[N]othing about a book is so unmistakable and so irreplaceable as the stamp of the cultured mind. I don't care what the story is about or what may be the momentary craze for books that appear to have been hammered out by the village blacksmith in a state of intoxication; the minute you get the easy touch of the real craftsman with centuries of civilisation behind him, you get literature.

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.