Dorothy Sayers was a writer of unusual clarity, wit, and perceptiveness. A book that explores her reflections on theology is welcome indeed. Certainly a strength of the book that Laura Simmons has written is the
presence of abundant quotations from Sayers herself. For example, an extended quotation from The Dogma Is the Drama includes: "Q. What are the seven Christian virtues? A. Respectability; childishness; mental timidity; dullness; sentimentality; censoriousness; and depression of spirits" (66). Dorothy Sayers spent much energy as a writer opposing such "virtues."
While not a biography, Simmons's book does remind us that Sayers was the daughter of a clergyman in the Church of England and did embrace the Anglo-Catholic faith in that church. It looks at some of the key theological influences on Sayers, including G. K. Chesterton, and looks at her range as a writer including detective fiction, drama, and a very fine translation of Dante's Divine Comedy into English with detailed scholarly annotations.
The book primarily traces Sayers's interest in, commitment to, and contributions to Christian theology. Her role, as John Wilson put it, was to stand among "vigorous and popular defenders" (18) of Christian truth. As Simmons puts it: "It is clear from her many cautions that she did not set out to revise doctrine. Instead, she sought to clarify it, to identify misunderstandings people might have about basic Christian convictions" (158).
Simmons frequently refers to Sayers as a "lay theologian" to distinguish her from professional theologians and from the clergy. Her goal certainly was not to do theology in the sense of refining or improving received orthodoxy. She is perhaps more apologist than theologian.
In this book we see that the primary interests of Sayers theologically were the doctrines of Trinity and incarnation, which she believed ordinary church members in England did not seem to understand at all. It was in making these doctrines comprehensible and vital that she was at her best.
In several areas of theology this book is somewhat frustrating. We are told that Sayers was willing "to marry doctrinal orthodoxy with a relaxed acceptance of biblical criticism" but "was not cavalier in her use of Scripture" (46). Is that the most specific one can be about her doctrine of Scripture? We are told that Jesus alone of religious leaders treated women without disparagement (149). Is that an implicit criticism of the Apostle Paul? We are told that Sayers believed that the ordination of women to the priesthood was "silly and inexpedient," creating unnecessary separation from the rest of Christian practice, but also that she could not find "any logical or strictly theological reason" against the ordination of women (145f.). Is there nothing more in her writing on this issue? She rejected Calvinism yet insisted that she was not Pelagian. But did she know Augustine on nature and grace as well as she knew Augustine on the Trinity? There are several references to her sacramental vision, but no reflection on how she saw the role of preaching in the life of the Christian community. It is frustrating not to know whether Sayers was silent or ambiguous on these topics, or if the book just does not discuss them.
Simmons book cites several very negative remarks by Sayers about Puritanism (62, 80, 83). Those comments reveal how little Sayers knew, for all her learning, about the history and character of Puritanism. As a result there is no record in the book of any thoughtful reflection on the part of Sayers on the implications of the Second Commandment for Christian drama.
On the whole this is a valuable book, despite some significant limitations. Sayers is always a delight, even where one disagrees with her.
