The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and Her Oxford Circle Remade the World For Women

Mo Moulton
800.92 Sayers Mou

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893—1957) was a renowned crime novelist who achieved fame and fortune during a time when just as many doors were closed to women as open. Sayers found professional success with her Lord Peter Wimsey novels. Yet, she never could have done it without the cohort of remarkable women she met at university—all of whom would go on to challenge societal norms and fight for equality of opportunity in their own way. In 1912, Dorothy L. Sayers and five friends founded a writing group at Somerville College, Oxford; they called themselves the "Mutual Admiration Society." Smart, bold, serious, and funny, these women were also sheltered and chaperoned, barred from receiving degrees despite taking classes and passing exams. Mutual Admiration Society follows these six women as they navigate the complexities of adulthood, work, intimacy, and sex in Interwar England.