The Man Born to be King (Wade Annotated Edition), Dorothy L. Sayers, edited by Kathryn Wehr. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2023.

Summary: A new annotated edition of Sayers’ cycle of twelve plays on the life of Christ.

Between December 1941 and October 1942, during the depths of Second World War, the BBC broadcast twelve radio dramas written by Dorothy L. Sayers. Through the efforts of Kathryn Wehr these works have been brought to life for a new generation, accompanied by Wehr’s annotations and introduction to the work, offering important background, explanations and discussions of textual emendations during the process of writing for broadcast. This work was supported by a grant from Marion E. Wade Center, the location of a significant archive of material on Dorothy L. Sayers,

The plays center around the idea of Jesus as king, and the contrast between the kingdom he inaugurated in his coming and the kingdoms of the day, those of Herod and the Roman Caesars, a contrast resulting in the peril of death over Jesus from his birth to his crucifixion. The first in the cycle is “Kings in Judea” where Herod is visited by the traditional Three Kings (from Europe, Asia, and Africa) seeking the one that the heavens said was born king in Judea.

The king theme is elaborated in Sayers portrayal of Judas Iscariot, who is portrayed as probably the most intelligent of all the disciples, perhaps more far-seeing and idealistic, but also proud in the particular way some of the brightest are, and thus vulnerable to the insinuations of Baruch, a recurring figure who is conspiring with the Zealots to lead an insurgency. Baruch raises questions of Jesus’s intentions and Judas comes to believe Jesus in the end was going to betray his own ideals. He determines to stop him by betraying him first–one of the most probing portrayals of Judas I’ve seen.

The plays are in the vernacular British English of the day, a controversial decision which Wehr discusses in her Introduction (as well as the miraculous consensus that came about on the religious board vetting her material). Despite protests from some religious bodies, the plays enjoyed widespread support from the public. The one thing I notice is that Sayers will sometimes quote verbatim from scripture and then at other times render accounts in the vernacular. Also, some expressions may be anachronistic today, such as Proclus, the centurion’s servant being his “batman.”

Another device Sayers uses is what she calls “tie-rod” characters. Balthazar, one of the Three Kings, reappears at the crucifixion. With him before Herod is Proclus, the Centurion, whose servant is later healed by Jesus, and who also is at the foot of the cross, testifying to Jesus as the Son of God. Baruch also serves in this role, particularly in the development of the Judas plot. Mary the mother of Jesus (Mary Virgin in the plays to distinguish from other Marys) and Mary Magdalene (who she identifies with Mary of Bethany) also recur and critically tie the narrative together.

Sayers weaves the Synoptic accounts and John’s Gospel into a seamless narrative over the twelve plays, contrary to much of the scholarship of her day. Yet she works carefully with biblical texts, other source materials and commentaries. She is also theologically acute, as is evident in this monologue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she watches Jesus struggle under the weight of the cross up to Golgotha:

“I know now what he is, and what I am. . . . I, Mary, am the fact; God is the truth; but Jesus is fact and truth–he is reality. You cannot see the immortal truth till it is born in the flesh of the fact. And because all birth is a sundering of the flesh, fact and reality seem to go separate ways, But it is not really so; the feet that must walk this road were made of me. Only one Jesus is to die today–one person whom you know–the truth of God and the fact of Mary. This is reality. From the beginning of time until now, this is the only thing that has ever really happened. When you understand this you will understand all prophecies, and all history. . . .”

In a few sentences, Sayers powerfully summarizes the doctrine of the incarnation and the hypostatic union of the two natures.

Some comments are in order on what is included in this edition. It begins with Kathryn Wehr’s introduction to the plays, describing their inception, Sayers’ conditions, and how the plays illustrate her creative trinity, developed in The Mind of the Maker. Also reproduced are James Welch’s introduction as director of religious broadcasting for the BBC and Sayers own introduction, in which she details her own process in writing the plays.

Each play in the cycle begins with an editor’s introduction offering not only a plot synopsis scene by scene but also background information and discussion of theological issues in each play. This is followed by the cast listing for the original radio broadcast and Sayers notes to actors on the play and the particular characters and how she would have them played–fascinating for her insights particularly into the lives of the disciples, and several other key players, including Caiaphas and Pilate. Also, Wehr provides annotations alongside the text, some explanatory, some providing alternate readings from draft materials, some citing correspondence with James Welch discussing elements of the play. Underlining in the text (as well as introductions and notes) point the reader to annotated material.

This edition was published after Advent and Christmas this past year. The plays are wonderful reading at any time of year but would seem ideal in the time between Advent and Easter. Of course, anyone who follows the works of Dorothy L. Sayers will want this edition of the plays for all the scholarly material included. Above all, the plays help us ask afresh a question that recurs in the gospels and that each of us must resolve for ourselves–who is this Jesus?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.