Peter! Were you looking for a horse-shoe?" "No; I was expecting the horse, but the shoe is a piece of pure, gorgeous luck." "And observation. I found it." "You did. And I could kiss you for it. You need not shrink and tremble. I am not going to do it. When I kiss you, it will be an important event -- one of those things which stand out among their surroundings like the first time you tasted li-chee. It will not be an unimportant sideshow attached to a detective investigation.

Sayers once commented that Lord Peter was a mixture of Fred Astaire and Bertie Wooster which is most evident in the first five novels. J. In addition to the ingenious thinking in working out this analogy the book contains striking examples drawn from her own experiences as a writer and elegant criticisms of writers when the balance between Idea Energy and Power is not in her view adequate.

She is also known for her plays literary criticism and essays. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. However Sayers herself considered her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy to be her best work.