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The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock Holmes (Penguin Classics)Paperback– January 25, 2011
"Killer Jam" by Karen MacInerney Houston reporter Lucy Resnick cashes in her retirement to buy her grandmother’s farm in Buttercup, Texas, to lead a simple life as a homesteader. Two days after moving, she is the prime suspect in a murder. Learn more | See related books
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I'm beginning to think of Michael Sims as my personal literary advisor, even though I don't know him. His collection of Victorian detective stories, The Dead Witness, introduced me to several delightful writers I'd never heard of. Now he's expanded my horizons again with this collection of Victorian Women in Crime.
I was thrilled to learn, for example, that one of my favorite fin de siècle authors, Richard Marsh (The Beetle), wrote a whole series of stories with a feisty female detective whose special talent is lip reading. I immediately ordered a collection of these Judith Lee stories. I loved the story by Grant Allen featuring Lois Cayley, penniless Girton graduate, and plan to follow up on her adventures. Another find was the New England writer Mary E. Wilkins. I think I'll try her ghost stories.
So if you're in search of forgotten writers of vintage fiction, which I always am, Sims's Victorian collections are a great resource.
In his lively introduction to Victorian Women in Crime, Sims points out that fictional female detectives appeared on the scene decades before they became a reality. Women sleuths were a kind of fantasy that appealed greatly to the reading public. Some of the women investigators in this book are Sherlock Holmes types in skirts, complete with their own Watsons. One is a master of disguise, another claims simply to be a hard worker, and another boasts of "corkscrew-like qualities" as an interrogator.
Every story is exceptionally well written and engaging. This is remarkable, considering the obscurity of the authors overall. Anna Katherine Green is the most famous writer in the collection, but even she may be a new discovery for some readers.
I enjoyed every minute of this book and recommend it with enthusiasm.
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What an unusual idea. Perhaps in the midst of new Sherlock Holmes interest, Penguin decided to put out this unusual volume entitled, "The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes From the Time of Sherlock Holmes." It ended up in my mail after reviewing a collection of Holmes-inspired stories. It is a collection of stories with characters I was not familiar with, by authors, of whom just a few had some name recognition for me.
It is more scholarly work than one for the general reader. It is edited, and edited well, by Michael Sims, who has written a range of books, including ones touching on the offbeat works found in this collection. His introductions to the stories set strong contexts for both the stories and the authors. Most of authors are males, but several women represent their own characters in breaking new ground.
A common theme in many of these stories is a woman, forced by circumstances, to enter into a male-dominated profession. Quite often, the fact that they are women, or wealthy, or educated, allow them into situations in which a male detective could not make progress. In other words, many of the authors set up situations which allow their characters to enter into an non-female world with an excuse most readers could grant. Once in that world, their success comes from their own wits. It would have been nearly unheard of to actually have women working in these roles, so their appearance in fiction precedes their appearance in reality. As Sims notes in his introduction, "Whatever the progressive sensibilities of the author, the creation of a female detective instantly provided a number of narrative possibilities that were unavailable to male heroes."
The range of stories also show the development of the detective story.Read more ›
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Be aware this slim book contains sample FIRST CHAPTERS of books by various authors. They are not complete stories! The idea of the book is to give you a taste of certain forgotten authors so that you'll go track down the actual books themselves.
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Beware that some of these stories are incomplete! For example, the one titled That Affair Next Door only has the beginning of the story. The book does not explain that it will include incomplete stores, so you are left hanging.
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I didn't like "The Mysterious Countess" that much, but I did love most of the other stories in this collection of female detectives. "The Mysterious Countess" was a bit overwritten, but most of the others weren't. Here's what the back cover says, "It is the late Victorian era and society is both entranced by and fearful of that suspicious character known as the New Woman. She rides newfangled bicycles and doesn't like to be told what to do." A lovely description, in my opinion, that captures the essence of the whole book.
All of the females in this collection are detectives or cops, not criminals (though they sometimes do commit a lesser crime in order to solve a murder.) I enjoyed this collection just as much as The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime, perhaps more, because of the smart female detectives here. One of my favorites was "Drawn Dagger" by C.L. Pirkis, with the courageous Loveday Brookes. It was a really ingenious and complicated one too. I also enjoyed "The Unknown Weapon" and Anna Katharine Green's (the author of The Leavenworth Case) two stories included in the collection.
This is an amazing collection, and it's shameful that there are 2 one star reviews on Amazon. I mean, if they actually had some intelligent criticisms of the book, that would be different, but they're completely inaccurate, as the editor himself, Michael Sims, pointed out for the first one. I hope that these reviews won't prevent anyone from reading the book.
I would definitely recommend this to fans of mystery/crime fiction and stories with female protagonists.
My blog is at novareviews.blogspot.com.
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This item: The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock Holmes (Penguin Classics)
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