Summary In Sayers's Murder Must Advertise

In one particular discussion, copy-writer Mr. Willis declared, “You don't realize it, but I do. I know a man's a man for a' that and all the rest of it, but people like you have a sort of glamour about them …I know I'm as good a man as you are, but I don't look it, and that's where it is” (222). A character in Dorothy L. Sayers’ novel Murder Must Advertise, Willis explains how he’s affected by his class. In her book, Sayers explores the lives of an advertising agency’s employees following the murder of one of their fellow copy-writers. In doing so, Sayers exposes the class disparity present in England at the time. A very class-conscious society, differences in education and recreational activities strictly divided the classes into a fairly …show more content…
After a course encounter with Mr. Tallboy, Mr. Smayle says, “I suppose Tallboy thinks I’m not worth speaking to, just because he’s been to a private school and I haven’t” (166). Tallboy graduated from Dumbleton, which the men decided can technically be called a public school, but not a prestigious one; however, Tallboy, having attended Dumbleton, feels superior to the other employees who maybe only had a council school or grammar school education. Public schools and colleges were fairly easy to get into as long as one had the means to afford such a school. Mr. Smayle even asserts, “I'd give anything to have had the same opportunities as you. There's a difference, and I know there's a difference, and I don't mind admitting it” (167). It seems that, apart from Mr. Tallboy, the only people who care at all about whether one has a public school education are the ones who did not attend a public school. Neither Willis nor Smayle nor Copely …show more content…
When Mr. Willis first arrived at the fancy-dress party at Major Milligan’s house, he described the scene essentially as the epitome of excess. There was drinking, dancing, sex, and unbeknownst to him, drugs (68). They are decidedly the “haves.” Before his death, Victor Dean had attached himself to Ms. de Momerie, and attempted to penetrate this group. At the time, he earned £6 a week, which severely inhibited his ability to keep up with the big spenders, even though de Momerie gave him, “everything he wanted” (83, 150). Eventually his inability to keep pace with the de Momerie crowd caused him to fall out of favor with Dian (150). With the exception of Dean, no other Pym’s employees even came close to interacting with this group. One needed an introduction from a member to even be let in the party (221). There existed a stark divide between the working class and the upper class. The upper class’s means were so much greater than the lower classes that they did not even have contact with one another in daily life. This example is probably the most rigid, but Dean’s infiltration of the group shows that there was some