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We're now drawing towards the end of our year-long Dorothy L. Sayers challenge - though all the threads will stay open and hopefully discussion will continue.

Which were your favourites out of the books? Did you prefer the early mysteries or the later ones?

There's a poll to choose your favourite:
/poll/show/1...

Please have your say in this thread about which books you liked best, too.

Lastly, many thanks to Susan for organising the Sayers challenge so well. :)

Hmm I voted but it was a hard toss up between two!

Hard to vote for only one because they are so different. I voted for Gaudy Night but could equally have voted for Nine Tailors.

Even though I was not with the club during the challenge, I have read most of the Wimsey books and can say that my favorite is Murder Must Advertise, followed by a close second, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club.

I tend to like the earlier books since I am probably one of the few people who don't care much about Harriet Vane once she came on the scene. I like the foot-loose and fancy-free Lord Peter better than the married Lord Peter. And I am guessing that most readers disagree with me!!!

"Clouds of Witness," gets my vote and I also prefer the earlier books. Saying that, I really enjoyed all of them and I am so glad that I finally read the entire series. That is one series that I have completed, at least!

Abigail wrote: "Hard to vote for only one because they are so different. I voted for Gaudy Night but could equally have voted for Nine Tailors."

I agree it's hard to choose - I did wonder about whether to set up the poll so people could vote for their 2 or 3 favourites, but couldn't see how to do that!

I was torn between Strong Poison and The Nine Tailors but in the end went for the former since I like the character of Harriet so much. I also like all the other books she features in. My least favourite was Five Red Herrings, but even so it had some good bits.

Hilary wrote: "Hmm I voted but it was a hard toss up between two!"

Which two were you trying to decide between, Hilary?!

I think Five Red Herrings would get many of our least favourite book, judging on comments at the time. However, there was still a lot that I enjoyed about the novel, despite ploughing through all those train times and alibi's....

Gaudy Night for me though there are several which run it a close second :-)

Judy wrote: "Hilary wrote: "Hmm I voted but it was a hard toss up between two!"

Which two were you trying to decide between, Hilary?!"

Nine Tailors and Busman's Honeymoon (but I could have voted for any really!)

Well, I see I'm not the only one whose favorite Sayers is Murder Must Advertise. The puzzle engaged me, the solution was good.

Linda wrote: "Well, I see I'm not the only one whose favorite Sayers is Murder Must Advertise. The puzzle engaged me, the solution was good."

It's certainly among my choices for best. I went for Busman's Honeymoon mostly because I love Bunter in it -- his handling of Mrs. Ruddle, (? not quite the name, I think), his efficiency in getting everything done so perfectly, and the way he develops his relationship with Harriet, even to advising her (she's smart enough to ask a servant for advice!)

But after BH, I would have to choose carefully among Gaudy Night, Murder Must Advertize, and Nine Tailors, though I think the mystery aspect of Nine Tailors is a bit contrived.

Judy wrote: "
I agree it's hard to choose - I did wonder about wh..."

Unfortunately you can't do multi choice polls on ŷ������. I gave it to Clouds of Witness as I only read two & I really enjoyed this one!

I voted for Five Red Herrings with The Nine Tailors in a close second. I enjoyed the pure puzzle mysteries the most this year.

I really enjoyed rereading the series in order this year and probably appreciated it much more than when I originally read them in my teens.

If you’re really devoted to multiple choice, another group I’m in set up a Listopia list where you could vote for (and rank) your top ten Georgette Heyer novels. Each participant got their own top ten list, plus the master list showed how many votes each book got. But honestly, do we really need to make that level of work for our kind moderators?

♬Christmas Carol! wrote: "Judy wrote: "
I agree it's hard to choose - I did wonder about wh..."

Unfortunately you can't do multi choice polls on ŷ������. I gave it to Clouds of Witness as I only read two & I really enjoy..."

Many thanks for letting me know, Carol - I won't waste any more time trying to work out how to do a multiple choice poll on ŷ������!

Thanks also, Abigail, for the info about Listopia - might be worth looking into for another time, though it's kind of you to warn about the work involved!

Good to see Five Red Herrings got a vote! Wonder if anyone will choose a volume of short stories?

I see there have been votes for 8 different books - though no short stories yet, Susan! Quite a tribute to the strength of the series as a whole.

Gaudy Night is just in the lead at the moment - I do love that one but it doesn't have enough Peter to be my favourite.

I liked Gaudy Night the best. because there was more female influence. with Murder must advertise second.

Popular choices, Daniele. I personally preferred Peter pre-Harriet, overall, although I did like her.

This poll will close tomorrow, though the discussion thread will stay open - so if anyone else wants to cast a vote, please do so now!

I was swithering between a few - but definitely not Murder Must Advertise which I didn't like as much when I read it years ago - and haven't changed my mind this year with the re-reading and watching the DVD.

I read the books last year but missed the challenge. Murder must advertise by a country mile was my favourite, and ranks up there in my top 10.

I didn't like Harriet that much, after her first apprence she felt like a tool for Sayers to push her own opinions and agendas with.

I also really enjoyed Murder must Advertise, Learnin Curve - especially the parts set in the actual advertising agency. I am currently reading, "Thrones, Dominions," the unfinished Sayers novel, which was completed by Jill Paton Walsh (we are setting it up as a buddy read, if you are interested in joining in) and it features Harriet a lot. I think I like her more now she is married and there is less of the, 'will she won't she,' agonising over them getting together.

Now you have said that Susan, I am more inclined to read the Jill Paton Walsh book. I was afraid there might have been more agonising over whether she had done the right thing

I'm looking forward to the buddy read of Thrones, Dominations. I'm listening to it on audiobook at the moment.

I really enjoyed Thrones, Dominations and thought it was really well done. Of course, opinions will vary, but I think Peter and Harriet being married now made a huge difference. She just seemed much more settled as a character.

The poll for our favourite book of the Sayers challenge has now closed and we have a four-way tie for the winner! Eight books received votes, showing how strong the series is a whole.

Thanks to all who took part in the challenge and voted, and to those who helped me with a technical problem over closing the poll.

The full results are:

Murder Must Advertise (Lord Peter Wimsey, #10) 3 votes, 17.6%
Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #6) 3 votes, 17.6%
Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey, #12) 3 votes, 17.6%
The Nine Tailors (Lord Peter Wimsey, #11) 3 votes, 17.6%
Clouds of Witness (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #2) 2 votes, 11.8%
Busman's Honeymoon (Lord Peter Wimsey, #13) 1 vote, 5.9%
Five Red Herrings (Lord Peter Wimsey, #7) 1 vote, 5.9%
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Lord Peter Wimsey, #5) 1 vote, 5.9%
Have His Carcase (Lord Peter Wimsey, #8) 0 votes, 0.0%
Hangman's Holiday: A Collection of Short Mysteries (Lord Peter Wimsey, #9) 0 votes, 0.0%
Lord Peter Views the Body (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #4) 0 votes, 0.0%
Unnatural Death (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #3) 0 votes, 0.0%
Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #1) 0 votes, 0.0%
In the Teeth of the Evidence (Lord Peter Wimsey, #14) 0 votes, 0.0%

Interestingly, Harriet Vane features strongly in a lot of the top books. I really liked, "Murder Must Advertise," even though I voted "Clouds of Witness," as my personal favourite. A very enjoyable challenge overall, I thought.

Susan wrote: "I really enjoyed Thrones, Dominations and thought it was really well done."

As Susan and Ruth have started and I have the book ready to go, I've just set up a couple of threads for the buddy read of Thrones, Dominations - here is a link to the general thread:

/topic/show/...

Susan wrote: "Interestingly, Harriet Vane features strongly in a lot of the top books. I really liked, "Murder Must Advertise," even though I voted "Clouds of Witness," as my personal favourite. A very enjoyable..."

Yes, it was a great challenge! I voted for Strong Poison but also loved Gaudy Night, Busman's Honeymoon and The Nine Tailors, so it was a really tough choice.

I really feel I enjoy the Post harriets much less now. Harriet is a bit of a moany pain, and Peter is IMO taken too seriously by Sayers in her later books

My opinion of pre- vs. post- Harriet has changed over the years. When I first read Wimsey (in my twenties) I loved the Harriet ones and reread Gaudy Night many times. Now, forty years later, I still like Harriet, but don't understand her concerns and found my reread of Gaudy Night a couple of years ago rather a bore. Now that they are married, I'm enjoying their relationship.

And, like Nadine, I really like the less serious Lord Peter.

I prefer the married Peter and Harriet. I also liked Peter pre-marriage best, if I am honest, although I like all of the novels and it is hard for an author as characters evolve - although I guess Poirot stays pretty much the same....