Created by Rachael New Lord knows there were several "lady detectives" bouncing around in the late 1800s that would make for a great film or television adaptation, but the Irish/Anglo producers of Miss Scarlet & The Duke decided to scratch build their own, no doubt eying the success of such period mysteries as Miss Fisher (Thumbs up!) … Continue reading Eliza Scarlet (Miss Scarlet & The Duke)
Tag: Lady Detective
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Private Detectives & Other Miscreants)
We can go around and around all night about who the first fictional "private detective" was, but most of us, I think, will agree that Sherlock Holmes was the first significant fictional detective -- his 1887 debut was a literary shot heard 'round the world that still reverberates over a hundred and thirty years later. … Continue reading The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (Private Detectives & Other Miscreants)
Madame Storey
Created by Hulbert Footner (1879-1944) "Madame Storey... bids fair to become One of the most popular figures of crime fiction. She is unique. She is irresistible" Her exploits, as told in this volume, are spiced with action and startling denouements. Her methods of solving a mystery are extraordinary. To her envious confrére they seem unreasonable, … Continue reading Madame Storey
Paul Beck (Alfred Juggins) & Dora Myrl
Created by M. McDonnell Bodkin, K.C. (1850-1933) "The devilish ingenuity of Mr. Bodkins' criminals is such as to make the nervous tremble for a world without Paul Beck." -- The Yorkshire Daily Observer PAUL BECK and DORA MYRL would have been interesting enough on their own: two prime examples of early fictional detectives, each successful … Continue reading Paul Beck (Alfred Juggins) & Dora Myrl
Miss Madelyn Mack
Created by Hugh C. Weir (1884-1934) MISS MADELYN MACK was a later rival of Sherlock Holmes, but her creator, Hugh C. Weir, apparently knew what the public wanted. So Madelyn came complete with a faithful Watson in the form of female reporter Nora Noraker, and an addiction of her own -- while ol' Deerstalker did … Continue reading Miss Madelyn Mack
Miss Violet Strange
Created by Anna Katherine Green (1879-1944) "If you have a case of subtlety without crime, one to engage my powers without depressing my spirits, I beg you to let me have it." Poor old dad had no idea what his darling daughter was up to. VIOLET STRANGE is considered by many to be the first … Continue reading Miss Violet Strange
Miss Loveday Brooke
Created by C.L. Pirkis (1839-1910) "Too much of a lady, do you say?...I don't care twopence-halfpenny whether she is or is not a lady. I only know she is the most sensible and practical woman I ever met. In the first place, she has the faculty -- so rare among women -- of carrying out … Continue reading Miss Loveday Brooke
The Lady Detectives
Early Female Eyes "If it's that delicate,... maybe you need a lady detective." -- Philip Marlowe in The Little Sister (1949) No business for a lady, indeed... Before the parade of bimbo eyes from the pulp era and before the nineteen eighties tsunami of more realistic female eyes swamped us, there were the lady detectives. A … Continue reading The Lady Detectives
Dorcas Dene
Created by George R. Sims (1847-1922) "It isn't usual," the Superintendent said, "for our men to act under the orders of a private detective, even one so talented as Dorcas Dene, but under the circumstances I consent." One of several Victorian and Edwardian female detectives who popped up in the wake of Sherlock Holmes, DORCAS … Continue reading Dorcas Dene
Miss Maud Silver
Created by Patricia Wentworth Pseudonym of Dora Amy Elles (1878-1961) Here's one that's probably not going to be confused with the hard-boiled school of private eyes. The redoubtable MISS MAUD SILVER (all the early lady detectives seemed to be "Miss Something or Another) is a spinster private investigator in London, England, specializing in thefts and … Continue reading Miss Maud Silver