Books 2&3

[lizzardgirl]

Book 2: Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers

Hm, yeah, I don't know whether I can say anything new about this since I discussed it before ;-) Oh yeah: HELL YES INTELLIGENCE *IS* SEXY. Also, I just love, love, love so many little details in this book and while reading I always love looking forward to them. Like when Harriet realises that Peter took her gown per accident, and then decides it doesn't really matter. Because it also signifies that Harriet realises - and that she realises Peter saw it this way all along - that as far as education and university rank go, they are equals, and that they could meet as equals in a marriage. Or when Miss de Vine tells Harriet it's bloody obvious she's in love with Peter. Or about every time Peter is happy when Harriet doesn't rebuff him. And the punt scene of course. So much the punt scene. I always have to restrain myself almost physically not to skip ahead to the punt scene and Peter's underlying elation afterwards. Also, Katharine was right, of course now I have to read Busman's Honeymoon too. Also it's made me all excited about the book about the development of university education for women that I borrowed from Caroline but haven't started yet, because Gaudy Night always makes me wish I could attend an Oxford women's college in the 1930s.

Book 3: The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, by Sinclair McKay

For all intents and purposes, this should be #2 because I read all but the last ten pages or so before I started Gaudy Night. It was a very interesting read and quite illuminating in some ways. (I also realise that some of the Bletchley allusions I made in Blackout wouldn't really have worked that way, but since I never named Bletchley in the story, I think I can get away with that :D) One thing I missed a little was - since I used to be quite proficient in Maths in another lifetime - a more mathematical analysis of how the codes were cracked and how the enigma encoding and decoding actually works. I had the feeling the author was a bit out of his depths there. But I can't really find a fault with that since the book never promised anything mathematical ;-) I'll just have to find Simon Singh's book on secret codes and then see if maybe the library has something more about enigma codes. I'll probably not get all of it but I'd like some more mathematical insights all the same. But apart from that, it was a really fascinating book! Thanks Caroline for lending it!

Comments

[brightly-woven.livejournal.com]

Succumbed as well. Only just started. Lovely.

Read wikipedia about DLS. I didn't know she had a child out of wedlock and he was raised by her aunt and cousin.

She is such a fascinating woman! I think a DLS biopic could be fabulous.

I've read that fanfic but thanks for the suggestion. Will read between GN and BH.

[lizzardgirl.livejournal.com]

She is fascinating! There's supposed to be a rather good biography about here somewhere, by Barbara Reynolds if I remember correctly, but I haven't got around to tracking it down so far. (So many books, so little time ...)

Also, haha, sucked you in! ;-)

[katharhino.livejournal.com]

I know practically nothing about DLS herself, but after rereading Mind of the Maker last year and now this, I'm really interested in finding out more about her. I know you should never assume a character is autobiographical, and she rebukes people who do that very thoroughly in MotM... but surely some parts of Harriet are reflective of DLS herself? I mean, just in her writing she comes across as scarily brilliant and uncompromising, much like Harriet... (And I mean scary literally. I think she must have been an extremely intimidating person.)