I found this very hard going and gave it up at page 160 of 347 pages. It rambles about, with too many characters pontificating and nothing particularly shocking ever happening. Wimsey hasn’t even appeared yet! My reading experience wasn’t enhanced by trying to read a 1955 edition with the tiniest print imaginable.
The experience of female intellectuals fighting for their right to study and immerse themselves in the word of academia is, of course, interesting. But the forensic detail applied by Sayers was too much for me.
I’ve read plenty of the Queens of Crime, including several other Sayers, but I’m afraid to say this one defeated me.

The Nine Tailors was on a reading list for a Queens of Crime course I’m doing. I remember reading Sayers many moons ago, and was excited to revisit her writing.
This is a dense and detailed novel, and at 374 pages, quite long compared to other novels written by the other Queens of Crime (Christie, Marsh & Allingham).
I had absolutely no knowledge of Campanology, so, aside from a murder mystery, this book takes you into the secret world of bell ringing and its strange terminology. I must confess, I found some of this information a little too much, and (sshhh, don’t tell anyone) I skimmed some of these paragraphs!
But don’t let that put you off reading this novel. I found myself immersed in the lives and troubles of the inhabitants of Fenchurch St Paul, a small village in the remote fens of East Anglia. I defy any reader to not develop a huge affection for Rector Venables - perhaps if our world had a few more Rector Venables we wouldn’t be in such a mess!
When a mutilated body is discovered in a grave where it doesn’t belong, all sorts of secrets and histories are disturbed and brought to the surface. Lord Peter Wimsey, by happenstance, is present and of course becomes embroiled in solving this mystery.
Sayers has created a beautifully rendered world in miniature, peopled with characters who are nuanced, and not merely black and white. Her descriptions of the landscape are luminous and painterly. Although harsh, you can also picture its beauty.
I highly recommend this book for readers who want more than a mere whodunnit.