So, being the dastardly academic that I am, I was curious about this theme, so I went looking for discussions on the topic.
I landed in a
particularly interesting article by Amy Schwartz in
Moment magazine. The article details what it calls Sayers' "obsession" with her Jewish characters and their place in her world. This quote struck me particularly:
Quote:
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Sayers’s collected letters include a note to her publisher in 1936, answering a question about a proposed French translation [of Whose Body?] and defending herself from the suggestion that the book portrayed Jews in a negative light: “Certainly they may soften the thrusts against the Jews if they like and if there are any. My own opinion is that the only people who were presented in a favourable light were the Jews!”
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The author of the article argues that Sayers' relationship with Jewish characters is not due to antisemitism (any more than existed in her society, anyway), but rather due to her affair with a Russian Jew when she was writing
Whose Body?
I would like to have seen some footnotes to back up all the author had to say in the article, but it was a fascinating read nonetheless.
NOTE: There are spoilers for later Whimsey mysteries in the article.