Mystery Women, Volume One (Revised): An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction: 1860-1979
533
Mystery Women, Volume One (Revised): An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction: 1860-1979
533eBook
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Overview
Many bibliographers focus on women who write. Lawyer Barnett looks at women who detect, at women as sleuths and at the evolving roles of women in professions and in society. Excellent for all women's studies programs as well as for the mystery hound.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781615950089 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Sourcebooks |
| Publication date: | 12/31/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 533 |
| File size: | 699 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Mystery Women
An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery FictionBy Colleen Barnett
Poisoned Pen Press
Copyright © 1997 Colleen BarnettAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61595-008-9
Chapter One
Women Sleuths of the Victorian Era—1860-1899"Not only do ... women suffer ... ever-recurring indignities in daily life, but the literature of the world proclaims their inferiority and divinely decreed subjection in all history, sacred and profane, in science, philosophy, poetry and song."
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and M.J. Cage, eds. History of Women Suffrage II 1882 from Feminist Quotations, Voices of Rebels, Reformers, and Visionaries, compiled by Carol McPhee, Anne Fitzgerald, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1979
During the period when American women were achieving the right to hold property, make valid wills and contracts, retain the wages they earned outside of the home, and gain custody of their children at divorce, it is not surprising that few sought employment as investigators or used their leisure time to detect. Predictably there would be few fictional women sleuths. Male authors had strong markets for heroic adventures, where women were victims or villains, but they rarely played a significant role in determining outcomes. Female authors who wrote in the mystery genre often hid their gender under androgynous initials. They lacked Virginia Woolf's "room of their own" which would enable them to experiment, develop, and produce narratives to meet the needs of women readers.
Changes came slowly in the literary world, reflecting the social, political and economic shifts in society. When a woman was featured as an investigator during this period, she was likely to be single, widowed, or supporting a family. Female investigators were less likely to appear in a series (defined as at least two). The happy solution for a heroine was to achieve marriage and a family, which could be accomplished in a single book. Once married, she was expected to conform to the role of wife and mother, eschewing work outside of her home.
Upper and middle class women were not encouraged to appear in public without an escort, certainly not in the evening. Single women lived under the protection of male relatives; wives, under the control of their husbands. Only with increased leisure and educational opportunities for women in the privileged classes did a readership develop for intrepid and adventurous females.
It is generally conceded that Edgar Allan Poe's short stories published in the 1840's initiated the mystery genre. Amelia Butterworth, the first woman to appear in a mystery series, was developed by an American in 1897. Amelia's predecessors had been a mixed lot, often depending upon intuition, special psychic gifts, or such skills as lip reading to solve problems.
Amelia was a wealthy spinster, allied with a New York City police inspector. She narrated the books in which she appeared and had a significant role in solving the mysteries.
Loveday Brooke
Author: C. L. (Catherine Louisa) Pirkis
Loveday Brooke, an austere woman of thirty who worked as a private detective for the Lynch Court Detective Agency in London, appeared in seven short stories, collected as The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective (Hutchinson, 1894, reprinted in 1986 by Dover).
She set an excellent example, often solving cases when the authorities failed, unafraid of physical risks and painstaking in her work. Except for dressing in black and a habit of squinting when she concentrated, she appeared average in all aspects. This made it possible for her to go undercover to investigate instances of robbery, disappearance, and murder. Loveday indicated that she became a detective because of financial reverses, finding it one of the few jobs for which she had a talent. She preferred to work alone, calling on her employer only when it was time to call in the police. Even on vacation, she found herself intrigued by rumors of ghosts in homes, connecting them with disappearing checks.
Pirkis presumably used the initials to hide her gender, because few women wrote novels, much less mysteries, under their own names in this period.
Amelia Butterworth
Author: Anna Katharine Green a.k.a. A. K. Green
Amelia (christened Araminta) Butterworth, a member of upper class New York society, fit the acceptable pattern of a female sleuth at the turn of the century. Although a "stately" spinster, Amelia was one by choice, having rejected two suitors as possible fortune hunters. Even though she appeared as a secondary character in three Ebenezer Gryce books, she narrated and played significant roles in each. She was acerbic but compassionate; staid, but displayed a sense of humor.
In That Affair Next Door (Putnam, 1897), when Amelia noticed a young man bringing a woman to a supposedly empty house, she contacted the police. After the young woman was found dead, Amelia offered shelter to the two daughters of the house who had just returned from Europe, and were understandably reluctant to stay in their own home. Gryce, assigned to the case, recognized Amelia's value as an observer, but allowed her to expand beyond that role, which she did by locating a valuable witness.
By Lost Man's Lane (Putnam, 1898), Gryce, now a close friend, consulted Amelia when four men disappeared from a small New York village. Amelia made an extended visit to personal friends in the area, noting the behavior of younger members of the family. Her information led first to the discovery of a corpse, then to the killer.
During The Circular Study (McClure, 1900, reprint by Garland in 1976), Gryce found a parasol belonging to Amelia at a crime scene. She had entered the house after she noticed suspicious behavior, and was again a witness to potential suspects. After identifying the young woman involved, Amelia learned that she was the victim of a family quarrel dating back to the Civil War. Although Gryce and Amelia discovered the killer, they agreed that she would never come to trial.
Lois Cayley
Author: Grant Allen
Lois Cayley, at 21, had crisp black hair, large dark eyes, and a swarthy complexion. A graduate of Girton, Cambridge, she behaved scandalously for a young woman of her class and time: serving as a maid for an elderly woman; riding an American-designed bicycle in a contest in which all other entrants were men; rescuing a suitor when he fell over a cliff.
During Miss Cayley's Adventures (Putnam, 1899), she traveled through Europe, into Egypt where she rode a camel and rescued a young Englishwoman from Arabs; and to India, where she hunted tigers from the back of an elephant. On her return to England, she and her fiancé Harold were accused of tampering with a will under which Harold inherited. They married in Scotland, with Harold returning to surrender to the authorities while Lois proved their innocence. The novel was typical for the times, in that a fictional young woman was allowed considerable freedom before her marriage, particularly if her underlying purpose was noble.
Dorcas Dene
Author: George R. Sims
Dorcas Dene entered private investigation only when she was sure that "it would not involve any sacrifice of her womanly instincts." In her late twenties, she was described as having soft brown wavy hair and a light complexion. Her motives were financial. Her artist husband Paul had lost his sight, so she supported the London household, which included her mother, and bulldog Toddleking. She had been an actress, which served her in good stead when she entered households undercover to gain information. Her next door neighbor, a retired policeman, hired Dorcas to help in his investigations. When he retired, she took over the agency, working conscientiously to verify her conclusions by researching official records.
Dorcas Dene, Detective (White, 1897) was narrated by dramatist Mr. Saxon, who had known Dorcas when she was on stage, and admired her ability to use disguise and drama in her investigations. A second collection, Dorcas Dene, Detective, Second Series (White, 1898) followed.
Mrs. G.
Author: Andrew W. Forrester, Jr.
Such formidable genre theorists as Ellery Queen and E. F. Bleiler identified Mrs. G. as the first fictional female investigator in The Female Detective (Ward, 1864). Her author, Andrew W. Forrester, Jr. gave few insights into her character or motives, but she presumably worked for the money. In The Lady Investigates by Patricia Craig and Mary Cadogan, it was reported that Mrs. G. did not disclose her work to her friends, but led them to believe she was a dressmaker. Nor did Forrester ever make it clear whether Mrs. G. was widowed or married, did or did not have children. As a matter of fact, since the title "Mrs." during that period was given to older women indiscriminately, she might have been single. Michelle Slung in her preface to Crime on Her Mind, referred to Mrs. G. as likely to be single and working to support herself. In her first person narrative, Mrs. G. commented that she believed that women criminals were worse than men.
In 1978, Dover Publications included The Unknown Weapon by Forrester in Three Victorian Detective Novels, edited by E. F. Bleiler. In the narrative, Mrs. G. investigated the death of young Graham Petleigh at his father's country estate. Although she determined how, why and by whom the murder had been committed, she lacked proof for a conviction. She interviewed witnesses, had a woman assistant who went undercover at the estate, and searched the premises. She described her approach as believing "every man, a rogue till ... we can only discover that he is an honest man."
Madame Katherine Koluchy
Author: L. T. (Lillie Thomas) Meade (Smith) and Robert Eustace
Madame Katherine Koluchy was the Italian leader of The Brotherhood, who used her London business as a beauty specialist as a front for robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, and murder. She was described as having dark hair and eyes, erect posture, and considerable intelligence.
In The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings (Ward, 1899), narrator Norman Head challenged Madame Koluchy in a series of adventures, determined to bring her and her associates to justice. She had been accepted into society, praised for her high skills as a musician and composer, but finally destroyed herself by a trap she set for others.
Caroline "Cad" Mettie
Author: Harlan Halsey, writing as "The Old Sleuth"
Cad Mettie (birth name Caroline), an impulsive young woman, detected not for economic reasons but because she enjoyed the excitement.
In Dudie Dunne or the Exquisite Detective (Ogilvie, 1895), Dudie met young Cad but was suspicious of her until she saved him from a trap. He realized that she was still not to be trusted so left her in charge of a former prison matron until he captured the crooks.
By Cad Mettie, the Female Detective Strategist (an Old Sleuth Dime Novel by Ogilvie, 1895) she was a girl of the streets usually working with Dudie, who was tougher than he looked. Cad, whom Dudie loved, was beautiful, could sing and dance, "fence or wrestle like a man," and could even disguise herself as a male. She planned to become a famous female detective. As a pair, Cad and Dudie were so successful that the government hired them to investigate Italian gangs who were robbing banks and counterfeiting money.
Ogilvie published other dime novels featuring such colorful women sleuths, but they were few compared to hundreds of dime novels with youthful or adult male heroes.
Mrs. Paschal
Author: Anonyma
Little is known of the widowed Mrs. Paschal who worked with the Metropolitan Police in London in the 1860's. She had few, if any, real life counterparts. Lower class women acted as matrons in prisons, but not, as author "Anonyma" proposed, as a member of a special unit composed of female detectives according to Amnon Kabatchnik (The Armchair Detective, Vol. 7-2, p. 131).
Kabatchnik related that in The Revelations of a Lady Detective (George Vickers, 1864), Mrs. Paschal was described as just short of forty, "vigorous and subtle." Revelations included ten short stories featuring Mrs. Paschal's exploits.
Kabatchnik believed that The Experiences of a Lady Detective (Charles H. Clarke), published in 1861, was a separate book, and therefore that Mrs. Paschal was the first female sleuth. E.F. Bleiler refuted this contention in a subsequent article in The Armchair Detective, Vol. 8-3, p. 202. Bleiler examined the tables of contents of the two books, found them to be the same, and identified William Stephens Hayward as the probable author. If so, then The Female Detective by Andrew J. Forrester, Jr. was the first female sleuth.
Madeline Payne
Author: Lawrence L. Lynch pseudonym for Emma Van Deventer
Madeline Payne's mother died leaving her with a cruel and lecherous stepfather. Her father, whom she never knew, had been a detective. An attractive young woman with golden hair and brown eyes, she had been educated in a convent school.
In Madeline Payne, the Detective's Daughter (Loyd, 1884), Madeline, desperate to be free of her stepfather, left town with a charming but faithless young man. After Lucian Davlin betrayed her, she assumed another identity until she could claim her inheritance.
Needing to support herself, Madeline became a detective in Moina, A Detective Story (Ward, 1891). While a guest at the home of a wealthy industrialist, Madeline learned that her host had been threatened. After his injury from a bomb, she involved herself with Russian imperialists, Socialist conspirators, and the historic Haymarket riot. After she found romance with friend Dr. Vaughn, she withdrew from her career.
Author Van Deventer, like others in the period, felt she would be more successful under a male pseudonym.
Hagar Stanley
Author: Fergus Hume
Hagar Stanley was a young gypsy who left her tribe to avoid an unwanted marriage. Described as having dark hair and dark eyes in Hagar of the Pawn Shop (Buckles, 1898), she worked for pawnbroker Jacob Dix who bequeathed the shop to her. In the course of her work, Hagar cleared a falsely accused black woman of murdering her employer. Most cases arose from items pawned in the shop. Although she enjoyed her work, Hagar longed for the open road. Eventually, she and the man she loved set up a bookseller's caravan, and returned to the highway.
Valeria Woodville
Author: Wilkie Collins
Valeria Woodville, a tall slender woman with black hair and dark blue eyes, searched for proof that her husband Eustace did not kill his first wife in The Law and the Lady (Harper, 1875).
While living with her aunt and uncle, Valeria had married a young man of whom she knew little. Concerned by her mother-in-law's opposition to the marriage, she learned that Eustace had a prior wife under the name Macallan. Furthermore, he had been tried and received a Scottish verdict when accused of Sara's death. Finding herself pregnant, she was more determined than ever to clear the name of her child's father. The narrative included fifty pages of trial transcript, which Valeria read.
Collins, a prominent Victorian, had several other interesting women characters in his books.
Chapter Two
Seeds of Discontent—Women Sleuths of 1900-1919"It is still felt that woman's life, in its civil, economic, and social bearing, is essentially and normally a vicarious life, the merit or demerit of which is, in the nature of things, to be imputed to some other individual who stands in some relation of ownership or tutelage to the woman."
Thorstein Veblen's "Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899) quoted in Up from the Pedestal, by Aileen Kraditor (1965).
Women, although still held closely to hearth and home, were offered more freedom in their social life after the turn of the century. Their clothing became less cumbersome and restrictive. American girls were more likely than their brothers to graduate from high school. New occupations—usually extensions of female nurturing skills—were opened to them in nursing, teaching, and libraries. The typewriter made secretarial work a low paying job, no longer appealing to men. As more goods were mass-produced and sold in stores, female factory workers and clerks were needed. Such occupations were considered acceptable for those who could not or did not choose to marry, or as temporary bridges between school and marriage. Private investigators and police officers continued to be males, capable of handling violent criminals.
Women had improved their property and legal rights, but were still denied the vote, although both American and British suffragettes campaigned for recognition. Individual American states had already granted their female residents the right to vote when Congress finally passed the Nineteenth Amendment, which was then ratified by the required number of states. Congress had been influenced by women's contributions during World War I in the service and in civilian life.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Mystery Women by Colleen Barnett Copyright © 1997 by Colleen Barnett. Excerpted by permission of Poisoned Pen Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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