DLS News

2003
8 January 2003: Launch of The Lord Peter Wimsey Companion. This was held at the Dorothy L Sayers Centre in the library at Witham, Essex.
19 March 2003: Dorothy L Sayers Annual Lecture. The speaker was Michelle Spring. This year’s lecture was part of the month-long Essex Book Festival, whose theme was “Eureka − the very best of UK writers on Europe and writers in translation”.
4 April 2003: Barbara Reynolds spoke at St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich on Dorothy L. Sayers: From Novelist and Dramatist to Theologian.
13 June 2003: DLS and Barbara Reynolds’ Birthday was celebrated in Oxford.
12 July 2003: Excited about the Bells at St Mary’s Church, Bluntisham. An afternoon of music and drama in aid of the Bluntisham Bells Appeal.
8−11 August 2003: Society Annual Convention at Royal Holloway College, Egham, Surrey. We spent an enjoyable (if very hot!) weekend studying themes related to Whose Body? and Murder Must Advertise.
23 September 2003: Harriet Vane Centenary. To celebrate Lady Peter Wimsey’s 100th Birthday (actually the following day) there was a showing of the 1934 film She loves me Not, at The British Film Institute. There is a review in Bulletin 170.
4−31 October 2003: Exhibition of the paintings of A.R.Sturrock at Gatehouse of Fleet. Sturrock was one of the painters living in the Kircudbright area at the time of The Five Red Herrings. There is a review of this exhibition in Bulletin 170.
8 November 2003: Society AGM. Our hosts were once again the church community of St Anne’s Soho.
28 November 2003: Is the Detective Novel a Child of Democracy? Study day at Lille Catholic University. Speakers included Suzanne Bray, Isabelle Casta, Christopher Dean, Daniel Fondaneche and Christine Simpson.
2004: The Nine Tailors 70th anniversary year
6 January to 0 May 2004: The Man Born to be King. The complete cycle of plays was presented in St Mark’s Church, Barton Road, Cambridge between Epiphany (Kings in Judea) and Easter (The King comes to His Own).
28 February to 7 March 2004: Bath Literature Festival. This year’s festival included a discussion of the works of Dorothy L Sayers, featuring PD James, Michele Roberts and Jill Paton Walsh.
Reissue of the novels and short stories in 2004. During 2004, Hodder reissued all DLS’ novels and short stories in a new paperback edition. The Society organised a number of events to coincide with the launches − see listings below, and reports in the Bulletin.
12−14 March 2004: 4th Frances White Ewbank Colloquium: CS Lewis and Friends. Featured Barbara Reynolds speaking on “DLS, World Affairs and The Just Vengeance”.
20 March 2004: Music, Detective Fiction, and Oxford. An evening of music and readings from Oxford authors including Dorothy L. Sayers.
30 March 2004: Cambridge Wordfest at St Ives Library. Jill Paton Walsh spoke on “The Immortal Lord Peter”.
3 April 2004: Nine Tailors Tour led by Christopher Dean.
22 April 2004: DLS Concert at Perse School, Cambridge. This was very close to the programme for the concert in which DLS herself performed in 1908, and took place in the same building!
24 April 2004: Visit to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
28 April 2004: Annual DLS Lecture at Witham Library. Elizabeth George spoke on “From Dorothy L Sayers to the modern day sleuth”.
3 May 2004: Full Peal of Kent Treble Bob Major and performance of Excited about the Bells at Terrington St Clement, Norfolk. This was one of the fenland churches which inspired the setting of The Nine Tailors.
4 May 2004: Oxford C S Lewis Society Meeting at Pusey House, St Giles. Christopher Dean spoke on “Never too old to pursue truth”.
8 May 2004: Presentation on The Man Born to be King and carillon recital at Wheaton College, Illinois.
12 May 2004: Chelmsford Cathedral Festival. Christopher Dean spoke on “The Bells are Rung Up” at Essex Record Office.
15 May 2004: Visit to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
13 June 2004: The Great Ninetieth. Over 50 of us gathered at the University Centre, Cambridge, to celebrate the 90th birthday of our President, Barbara Reynolds, and to remember DLS, who shared the same birthday. Pictures here. Quarter peals were rung in several churches in Cambridge and elsewhere, including St Edward’s and St Bene’t’s.
10−11 July 2004: Visit to C A Troyte’s house and performance of Excited about the Bells at Huntsham Court, Bampton, Devon.
6−9 August 2004: Society Annual Convention at Loughborough University. We celebrated the 70th anniversary of The Nine Tailors, and toured the John Taylor bell foundry.
21 August 2004: 8pm: An Oxford Story: Music, Detective Fiction and Oxford. Colin Dexter read from Inspector Morse and Dorothy L Sayers at Wadham College Chapel, Parks Road, Oxford. This concert was originally given on 20 March to great acclaim, so it was repeated, with, as before, Colin Dexter reading, and some very entertaining anecdotes!.
11−18 September 2004: Writing Fiction. A five day course directed by Sarah Dunant and Gillian Slovo at La Maison Verte, a 19th Century Languedoc Mansion in the South of France.
24−25 September 2004: Sayers Weekend Class: George Fox Seminary, Portland, Oregon. Two-day class by Laura Simmons, emphasising Dorothy L Sayers’ theological contributions.
7−8 October 2004: Gatehouse of Fleet and Kirkcudbright: Exhibition of paintings featuring artists contemporary with DLS and Mac, a lecture by Christopher Dean entitled “DLS and Mac in Kirkcudbright”, and the Five Red Herrings tour of the area.
9−24 October 2004: Canterbury Festival. Jill Paton Walsh talked about DLS on Monday 11 October at 5.30pm.
9 October 2004: Five Red Herrings, at Gatehouse. Two “discovery” events (one for cycles, one for cars) visiting places connected with the novel between Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright. See the Council web site for details.
26 October 2004: Dorothy L. Sayers: Latin literature and detective fiction. A talk by Dr Clemence Schultze from Durham, at Keele University. This was part of the North Staffordshire Classical Association programme for 2004/5 (talk postponed from last year), and was a joint meeting with the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
4−7 November 2004: “Captured by the Crucified”: Conference and Workshop at St James, Baton Rouge. Celebrating the birth centenary of Austin Farrer, with presentations on the work of Farrer and his contemporaries (who include DLS). Details here.
6 November 2004: Society AGM at St Anne’s Soho.
20 November to 5 December 2004: The Man Born to be King − afloat! Ian McLeish, producer of the plays at Kemerton a few years ago, arranged some readings on the November “Gospel Cruise” from Southampton to the Canaries and Morocco on the Saga Rose cruise ship. Details and booking: 0800 300666 (or see the Saga web site).
2005: Gaudy Night 70th Anniversary Year
16 March 2005: The Dorothy L Sayers Lecture at Witham library. Our speaker this year was Libby Purves. The Dorothy L Sayers Centre was open during the evening.
24 April 2005: A Specimen of English Intelligence. A celebration in her own words and the music she loved of the life of Dorothy L Sayers and her family in East Anglia, given at Wolfson College, Cambridge in aid of Macmillan Cancer Relief.
5 May to 31 October 2005: “When found, make a note of...”. The Charles Dickens Museum, 48 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LX marked the centenary of The Dickens Fellowship magazine The Dickensian.
13−14 May 2005: The Detective Novel: Themes and Perspectives. A two-day Conference at the Catholic University of Paris, ICP, 21 rue d’Assas, 75006. Papers were given in French.
13 June 2005: Celebration of the joint birthday of DLS and Barbara Reynolds in the Senior Parlour, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
12−15 August 2005: Annual Convention at Christ Church Oxford. The theme was Gaudy Night for its 70th anniversary. We returned to Oxford, at Christ Church, with its special associations with DLS; a wonderful opportunity to experience that unique Oxford atmosphere again.
8 October 2005: Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane’s Platinum wedding anniversary (70 years). To mark this event, members and friends were invited to raise a glass in celebration at noon on this date.
3−5 November 2005: “Past Watchful Dragons: Fantasy and Faith in the World of C S Lewis”. A Conference at Belmont University Nashville, Tennessee. More details here.
5 November 2005: 2.15pm: AGM at St Anne’s Church, Soho, London. Members only, although guests were invited for the readings by Emily Richard afterwards.
2006: Dorothy L Sayers Society 30th Birthday Year
25 February 2006: Celebration of the 30th Birthday of the Society. We celebrated the 21st in the Park Lane Hotel, the 25th on board HMS Belfast, and this time we were, appropriately, in Witham – where it all began.
22 March 2006: “Dorothy L Sayers – Her Life and Work”, a talk by John Thurmer in the Clagett Auditorium, Canterbury, organised by the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral. For details, see the Friends’ web site.
12 April 2006: The Annual Dorothy L Sayers Lecture: “After the Golden Age: Writing Then and Now” by Catriona McPherson (author of After the Armistice Ball), at Witham Library.
10 May 2006: Visit to Bletchley Park. There is a full report in Bulletin 186.
16 May 2006: Launch party for Dante, The Poet, The Political Thinker, The Man by Barbara Reynolds took place at the University Women’s Club, 2 Audley Square, London.
1−4 June 2006: The Fifth Francis White Ewbank Colloquium on C S Lewis and Friends was held at Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, USA.
2−5 June 2006: German meeting at Ehreshoven, near Köln. Programme included: DLS and the German Language; DLS and karl Barth; Goyles in Germany; DLS and Goethe; Reading of The Devil to Pay (DLS’ play on the Faust legend); Some thoughts on Unpopular Opinions; plus a half day tour of Köln and the Rhine. A full review appears in Bulletin 186.
13 June 2006: Joint Birthday of DLS and our President was held at Jesus College, Cambridge.
30 June to 27 July 2006: Dorothy L Sayers and the Stewartry Artists, an exhibition of descriptive panels, was on show at Mill-on-the-Fleet, Gatehouse of Fleet. On 19 July Dr David Steel gave an illustrated talk at the mill entitled “Dorothy L Sayers and the People of Galloway”.
2 July to 5 August 2006: The Oxford Experience. Oxford University Department for Continuing Education offered a residential summmer programme with a choice of ten seminar topics per week over five weeks. In 2006 these ranged from “Alice’s Adventures in Oxford” to “Late Victorian and Edwardian Humourists” via “Famous British Heroines of Fiction”. For more details see here.
14−16 July 2006: Bluntisham celebration, including an exhibition, a concert, a talk, hog roast lunch, the ringing of the newly re-hung bells, and more, over three days.
3 August to 0 September 2006: Screening of the Dorothy L Sayers Mysteries. The Petherbridge/Walter films were shown on UK television, on Thursdays at 10pm on the digital channel ITV3 (available through satellite and “Freeview” terrestrial). The first (Part One of Strong Poison) aired on Thursday 3rd August.
4−7 August 2006: Annual Convention at the University of York. The programme included: Love, Marriage and Adultery: comparing the moral vision of DLS and Jane Austen; OP1; Charles Parker; Lady Mary Wimsey; The Political Context of Clouds of Witness; Cathcart’s Books; Let Zion’s Children; DLS in Hull; Wimsey in the Clouds; Forgiveness from Unpopular Opinions; a new re-enactment of the trial of the Duke of Denver; and the unveiling of a plaque in Hull, where DLS taught at the High School.
30 September to 1 October 2006: Gatehouse / Kirkcudbright celebration. For the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Five Red Herrings David Steel arranged a celebratory walking tour, from Gatehouse of Fleet to Kirkcudbright, as part of the Dumfries and Galloway Open Doors Weekend.
4 November 2006: 2.15pm: AGM at St Anne’s Church, Soho, London, followed by a lecture by Barbara Reynolds on Anthony Fleming.
2007: Commemorating Dorothy L Sayers’ 50th Anniversary
29 January 2007: A concert of readings and music celebrating Sayers 50 years on and 80 years of the Park Lane Hotel.
1 March 2007: Opening of Essex Book Festival in Witham Library. P D James was interviewed on BBC Radio Essex, from the DLS Centre.
8 March 2007: Launch of a new edition of The Wimsey Family by C W Scott-Giles in Heffers Bookshop, Trinity Street, Cambridge.
28 March to 21 April 2007: DLS The Playwright. An exhibition of costume designs by Norah Lambourne in Witham Library, with photographs and reviews.
28 March 2007: The Annual Dorothy L Sayers Lecture by Simon Brett: “DLS, 50 years on” in Witham Library. The talk was preceded by a buffet for members and their guests.
29 March 2007: “A Dream within my Heart”. A concert in Witham of words and music by and associated with DLS.
13−17 June 2007: Convention at Wheaton College, Illinois, USA. The Society held its second Wheaton convention this year, ten years after the first. The convention began on Wednesday 13 June, giving all present the opportunity to celebrate the annual DLS/Barbara Reynolds birthday with a banquet on the first night. For more details, see the full programme online.
10−13 August 2007: UK Convention at Girton College, Cambridge. We also held a convention at Wolfson Court, Girton College, Cambridge.
16 August 2007: “Dorothy Sayers in search of the ideal”. Margaret Wolfit spoke at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
3 November 2007: AGM at St Anne’s, Soho, London.
15 November 2007: Concert of DLS’ Oxford words and music in Somerville College Chapel, Oxford.
17 December 2007: DLS’ 50th Anniversary. There were a number of commemorative events on the day itself:
- 11.30am at St Anne’s, Soho: the Reverend Michael Clarkson conducted a short memorial in the Tower Room where DLS’ ashes are buried. Barbara Reynolds spoke, and Sam Donovan gave a reading.
- 12 noon at the Statue in Witham: a short ceremony took place, focussing very much on her time in Essex. Many local organisations and dignitaries were present, including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Witham, representatives of Essex County Council, Essex Libraries, and the Witham and Countryside Society. Mike Ripley spoke briefly, and the Reverend John Suddards, Rector of St Nicolas, Witham, concluded the ceremony with prayer.
- There was also the usual In Memoriam for DLS in The Times.
2008
4−6 January 2008: Sayers conference at Institut für Glaube und Wissenschaft, Marburg. Details at www.iguw.de.
15 January 2008: 12 noon: Commemoration Service at St Margaret’s Westminster. This was exactly 50 years after the original memorial service. A full review was printed in Bulletin 195.
12 March 2008: Annual Dorothy L Sayers Lecture. This year the Lecture was given by Jim Kelly: “The Nine Tailors – the book that changed my life”. It was preceded by supper at Gimsons for members and friends.
13 June 2008: DLS birthday and launch of The Christ of the Creeds. This event was held at the Women’s Library (The Fawcett Library), London, with a celebration lunch afterwards.
15 June 2008: “A Good Work Well Done”. St Leonard’s Church, St Leonard’s Road, Bengeo, Hertfordshire, at 6:30pm. Suzanne Bray spoke on Dorothy L Sayers, and other members of the Society also took part. This is one of a series concerning Women’s Contributions to Anglicanism at St Leonard’s Church.
8−11 August 2008: Annual Convention at University of Surrey, Guildford. There is a full review of this Convention in Bulletin 199.
8 November 2008: Annual General Meeting at St Anne’s Church, Soho. The guest speaker was the Artistic Director of Theatre Centre, Natalie Wilson. The Actors’ Award for 2008-09 was presented to Robert Solar by Sheila Mitchell.
2009
1 March to 31 August 2009: Jack Rosenthal Memorial Short Story Competition. This new annual competition commemorated Jack Rosenthal, West End playwright, writer, director and producer of Coronation Street, and husband of Maureen Lipman. More details here.
7−12 March 2009: Left Coast Crime: “Say Aloha to Murder” at the Marriott Waikoloa, Hawaii. Guests of Honour: Rhys Bowen and Barry Eisler. Toastmaster: Lee Goldberg. Everyone who’s anyone was there! Two contests. Hawaiian Shirt Contest. More details here.
11 March 2009: 2.30pm: Witham Library Essex Book Festival: Julia Jones [who also writes as Julia Thorogood] spoke at Mersea Island Library on Margery Allingham.
11 March 2009: 7.45pm: Dorothy L Sayers Annual Lecture. Jointly with Witham Library and the Essex Book Festival. Laura Thompson spoke on Agatha Christie. Supper at Gimsons at 6 pm for those who have booked.
21 March 2009: 2pm: Young Ringer’s Award was presented by Dame Norma Major at St Mary’s Church Bluntisham.
16 April 2009: Lifeline Theatre’s Mystery³ production (and fund raiser) at the Cultural Center. Three authors have taken some Sayers short stories and written new endings. They were acted by the Lifeline Theatre actors. $100 apiece for this Benefit. Information from +1 773 761 4477. More details here.
11 May to 21 June 2009: Lifeline Theatre Presents Fourth World Premiere Adaptation of “Busman’s Honeymoon”. More details here.
13 June 2009: Presentation of the Barbara Reynolds Award and Birthday lunch at the Michaelhouse Centre, Trinity Street, Cambridge.
14−17 August 2009: Annual Convention at the University of Chichester, Bishop Otter Campus, including a visit to the Festival Play.
4 September 2009: Visit to the College of Arms. Private visit, with a guided tour and optional buffet supper.
17 October 2009: Joint meeting with the Charles Williams Society at the Michaelhouse Centre, Cambridge.
22 October to 14 November 2009: Strong Poison at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. Frances Limoncelli's adaptation of Strong Poison opened at the Manitoba Theatre Centre on Thursday, October 22. Please see here for more information.
31 October 2009: 2.15pm: Annual General Meeting at St Anne’s Church, Soho. After the business meeting, Dr Aoife Leahy spoke on Even the Parrot. The Chairman’s report is here.
21 November 2009: 9am-1pm: Creative Crimewriting Class, an intensive masterclass for budding crimewriters, led by Mike Ripley. The McCullum Room, the Swan Hotel, Lavenham, Suffolk. Cost £65, including refreshments and lunch and a written Reader’s Report. More details here.
2010
24 March 2010: Extraordinary General Meeting. We held an EGM in Witham to consider and approve some minor changes to the Society Rules, to keep them in line with current best practice for charities. The old rules and the proposed amendments can be read here. The full notice of the EGM is in Bulletin 207. MEMBERS ONLY
6 March 2010: 12.30pm: Presentation of Music Award to Joy Becker. The presentation followed a Concert and Reception at the Royal Northern College of Music.
24 March 2010: 7.45pm: Dorothy L Sayers Annual Lecture at Witham Library, Essex. Edward Marston spoke on Historical Detective Fiction, as part of the Essex Book Festival.
13 June 2010: Birthday Lunch in Cambridge. This annual event marks the joint birthday of DLS and our President, Dr Barbara Reynolds. This year it was held in the Regency Room of the De Luca Restaurant in Regent Street, Cambridge.
26 June 2010: Bell ringing Award Presentation. The award to Felicity Lister was presented at Bluntisham Church.
13−16 August 2010: Annual Convention at the University of Nottingham. The theme of this year's convention was Aspects of Sayers. Speakers included Lynn Fotheringham and Margaret Hunt, and there was an art exhibition of members' work.
20−22 August 2010: Killer Nashville. Franklin Marriott Cool Springs Hotel and Convention Center, Nashville. Killer Nashville was a conference celebrating mysteries, thrillers, and other crime fiction. This year's event featured more than forty separate seminars, workshops, lectures, and presentations over the course of three full days. The four-track format included sessions on law enforcement protocols, forensic pathology, criminal psychology, writing techniques, and book marketing strategies, with a separate track geared toward fans. Guest of Honour: Jeffery Deaver.
23−27 August 2010: A week of crime writing at Madingley Hall. The 16th century Madingley Hall, Cambridge held two courses dedicated to crime writing:
- 23-25 August: "Classic crime fiction: who and how?" by Dr Judith Braid.
- 25-27 August: "Creative crime writing" by Mike Ripley.
For more details see www.cont-ed.cam.ac.uk (search for "crime"!).
11 October 2010: Society Reception at the House of Lords. This private reception and tour celebrated the launch of Jill Paton Walsh’s new book, The Attenbury Emeralds, based on an idea by Dorothy L Sayers.
14−17 October 2010: Bouchercon. San Francisco, USA. More details here.
13 November 2010: Annual General Meeting at St Anne’s, Soho, London. After the business meeting, the Young Actor’s Award was presented to Clare Chater by Sam Donovan (a previous award holder). They then both performed, with Natalie Wilson (Director of Theatre Centre), a scene from Love All. The Chairman’s report is here.
2011
28 January 2011: Presentation of The Norah Lambourne Young Theatre Designer’s Award to celebrate the 100th birthday of Norah Lambourne, one of the founder members of the Society.
11 February 2011: Norah Lambourne’s 100th Birthday
23 March 2011: The Dorothy L Sayers Lecture. The speaker was Peter Lovesey.
24 March 2011: The Oaken Heart. This wonderful book by Margery Allingham about the village of Tolleshunt D’Arcy as it faces World War II was the subject of another Essex Book Festival lecture. This was prepared and presented by members of the Margery Allingham Society working with Tolleshunt D’Arcy Primary School and took place at the school.
24−27 March 2011: The Big Chile − Left Coast Crime 21. Held at La Fonda hotel, Santa Fe. More details here.
25 March 2011: Unveiling of the DLS Plaque at the Cathedral Hotel, Salisbury. A plaque commemorating DLS, the Godolphin School, and Lord Peter’s lunch (Whose Body?, in which the hotel is called the Minster Hotel) has been commissioned by the Salisbury Civic Society, and was unveiled at 12:30pm by Dame Rosemary Spencer DCMG.
31 March to 2 April 2011: 7.30pm: Busman’s Honeymoon. The Amateur Players of Sherborne mounted a production of Busman’s Honeymoon. This is the original Sayers/St Clare Byrne play, not a redramatisation from the novel, and was directed by Bev Taylor-Wade. Further information from Adrian Thorpe, The Cider House, Compton Park, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4QU or www.aps-sherborne.co.uk.
7 May 2011: 2pm: Presentation of the Young Lady Ringers Award to Leah Gill at Tickenham Church, near Clevedon, Somerset, BS21 6AS.
2−3 June 2011: C S Lewis, his Friends and Associates: Questions of Identity. Conference was held at the Faculté Libre des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Université Catholique de Lille, France.
12−15 August 2011: Society Convention in Galloway. The theme was Five Red Herrings.
Our meetings were held in the Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse on Friday, Sunday and Monday and in Kirkcudbright on Saturday. We had a convention supper at the Murray Arms in Gatehouse on the Friday evening. On the Saturday morning there was a walking tour of Kirkcudbright led by David Steel with lunch in the Selkirk Arms and a bus tour of the wider area of The Five Red Herrings on the Sunday afternoon. A service was held in the parish church at Gatehouse.
Speakers included: Professor Paul Bishop on “Topography of the Novel”; Lawyer and Crime Writer Gillian Galbraith on “Legal Aspects of the Novel”; Claes-Göran Kaselli on “Love and Hate Amongst the Painters”; Euan Robson on “Charles Oppenheimer” and Seona Ford on “1941 in Witham”.
19 September 2011: Theology in Action − A Study Day was held at the Michaelhouse Centre, Cambridge. This Study Day marked a number of events and anniversaries which occured this year: The 70th anniversary of The Man Born to be King and The Mind of the Maker, the 65th anniversary of The Just Vengeance, the 60th anniversary of The Emperor Constantine and the republication in the autumn of The Sacred Plays by DLS with a new introduction by Professor Ann Loades (who played a full part in the Study Day). The title is a phrase used by DLS in her introduction to TMBTBK.
5 November 2011: Annual General Meeting at St Anne’s, Soho, London.
2012
7 March 2012: The Dorothy L Sayers Lecture was held in Witham Library as part of the Essex Book Festival. Martin Edwards was the speaker, on the subject “Dorothy L Sayers and True Crime”.
29 March to 1 April 2012: Left Coast Crime, Sheraton Grand Hotel Sacramento, California. For details see here.
19 April 2012: Presentation of the Actor’s Award at Shoreditch Town Hall at 5.30pm.
28 April 2012: Young Lady Ringer’s Award Presentation at Christ Church, Isle of Dogs.
30 April 2012: “Dorothy L Sayers as a writer”: a talk for Somerville College Arts Week, Oxford was given by Seona and Jasmine.
5 May 2012: Visit to the Mary Somerville Room at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.
20 May 2012: Somerville College: Seona spoke to students at an evening event on focusing on DLS’ interest in music.
24−27 August 2012: Annual Society Convention at Somerville College, Oxford. This celebrated the centenary of DLS’ going into residence at Somerville.
27 October 2012: Annual General Meeting at St Anne’s, Soho, London.
2013
13 March 2013: Fifty Years in the Fiction Factory: The Working Life of Herbert Allingham, a talk by Julia Jones about her new biography of Margery Allingham’s father, as part of the Essex Book Festival. This event was supported by our sister society the Margery Allingham Society. More details here.
28 March 2013: Annual Dorothy L Sayers Society Lecture: “Five Red Herrings and a Flock of Hens” by Aline Templeton, at the library, Witham, Essex.
7 April to 12 May 2013: 6pm: The Mind of the Maker at St Paul’s Cathedral. A series at St Paul’s Cathedral called “The Mind of the Maker”. The series was not about the life of Dorothy L Sayers, but the theme was something members of the Society might be interested in. The first and last sessions were centred around a celebration of the Eucharist, and the others consisted of a conversation with a well-known speaker (one of the participants is the Society’s Patron, P D James). Read more here.
27 April 2013: Visit to Summer Fields School, Oxford. There was a review in Bulletin 227.
24−25 May 2013: Lewis-Symposium, Bischöflichen Akademie des Bistums Aachen in the August-Pieper-Haus in Aachen. Suzanne Bray spoke on DLS and CSL. This conference was in German. See here for more details.
15 June 2013: We celebrated DLS’ birthday by visiting Canterbury and seeing live film of DLS herself, together with actors in costume from The Zeal of Thy House and The Devil to Pay. The day included talks and an exhibition of archives.
2−5 August 2013: Annual Dorothy L Sayers Society Convention, Exeter. There is a review in Bulletin 229.
31 August 2013: Bell Ringing Award: the presentation was held during the District Meeting of the winner’s ringing society in the Marches District. There is a review of the event in Bulletin 229.
7 October to 23 December 2013: Dorothy L Sayers: her life and and crimes in historical context: e-correspondence course delivered by Exeter University. Journey into the 1930’s Golden Age of detective fiction by exploring the novels, life and times of Dorothy L Sayers, and her partners in crime, Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. More details here.
2 November 2013: 2pm: AGM, St Anne's Soho. Further details to follow in due course. Members and their guests are welcome. Non-members are welcome to the talk after the business meeting at approximately 3pm. The speaker was Deborah Alun-Jones, whose book was reviewed in Bulletin 227.
14 November 2013: 6.30pm: Dorothy L Sayers Actor’s Award was presented at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA.
19 November 2013: 5.15pm: Harriet Walter, DBE delivered the 23rd annual Maynard Mack Lecture at Yale University, entitled “A Serious Job for a Woman?”, at Linsly-Chittenden Hall, Rm. 102, 63 High Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. More details here.
17 December 2013: 6.30pm: An Evening with Jill Paton Walsh at Heffers bookshop, Trinity Street, Cambridge. The flyer can be downloaded here.
2014
Barbara Reynolds Award 2014 The Dorothy L Sayers Society is delighted to announce it is offering an Award to celebrate the 100th birthday of Barbara Reynolds, President of the Dorothy L Sayers Society and good friend of Dorothy herself. We invited the submission of serious academic published work on a theme related to Dorothy L Sayers’ life and work. Submissions have now closed, and the winner will be announced in due course.
6 March 2014: DLS Annual Lecture at Witham Library. The speaker was Natasha Cooper.
13 June 2014: Barbara Reynolds’ 100th Birthday was celebrated at Barbara’s home in Cambridge. Several members of the Society were present.
14 June 2014: DLS’s 121st Birthday Talk was given by P D James at the University Women’s Club in London, followed by a buffet lunch.
8−11 August 2014: Annual Convention at Downing College, Cambridge. The Society held its annual Convention at Downing College Cambridge in early August 2014. There is a full report in the September edition of the Bulletin, number 235.
30 August 2014: Presentation of the Young Ringer’s Award to Kaitlin Jarvis at Burrington Church in Somerset.
19 September 2014: Visit to the National Portrait Gallery. We heard a presentation of the work of the Acquisitions team, and a talk by Tod Ramos about his commission to copy the Hutchison portrait of DLS for us. This was a rare opportunity to see the portrait of DLS hanging in the public gallery.
Restoring England’s Heritage on BBC2 featured Taylor’s bell foundry, which we visited during the Loughborough convention, and is now in serious need of funding to maintain the building.
1 November 2014: 2pm: AGM, St Anne’s Soho. There was a talk afterwards and the unveiling of the new copy of the Hutchison Portrait commissioned by the Society, which will hang in the Dorothy L Sayers Centre in Witham.
27 November 2014: RIP P.D.James ✝ It is with sadness, but also with gratitude for her many kindnesses and her unflagging support of the Dorothy L Sayers Society, that we give the news of the death this morning of our Patron P D James, Baroness James of Holland Park.
9 December 2014: British Cities. Episode 2 of the BBC4 series Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau included several items about Glasgow, where our 2015 Convention will be held.
2015
25 January 2015: RIP Canon John Thurmer ✝ We regret to inform members of the death of a very long-standing member and supporter of the Society, Canon John Thurmer. There are more details here and here.
23 February 2015: Love All by Dorothy L Sayers.
The Society is delighted to announce the first UK publication of Love All. Members who attended the rehearsed reading at the 2012 AGM, so brilliantly directed by Sheila Mitchell, will remember how up-to-date and witty the play was, despite its first performance having been in 1940.
It is available for purchase now at the introductory price of £8.
5 March 2015: DLS Annual Lecture at Witham Library. This year’s speaker was Dame Stella Rimington, former head of MI5.
14 March 2015: Music Award recital. The presentation of the Society Music Award at the Royal College of Music will this year also feature admission to a rehearsal by renowned pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.
29 April 2015: RIP Dr Barbara Reynolds ✝
It is with sadness that The Dorothy L Sayers Society passes on the news of the death of our President Dr Barbara Reynolds. She was just a little over 6 weeks away from her 101st birthday.
Her remarkable intelligence and presence, and her many contributions to and support for The Dorothy L Sayers Society are well and lovingly remembered. Barbara was a distinguished Italian scholar, lexicographer, translator, and author of a study on Dante. She edited Dorothy L Sayers’ letters and wrote a biography − Dorothy L Sayers: Her Life and Soul. Barbara completed Sayers’ translation of “Paradiso” from Dante’s Divine Comedy (left incomplete at Sayers’ death), and wrote The Passionate Intellect, a study on Sayers and the Dante translation. Barbara Reynolds was Dorothy L Sayers’ god-daughter. Barbara will be greatly missed, and our thoughts are now with her family.
7 June 2015: 1.00pm: DLS and The Man Born To Be King. Michael Hampel, Precentor of St Paul’s Cathedral, will be giving a talk in the Wren Suite. More details here.
7−10 August 2015: Annual Convention in Glasgow.
31 October 2015: 2pm: AGM, St Anne’s Soho.
2016
Flash Fiction Award 2016 The Dorothy L Sayers Society invited submissions for a Flash Fiction Award (£200 first prize) on the theme ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ to coincide with its Annual Convention in Canterbury in August 2016. Please see here for rules and how to enter.
Strong Poison on the stage! Carilyn Flynn wrote:
I have been granted permission by David Higham, Associates, to bring Strong Poison to the stage!
We are running a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds necessary to help us get off the ground. We are halfway to our goal, but as with all Kickstarter campaigns, if we don't reach our goal, we get zilch; thank you for being willing to spread the word!
More details here.
Note that the Kickstarter campaign has now ended: we hope to have more details of Carilyn’s production soon.
12−13 August 2016: Strong Poison on the stage. After the successful Kickstarter campaign earlier in the year, The Slackville Players put on a stage adaptation of Strong Poison in Plainville, MA in August. More details and tickets here.
21−22 January 2017: Crime Classics Weekend at the British Library: There will be a special murder and mystery weekend with unexpected twists and turns, led by award-winning crime novelist Martin Edwards. Attendees will also have the opportunity to see rare publications and manuscript material from the Library’s collection including Arthur Conan Doyle’s manuscript of the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Retired Colourman and John Gielgud’s annotated script for the film Murder on the Orient Express. Full details can be found here.
11−12 March 2017: Essex Book Festival Golden Age of Crime Weekend in Southend, including a special tribute to DLS. More details here.
13 March 2017: Annual Dorothy L Sayers Society Lecture: “After Good and Evil” by James Runcie, at the library, Witham, Essex.
10 June 2017: Dorothy Day in Witham.
14−18 July 2017: Josephine Tey: There was a major conference with Josephine Tey as the subject, following the publication of the first-ever comprehensive biography and study of Josephine Tey’s life in 2015 by Jennifer Morag Henderson. Details can be found here.
11−14 August 2017: Annual Convention in Colchester. It is not too late to book − see here.
16−17 September 2017: Spirit of Sayers Festival. This year marks the 200 year anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, one of this country’s finest writers. In Bluntisham we are commemorating our own literary daughter of the Rectory, Dorothy L Sayers. Rev Sayers and his family left Bluntisham in 1917, a century ago. On the weekend of 16th & 17th September 2017 at St Mary’s Church Bluntisham-cum-Earith, members of the community will be using their creative talents to bring you: Refreshments served in a Vintage Tea Room; Flower Festival; Church Yard Trail; Children’s Quiz; Display of Local Writers’ Work; Art Exhibition; Special Quarter Peal of Ringing of St Mary’s Historic Bells & Talk; Drama; Local History Display; Visit by Bishop David; A Concert on Saturday Evening; Festival Praise Service on Sunday morning. All Proceeds to St. Mary’s Church Bluntisham, Restoration Fund.
26 September 2017: Somersham History Society. Alan Draper gave an illustrated talk entitled “The History of Somersham as portrayed in the 1908 Pageant”. How did Somersham manage to stage the first pageant to be performed in the county? How was the authoress Dorothy L. Sayers involved? Why was it followed up by a Mystery Play?
28 October 2017: 2pm: AGM, St Anne’s Soho.
16 December 2017: Service at St Anne’s Soho to mark 60 years since the death of Dorothy L Sayers.