Which novelist created the fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey?

Dorothy L. Sayers created the fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey.

Sayers introduced Wimsey in “Whose Body?”, published in 1923. He is an English aristocrat and amateur detective who investigates crimes with assistance from his valet, Mervyn Bunter. His privileged background, extensive education, and interest in books, music, and food distinguish him from many professional detectives.

Wimsey appears in 11 novels and several collections of short stories. Sayers gradually developed him beyond a clever puzzle-solving figure, giving him emotional depth and a major romantic storyline with the detective novelist Harriet Vane. “Strong Poison,” “Have His Carcase,” and “Gaudy Night” are among the best-known Wimsey novels.

Sayers is sometimes grouped with Agatha Christie and other Golden Age writers, but her approach has a distinctive literary and theological dimension. She studied at Somerville College, Oxford, and became one of the first women to receive a degree from the university after Oxford changed its degree policy in 1920.