From thrilling Edwardian short stories about Sherlock Holmes, to the jaded gumshoes of 20th-century American pulp fiction, the figure of the lone private investigator, who watches from a shadowy street corner, has been chiefly assumed to be a male role. But now a new historic examination, to be discussed at the London Library on Thursday, is changing all that.
Fresh research has revealed that, in real life, women have been at the sleuthing game for as long as men. And they were, in fact, often more sought-after due to their particular skillsets. Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths, published by the History Press, has assembled the recent work of historian Caitlin Davies, now newly qualified as a private investigator herself, to tell the story of leading British lights of this secretive trade.
