Private Inquiries by Caitlin Davies
A history of the UK’s real-life female detectives – from mid-Victorian era to present day
Based on original research alongside interviews with modern-day female investigators
The female private detective has been a staple of popular culture for over 150 years, from Victorian lady sleuths to ‘busy-body spinsters’ and gun- toting modern PIs. But what about the real-life women behind these fictional tales – what crimes did they solve, and where are their stories?
In Private Inquiries, Caitlin Davies traces the history of the UK’s female investigators, uncovering the truth about their lives and careers from the 1850s to the present day. Women such as
• Victorian private inquiry agent Antonia Moser – the first woman to open her own agency
• Annette Kerner, who ran the Mayfair Detective Agency on Baker Street in the 1940s
• Liverpool sleuth Zena Scott-Archer, who became the first woman president of the World Association of Detectives
Caitlin also follows in the footsteps of her subjects, undertaking a professional qualification to become a Private Investigator, and meeting modern PIs to disentangle fact from fiction.
Female investigators are on the rise in the UK – and despite the industry’s sleazy reputation, nearly a third of new trainees are women. After a century of undercover work, it’s time to reveal the secrets of their trailblazing forebears.
'Private Inquiries is a must-read – a riveting mythbuster, with its revelations of the real histories of women PIs,'
VAL McDERMID
About the author
CAITLIN DAVIES is a novelist, non-fiction writer, award-winning journalist and teacher. She is the author of six novels and seven non-fiction books, including Bad Girls: The Rebels and Renegades of Holloway Prison, nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing (2019), and Queens of the Underworld, a history of professional female crooks.
She lives in Kent and is a trained PI.
Review
‘Private Inquiries’ is a riveting and thought-provoking look into the history of female sleuths in Britain! I absolutely devoured this book, firstly as a crime fiction lover, but also as a history buff! I studied gender history in university so for me this was the most interesting piece of non-fiction that I have read in years.
‘Private Inquiries’ follows the progression of female sleuths from the 1850s to the present day, but also follows her journey to becoming a private investigator as well. She presents us with the details Of these women, but also with the difficulties of identifying and verifying their stories. Many of the female detectives in the 1800s and early 1900s changed their names frequently, changed their age and martial status and embellished their roles. Plus, the newspapers and stories tell of exaggerated deeds and personalities. I enjoyed how she weaves the history of how women were portrayed in early crime fiction and penny thrillers.
The most fascinating sections of the book for me were the sections from 1900 to the start of the Second World War. But that's because that's where my history and fictional tastes merge! My niche crime fiction genre is female detective on crime fiction portraying the changes in society, the rise of suffrage and changes to women’s status in society. The Great War obviously changed everything for women and its here that women where first allowed to become legitimized as constables in the police force.
This is a fascinating book which I thoroughly enjoyed and found riveting! I also appreciated the source section and bibliography at the back of the book, but I would have preferred this to be annotated in the form of footnotes but that's just me being a giant nerd and wanting to go down massive rabbit holes!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
