Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Published in 1923, this British detective novel has an ingenious story line and well-drawn characters. For me, however, it was spoiled by unkind references to Jews that some would call offensive at the least. 

The murdered man, Sir Reuben Levy, is Jewish. Nobody else in the book is described as Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, or of any religion at all. Only Levy is singled out for his faith, and almost always in negative terms. Levy is described as "a little Jewish nobody, " a "sheeny" and one of those "self-made men of low origin" who don't take care of their teeth and are terrified of dentists. When discussing an investment, Levy "shrugged up his shoulders and looked like a pawnbroker." Other examples:

"I don't hold with Hebrews as a rule."

"I remember so well the dreadful trouble about her marrying a Jew."

"I'm sure some Jews are very good people, and personally I'd much rather they believed something."

Given the context in which these things are said, perhaps the author is merely pointing out the casual anti-Semitism of the British upper class. It's hard to tell. But for me, there's too much of this distasteful material in "Whose Body?" I understand the same sentiments crop up in her other books. I'm not sure I want to read any of them for that reason alone.