“Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.”
This quote could describe almost every female detective in a historical mystery. They’re not just fighting against criminals, they’re usually fighting against a society that tells them the woman’s place is in the home. When men become detectives, no one wonders who will make dinner or take care of the children or, heaven forbid, whether their profession will make it more difficult for them to get married.
When I first wrote about Evelyn Bishop in Under the Paper Moon, she was based on my grandmother who desperately wanted to become a doctor, but was forbidden because it was not “lady-like.” I always wondered who she would have become had she been allowed to make her own decisions. I also wondered whether she would have been happier. Because of my gram, strong women who find the strength to pursue their own passions have always interested me. In my most recent book, An Unquiet Peace, Evelyn is viewed as rich society woman who constantly surprised people by running her father’s company. She also continues her work as a spy when a case from her early days in the OSS comes back to haunt her and her partner, Nick.
Female detectives often blend intelligence, humor and empathy to become rich, nuanced characters. Some of the great female detectives in historical fiction include:
Juliet Tilney
Claudia Gray, The Murder of Mr. Wickham
Jane Austen’s characters get new life in this series. Henry Tilney and Catherine Moreland, who have enjoyed their happily ever after, produced a new character in the form of their daughter Miss Juliet Tilney. She is a spirited, kind, and very intelligent young woman. She is invited to a house party hosted by Emma and Mr. Knightly. Also there, is Mr. Jonathan Darcy (yes, the son of that Mr. Darcy), who is shy, reserved and socially awkward. When Mr. Wickham is found dead, everyone becomes a suspect. …Even though he probably deserved it. Juliet teams up with Jonathan to solve the murder and realize there might be more between them than simply finding a killer.
Verity Kent
Anna Lee Huber, This Side of Murder
Verity Kent, a former spy and codebreaker, is still mourning the loss of her husband Sydney, who died in in the trenches of World War One. When she is invited to a house party hosted by one of Sydney’s oldest friends, it’s on the tip of her tongue to refuse. However, she receives a mysterious note promising information about her husband. When she arrives, she realizes that almost everyone in attendance served with her husband… and they all have secrets. As the bodies start piling up, it’s up to Verity to uncover all the twists and turns of what really happened a year and a half ago in France.
Kaveri Murthy
Harini Nagendra, Bangalore Detectives Club
Set in Bangalore in the 1920s, Kaveri just moved in with her husband Ramu, a doctor working at a British Hospital, after an arranged marriage. Kaveri is an intelligent, vivacious woman who takes pride in her education. The more Ramu learns of her, the more he appreciates her. While attending a dinner party, a man is killed in the back garden of the country club. Normally, this would never be a place for a well-bred Indian woman, however, Kaveri feels like she must help the family of the man accused of murder. As she reminds the inspector, women can get into places that men cannot… even if that place is the home of a prostitute. Both a mystery and a love story, Kaveri earns the respect and freedom she so richly deserves.
Louise Lloyd
Nekesa Afia, Dead Dead Girls
After being kidnapped at fifteen, Louise freed herself and the other abducted girls. Now, ten years later, Louise Lloyd just wants to leave that horrible memory in the past. She found the strength to leave her strict family and has no interest in hearing another man’s opinion on her life. Instead, Louise found work as a waitress and is living it up during the Harlem Renaissance. She goes drinking and dancing with friends, before return home to her women’s boarding house where her girlfriend lives across the hall. Unfortunately, girls keep turning up dead and Louise is blackmailed by a detective into helping him solve the case. She can go places he is not welcome and her knowledge of Harlem is useful. However, this case proves especially complicated and brings up her own personal trauma.
Maisie Dobbs
Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs
The opening paragraph of the first novel in this eighteen-book series, tells us that Maisie Dobbs is a woman with “bearing.” Though she possesses all the formal manners to fit in with high society, Maisie began working as a scullery maid when she was young. Her intelligence and thirst for knowledge brought her to the attention of people who sponsored her education at Oxford. A bit rigid at times, she is also sharp and empathetic. Her secret power is her ability to read people. Having served as a nurse, she, like many others, have emotional scars from World War One. In her namesake book, Maisie works hard to bring down a place that takes advantage of veterans, while also helping a man whose life she saved during the war.
Aki Ito
Naomi Hirahara, Clark and Division
Set in 1944, Aki Ito and her parents are newly released from Manzanar, where they were interned with other people of Japanese descent. Forced to move away from the West Coast, they head to Chicago, where Aki’s older sister Rose lives. While Aki is a bit more reserved, Rose is the life of the party. That’s why it’s a surprise when the police tell Aki that Rose committed suicide just days before they arrive. Aki knows her older sister better than anyone and sets out to discover what really happened. Aki is persistent, intelligent, and matures tremendously throughout the book, putting herself in situations she never thought possible. More than just the mystery, this book does an excellent job of recreating a very specific time and place.
Marion Lane
T.A. Willberg, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder
Set in 1958, this series reads like a grown-up Harry Potter where Marion and her classmates are learning skills few others possess. However, instead of becoming witches and wizards, Marion and her classmates graduate from Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries as master detectives and spies. Marion is a warm, likeable character who is sure of herself and does not take guff from others. When someone is murdered, and her friend is framed, Marion devotes her time to discovering the true killer. It turns out, World War Two still echoes through the tunnels of this institution.
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