the Soviets would have proven an unreliable ally of little military worth, given their army's weak performance in Finland. On this point Sayers' opinion, as of most other Britons, was to change by 1941 when getting the Soviets on Britain's side would become highly welcome.
Some of the letters included in The Wimsey Papers were used by Jill Paton Walsh
Jill Paton Walsh
Jill Paton Walsh, CBE, FRSL is an English novelist and children's writer.Born as Gillian Bliss and educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, London, she read English Literature at St Anne's College, Oxford...
as the preface for her own novel "A Presumption of Death
A Presumption of Death
A Presumption of Death is a mystery novel by Jill Paton Walsh, based loosely on The Wimsey Papers by Dorothy L. Sayers. The Wimsey Papers were a series of articles published by Sayers during World War II, purporting to be letters written between the various Wimseys during the war A Presumption of...
", an authorized sequel continuing the Wimsey series where Sayers left it off. The letters provided much information which Walsh used in the book - Peter Wimsey and his servant Bunter being on a secret mission abroad, Harriet Vane taking her own children and those of her sister-in-law Mary to the country house Talboys in Hertfordshire, Peter's nephew Jerry an RAF combat pilot, and the unsympathetic Duchess Helen working at the Ministry of Instruction and Morale (to whose work Sayers was rather disparaging). The village dance and air raid practice, which are the starting point for the plot of A Presumption of Death, are also derived from one of Sayers' fictional letters, though the idea of making this the scene of a murder to be investigated was Walsh's.
Other than the selection made by Walsh and incorporated in her book, The Wimsey Papers had never been re-published. In the Author's Note appended to A Presumption of Death, Walsh cautioned the eager Wimsey fans that that "The Wimsey Papers are not fiction, and were not intended to be read in a continuous chunk" and that "Some of them are about details of war-time history that would now require extensive footnotes in explication". Nevertheless, one such fan took the effort to retype them from archive copies of The Spectator and make them available online (see External Links).