“What we ask is to be human individuals, however peculiar and unexpected. It is no good saying: "You are a little girl and therefore you ought to like dolls"; if the answer is, "But I don't," there is no more to be said.”

English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic

Dorothy Leigh Sayers was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. She is best known for her Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels, which helped shape the golden age of British detective fiction. Beyond her mysteries, Sayers wrote plays, translated works, and produced criticism with a sharp, exacting style. Her writing moved across popular fiction and literary argument, and her reputation rests on both her storytelling and her clear, disciplined prose.