The Bookshelf on JKR's Website and a Request for Help

[Tamee Livingston]

No: HPFGUIDX 127797

Tamee:
For brevity, I'm snipping as much of Deborah's post as I dare before going
bringing up some comparisons in themes between Sayers and JKR.

Deborah wrote:
> >[Snip]. Seems to have been a tweedy, hand-knit cardigan  kind of lady who
never married but did have an illegitimate child at one point! <<
Tamee:
Actually, while Sayers did indeed have an illegitimate son, who until after
her death never knew she was his mother, she did indeed get married to a man
named Mac Fleming, a WWI veteran who suffered from PTSS.

Deborah wrote:
>> [snip] The younger son of a Duke and a half-French woman (does that make
him a half-blood?), he served in the First World War with great gallantry
out of a sense of duty; he still sometimes gets flashbacks. Never had  to
work; lived on the income from his inherited properties. And detected, as a
hobby and from a sense of duty. [snip]  For most of the canon, is hopelessly
in love with one Harriet Vane, an author of detective stories who is falsely
accused of murder until Lord P gets her off; she won't consider a
relationship based on condescension and gratitude, so keeps on refusing him
until finally, and at great length, she falls. And they live happily ever
after. Lord P has the obligatory batman who saves his life in the trenches
and goes on to be his Jeevesified manservant. Can't recall the poor bloke's
name, but he's a rubber stamp anyway. <<

Tamee:
 A couple more details: Wimsey's mother was 1/8 French not 1/2.  Lord Peter
also suffered from PTSS after the war.  His valet's name was Bunter, and it
was through his care that Lord Peter made through a deep bout of depression
and inability to function after the war.

I think the strongest parallel between Sayer's detective stories and JKR
apart from the liberal use of misdirection and the creation of some
memorable characters is the theme of choosing what is right over what is
easy.  Lord Peter pursues truth regardless of the personal consequences.  In
one book, it looks like either his brother or his sister may be guilty of
murder.  In another, he risks losing Harriet in pursuit of a deadly poison
pen.  In another, the very act of his meddling precipitates the murderer
into committing more crimes.  Always, there is the determination to see
justice carried out.  It's the kind of determination I see in Dumbledore,
and in Harry too, even when he's wrong, at least he's determined to do
what's right despite the consequences.

Tamee
mostly lurking nowadays and a great fan of Sayers, JKR, and Jane Austen.