17 March 2011

Not just in Botswana

If you search for Bess Crawford or Maisie Dobbs on this blog, you'll find recommendations for books about post-World War I women who were private detectives. You won't find a review of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency because I only listened to an audio version of the series' first book. But women as private detectives does seem to be a theme (or a meme).

Be aware that this theme is not made up of whole cloth. Here's a 1911 ad from Chicago (posted at BoingBoing by Scott Edelman):



1 comment:

Ken Wedding said...

Dan Conrad wrote:
"And, while mentioning women detectives that are interesting, lets not forget Molly Murphy (Rhys Bowen) and Kate Martinelli (Laurie King), to say nothing of Miss Marple (Agatha Christie) and others such as Swedish maid Hilda Johansson and Rhys Bowen's other female character, Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, cousin of King George V of England. Not sure why I prefer mysteries with women sleuths, maybe the added reliance on wit and insight into human behavior--or something."