Overview

"A group biography of renowned crime novelist Dorothy L. Sayers and the Oxford women who stood at the vanguard of equal rights Dorothy L. Sayers is now famous for her Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane detective series, but she was equally well known during her life for an essay asking ""Are Women Human?"" Women's rights were expanding rapidly during Sayers's lifetime; she and her friends were some of the first women to receive degrees from Oxford. Yet, as historian Mo Moulton reveals, it was clear from the many professional and personal obstacles they faced that society was not ready to concede that women were indeed fully human. Dubbing themselves the Mutual Admiration Society, Sayers and her classmates remained lifelong friends and collaborators as they fought for a truly democratic culture that acknowledged their equal humanity. A celebration of feminism and female friendship, The Mutual Admiration Society offers crucial insight into Dorothy L. Sayers and her world."

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9781094174068

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Reviews

With real affection, the author amplifies the message that Sayers herself broadcast: 'the friendship of which the female sex is said to be incapable.' -- New York Journal of Books What Moulton best accomplishes in this intimate and scholarly book is a re-creation of a world in transition...a vital juncture in history, a time of new opportunity for women. -- BookPage Well written and fascinating, it's equally successful as a biography and social history. -- Sunday Express (London) Shows us the importance of friendship and marginalization as spurs to ambition. -- Times Higher Education (London) Sheds new light on Sayers's evolution as a writer, showing how some of her best work occurred in collaboration with her friend Muriel St. Clare Byrne. -- New Yorker Moulton, with a keen eye for humorous detail and moments of humanity, deftly captures not only the lives of these women but the enduring power of female friendship. -- Booklist (starred review) Moulton...affords the group's members the same sober respect that they afforded themselves, painting a rich portrait of the enduring friendship between four of them. -- Financial Times (London)

Author Information

Mo Moulton is a lecturer in the history department of the University of Birmingham. They earned their PhD in history from Brown University in 2010 and taught in the history and literature program at Harvard University for six years. Their book Ireland and the Irish in Interwar England was named a 2014 Book of the Year by History Today and was the runner-up for the Royal History Society's 2015 Whitfield Prize for first book in British or Irish history. Moulton regularly writes for outlets such as The Atlantic, Public Books, Disclaimer Magazine, and the Toast. Lorna Bennett is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.

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