May 18 – From Crime to the Passion
If you love crime and mystery novels, you’ve probably read books by Dorothy Sayers (if you haven’t, you should.) Her father was the chaplain at Christ Church in England and began teaching her Latin when she was just six years old. She studied modern languages and medieval literature at Oxford and though women weren’t allowed to receive degrees at the time, was the first woman to finally receive one when that was changed several years later.
She was friends with C.S. Lewis and others of the Inklings, attending a few meetings.
Not only did she write crime novels, but she translated Dante’s “Divine Comedy” considering that her best work. She also wrote several religious plays for production at Canterbury Cathedral, but when she wrote “The Man Born to be King,” she caused an intense uproar throughout England. This was a series of twelve radio plays and when it was announced on BBC Radio, she explained her ideas. She had combined several people into one character, added other characters, used actors from England and America, and employed slang to retell the story.
England, while in the middle of fighting with Germany could not imagine this was anything other than blasphemy. Before the radio plays were even aired, Churchill received numerous letters and calls begging him to force an end to this. The Archbishop of Canterbury was asked to ban the plays and there was even a question brought to the floor of the House of Commons regarding the issue.
But the BBC pressed forward and following the first episode of the “The Man Born to be King,” people felt that she had given them a chance to renew their faith during difficult times. The radio stations were overrun with letters of support, saying that she had made the Christ’s life so real, they had to reconsider its meaning for themselves.
Dorothy L. Sayers will always be known for her detective novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, but her strong faith background was the foundation for her life.
If you love crime and mystery novels, you’ve probably read books by Dorothy Sayers (if you haven’t, you should.) Her father was the chaplain at Christ Church in England and began teaching her Latin when she was just six years old. She studied modern languages and medieval literature at Oxford and though women weren’t allowed to receive degrees at the time, was the first woman to finally receive one when that was changed several years later.
She was friends with C.S. Lewis and others of the Inklings, attending a few meetings.
Not only did she write crime novels, but she translated Dante’s “Divine Comedy” considering that her best work. She also wrote several religious plays for production at Canterbury Cathedral, but when she wrote “The Man Born to be King,” she caused an intense uproar throughout England. This was a series of twelve radio plays and when it was announced on BBC Radio, she explained her ideas. She had combined several people into one character, added other characters, used actors from England and America, and employed slang to retell the story.
England, while in the middle of fighting with Germany could not imagine this was anything other than blasphemy. Before the radio plays were even aired, Churchill received numerous letters and calls begging him to force an end to this. The Archbishop of Canterbury was asked to ban the plays and there was even a question brought to the floor of the House of Commons regarding the issue.
But the BBC pressed forward and following the first episode of the “The Man Born to be King,” people felt that she had given them a chance to renew their faith during difficult times. The radio stations were overrun with letters of support, saying that she had made the Christ’s life so real, they had to reconsider its meaning for themselves.
Dorothy L. Sayers will always be known for her detective novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, but her strong faith background was the foundation for her life.
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