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Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths
'Private Inquiries is a must-read – a riveting mythbuster, with its revelations of the real histories of women PIs.' – Val McDermid 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? Dismissed as 'Mrs Sherlock Holmes' or amateurish Miss Marples, mocked as private dicks or honey trappers, they have been investigating crime since the mid-nineteenth century – everything from theft and fraud to romance scams and murder. 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 like 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; and 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 find out the reality behind the fictional image. 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.
401 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2023
About the author
Caitlin Davies
16 books52 followersI'm a writer, teacher and journalist, the author of six novels and seven non-fiction books. Many of my early books were inspired by the 12 years I spent in Botswana, where I worked as a teacher, award winning human rights journalist and newspaper editor. My more recent books draw on the stories and history of London. These include The Ghost of Lily Painter, based on the true story of two Edwardian baby farmers, and Family Likeness, inspired in part by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle ‘Britain’s first black aristocrat’.
Some of my books have a swimming theme, such as Taking the Waters, about the bathing ponds and lido on Hampstead Heath, Downstream: a history and celebration of swimming the River Thames, and Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World, based on the lives of several Victorian aquatic stars.
Other books have a criminal theme, including Bad Girls: A History of Rebels & Renegades, nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, and Queens of the Underworld: A Journey into the Lives of Female Crooks.
I mentor writers at https://www.storyboardwriter.com/
Some of my books have a swimming theme, such as Taking the Waters, about the bathing ponds and lido on Hampstead Heath, Downstream: a history and celebration of swimming the River Thames, and Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World, based on the lives of several Victorian aquatic stars.
Other books have a criminal theme, including Bad Girls: A History of Rebels & Renegades, nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, and Queens of the Underworld: A Journey into the Lives of Female Crooks.
I mentor writers at https://www.storyboardwriter.com/
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 15, 2023
Caitlin Davies takes us on a journey through the years, from 1850s to the present day, looking at 'Female Private Investigators.' We learn about REAL PIs, the ones that have been forgotten, in the past, but have paved the way for female PIs today. Caitlin has done a lot of research and has taken the time to explain about the crimes both fact and fiction in this book, looking back at the history, why and how women became PIs. Caitlin even took the time to get the qualification in 'Private Investigation.' Caitlin has taken the time to speak to PIs, as well as working a long side them. Female PIs are often seen on TV but not spoken much about in the real world, where I think if it was spoken about more women would look at a career in PI. I feel like I have learnt so much from reading this book.
November 9, 2023
In Private Inquiries, we follow Caitlin Davies as she researches female private investigators from the 1850s to today: who they were/are, what drew them to the profession, and what their work involved/involves.
She also completes a qualification in Private Investigation, talks to current PIs, and does a spot of work experience to find out how the industry operates in the present day.
As an erstwhile historian, Private Inquiries was right up my street! As well as learning lots about women PIs in days gone by, I enjoyed how Davies inserted herself into the narrative.
Davies doesn’t simply recount the stories of the various PIs of note she identifies, but tries her hand at being a PI herself, and informs us of the stumbling blocks and discrepancies she encounters in the course of her research.
While she doesn’t turn out to be the best at shadowing people, as a journalist and historian, Davies is nonetheless well-suited to private investigation. Many of the historical investigators told tall stories about themselves and their cases, and I was intrigued as she dug up hints as to the true origins of these women and their reported escapades.
These women may have embellished and exaggerated their stories, but that doesn’t make them worthless as historical sources by any means! After all, a central conceit of my thesis is that the real value in people’s life stories isn’t “the truth” as such, but what they choose to tell us, how they present it, and what that says about the world around them.
Accordingly, the PIs’ accounts of themselves and their work enable Davies to situate them in the wider context of the time, and explain its influence on them.
One example of this is that some of them obfuscated their official names, histories, and marital statuses in order to appear more “respectable” and qualified, and therefore worthy of being hired to carry out sensitive investigatory work.
Some women turned to private investigation to support themselves after their marriages broke down, but as separation and divorce were so taboo, it made sense to style themselves as ‘Mrs’, so as not to deter potential clients.
Another example is that some women PIs – with the help of journalists or ghost writers – portrayed previous cases as involving glamorous and/or international settings, wealthy and high-profile clients, danger, and unlikely or obscure clues.
This aligned with the exciting public image of private investigators (think Sherlock Holmes) and helped promote these women’s businesses, but in reality, much of their work was mundane.
Even so, it’s clear that they enjoyed taking on different personas, getting to use their initiative and powers of deduction, and being employers rather than employees.
Throughout the book, investigators tell us that women are particularly suited to the job because they are “naturally” more intuitive, instinctual, and observant than men. As Davies points out, though, ideas about “male” and “female” brains are harmful myths, and our environment has a huge part to play in our development.
I concur: if women are more likely to show these characteristics, it’s because many of us are trained in these characteristics from such a young age that they seem inborn.
Middle-class girls in the earlier part of the period especially were raised to anticipate and fulfil the needs of others, therefore cultivating the quality of attentiveness. What’s more, girls in particular are taught to be aware of their surroundings, to the point of hypervigilance, in order to keep themselves safe from predatory men.
Even though some male PIs and police officers hired women due to these “natural” advantages – as well as their ability to infiltrate domestic spaces without arousing suspicion – by and large, women PIs weren’t taken seriously, let alone venerated like some of their male counterparts, and their work was regarded as incompatible with home, family life, and “seemliness”.
While women investigators have always been keen to extol the virtues of their gender as a whole, some of their earlier conduct could be regarded as unsisterly to say the least.
Davies describes cases where women were employed to spy on other women whose morals were in question, and even attempted to entrap them in order to secure evidence that could be used against them in divorce proceedings.
She also talks about some of the first women who worked for the police, searching, transporting, chaperoning, and guarding female suspects and prisoners. While this was preferable to the alternative, it did put me in mind of the women who were employed to search their peers for witch marks a couple of centuries earlier!
Private Inquiries is an interesting and thought-provoking dive into the history of female private investigators.
She also completes a qualification in Private Investigation, talks to current PIs, and does a spot of work experience to find out how the industry operates in the present day.
As an erstwhile historian, Private Inquiries was right up my street! As well as learning lots about women PIs in days gone by, I enjoyed how Davies inserted herself into the narrative.
Davies doesn’t simply recount the stories of the various PIs of note she identifies, but tries her hand at being a PI herself, and informs us of the stumbling blocks and discrepancies she encounters in the course of her research.
While she doesn’t turn out to be the best at shadowing people, as a journalist and historian, Davies is nonetheless well-suited to private investigation. Many of the historical investigators told tall stories about themselves and their cases, and I was intrigued as she dug up hints as to the true origins of these women and their reported escapades.
These women may have embellished and exaggerated their stories, but that doesn’t make them worthless as historical sources by any means! After all, a central conceit of my thesis is that the real value in people’s life stories isn’t “the truth” as such, but what they choose to tell us, how they present it, and what that says about the world around them.
Accordingly, the PIs’ accounts of themselves and their work enable Davies to situate them in the wider context of the time, and explain its influence on them.
One example of this is that some of them obfuscated their official names, histories, and marital statuses in order to appear more “respectable” and qualified, and therefore worthy of being hired to carry out sensitive investigatory work.
Some women turned to private investigation to support themselves after their marriages broke down, but as separation and divorce were so taboo, it made sense to style themselves as ‘Mrs’, so as not to deter potential clients.
Another example is that some women PIs – with the help of journalists or ghost writers – portrayed previous cases as involving glamorous and/or international settings, wealthy and high-profile clients, danger, and unlikely or obscure clues.
This aligned with the exciting public image of private investigators (think Sherlock Holmes) and helped promote these women’s businesses, but in reality, much of their work was mundane.
Even so, it’s clear that they enjoyed taking on different personas, getting to use their initiative and powers of deduction, and being employers rather than employees.
Throughout the book, investigators tell us that women are particularly suited to the job because they are “naturally” more intuitive, instinctual, and observant than men. As Davies points out, though, ideas about “male” and “female” brains are harmful myths, and our environment has a huge part to play in our development.
I concur: if women are more likely to show these characteristics, it’s because many of us are trained in these characteristics from such a young age that they seem inborn.
Middle-class girls in the earlier part of the period especially were raised to anticipate and fulfil the needs of others, therefore cultivating the quality of attentiveness. What’s more, girls in particular are taught to be aware of their surroundings, to the point of hypervigilance, in order to keep themselves safe from predatory men.
Even though some male PIs and police officers hired women due to these “natural” advantages – as well as their ability to infiltrate domestic spaces without arousing suspicion – by and large, women PIs weren’t taken seriously, let alone venerated like some of their male counterparts, and their work was regarded as incompatible with home, family life, and “seemliness”.
While women investigators have always been keen to extol the virtues of their gender as a whole, some of their earlier conduct could be regarded as unsisterly to say the least.
Davies describes cases where women were employed to spy on other women whose morals were in question, and even attempted to entrap them in order to secure evidence that could be used against them in divorce proceedings.
She also talks about some of the first women who worked for the police, searching, transporting, chaperoning, and guarding female suspects and prisoners. While this was preferable to the alternative, it did put me in mind of the women who were employed to search their peers for witch marks a couple of centuries earlier!
Private Inquiries is an interesting and thought-provoking dive into the history of female private investigators.
June 30, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed Queens of the Underworld by this author, and I enjoyed her history of women private investigators every bit as much. The book followed the same format, with a chronological set of case histories (yes, it was deliberate!) beginning with the women who 'assisted' the police in the 19th Century to spy on people, on through the mysterious Club Nose (oh how I wish she had been able to turn up an image), the women store detectives, and the move into women taking on private inquiries for themselves. There's a long history of women being involved in this work, and one of the ironies that the author points out is that at regular intervals, the press get hold of one of them and make out that she's a pioneer. While she is researching the book, the author herself trains as a private inquiry agent, and there are little snippets of this interspersed with the case studies which I found really interesting. So starting at the basics then, this is a great read, well-written, and like the previous book of hers I read, containing material that's just crying out to be made into fiction or films.
Frustratingly little is know of the women themselves though. In the early days, like most women playing key roles, they were not document, rarely named, and excluded from the public awareness. As we progress, in the late 19th and into the 20th Century when women were setting up on their own, what the author found is a lot of fictionalising of their personal life. They created their own personas - or they kept it all hidden. So we don't know a lot about the She-lock Holmes of the past (the author's pun), and they are all, not surprisingly given their occupation, adept at covering up. Most arrived at the career by accident, and this seems still to be the case in modern agencies - I don't think she uncovered a single woman who, when she was a little girl, thought, I want to be a private investigator. Zena Scott-Archer is the exception, a woman who courted publicity - and yet her 'real' life too seems to have been much of a cover up.
Caitlin Davies has the knack of analysing and speculating, of propounding her theories, very subtly, and I like that a lot. I hate history/biography where the author remains steadfastly neutral, but I'm also not hugely keen on having the author's theory in your face and the cases bent to fit. Why is it that women are 'good' at detecting? Are we naturally nosy, as per the myth? Are our brains wired differently from men, or is it down to life experience? And why are there so few women in the industry? These are the recurrent themes that underpin the book, the kind of thing that I end up spending idle hours speculating when I'm done reading - yes, I've already started to think of my own female investigators, of course I have!
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I see the author has also written a book about Holloway Prison. I'm on it!
Frustratingly little is know of the women themselves though. In the early days, like most women playing key roles, they were not document, rarely named, and excluded from the public awareness. As we progress, in the late 19th and into the 20th Century when women were setting up on their own, what the author found is a lot of fictionalising of their personal life. They created their own personas - or they kept it all hidden. So we don't know a lot about the She-lock Holmes of the past (the author's pun), and they are all, not surprisingly given their occupation, adept at covering up. Most arrived at the career by accident, and this seems still to be the case in modern agencies - I don't think she uncovered a single woman who, when she was a little girl, thought, I want to be a private investigator. Zena Scott-Archer is the exception, a woman who courted publicity - and yet her 'real' life too seems to have been much of a cover up.
Caitlin Davies has the knack of analysing and speculating, of propounding her theories, very subtly, and I like that a lot. I hate history/biography where the author remains steadfastly neutral, but I'm also not hugely keen on having the author's theory in your face and the cases bent to fit. Why is it that women are 'good' at detecting? Are we naturally nosy, as per the myth? Are our brains wired differently from men, or is it down to life experience? And why are there so few women in the industry? These are the recurrent themes that underpin the book, the kind of thing that I end up spending idle hours speculating when I'm done reading - yes, I've already started to think of my own female investigators, of course I have!
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I see the author has also written a book about Holloway Prison. I'm on it!
November 12, 2023
This book is a fabulous read and it delves into the lives of female private investigators. Very little is really known about them, and to be fair, very little is mentioned about their male counterparts. The author decides to take a course to find out about what is entailed, she also tries to shadow someone and soon discovers it is not as easy as she thought it would be.
What makes someone decide to be a PI, well for some, in the early days it was to earn money and it gave them a chance to prove that they could look after themselves. For those in service as maids, cleaners and the like it was easier as they are unremarkable, not noticed and are generally not seen. This appearance, or rather the lack of appearance gave women the upper edge as they were able to go into people's rooms to tidy and clean, make beds, snoop through any papers, and maybe drill a couple of discrete spy holes while they do the dusting.
In the early days, there was no register or any sort of control over the role of PI's, they came and went and some were scammers, others blackmailers and there were the odd few who set people up. For the most part, a PI was utilised for discovering affairs so that a divorce could be obtained as well as many other things.
Over the years the role of PI has changed and there are protocols and laws in place that are adhered to. These are there to protect both the PI and the client. As times have changed so have their roles, not just tracing people who are lost, but also serving papers, finding lost relatives and also to look into cold cases.
The author looks at different women over the decades up to today. This is an area most of don't really think about and if we think of PIs we think of the fictional ones. As a reader, I can name several investigators from fiction but I could not name a single real-life one.
This is where the author takes the reader on a journey through the history books, newspapers, footage, and interviews to help discover more. From the earliest known female investigators who worked for others to those who decided to work for themselves. This book charts the various activities employed, the way things have changed, the laws and also the lives of the women.
This is a wonderful book and if you are a fan of true crime then this one would probably appeal. It is one I would definitely recommend.
What makes someone decide to be a PI, well for some, in the early days it was to earn money and it gave them a chance to prove that they could look after themselves. For those in service as maids, cleaners and the like it was easier as they are unremarkable, not noticed and are generally not seen. This appearance, or rather the lack of appearance gave women the upper edge as they were able to go into people's rooms to tidy and clean, make beds, snoop through any papers, and maybe drill a couple of discrete spy holes while they do the dusting.
In the early days, there was no register or any sort of control over the role of PI's, they came and went and some were scammers, others blackmailers and there were the odd few who set people up. For the most part, a PI was utilised for discovering affairs so that a divorce could be obtained as well as many other things.
Over the years the role of PI has changed and there are protocols and laws in place that are adhered to. These are there to protect both the PI and the client. As times have changed so have their roles, not just tracing people who are lost, but also serving papers, finding lost relatives and also to look into cold cases.
The author looks at different women over the decades up to today. This is an area most of don't really think about and if we think of PIs we think of the fictional ones. As a reader, I can name several investigators from fiction but I could not name a single real-life one.
This is where the author takes the reader on a journey through the history books, newspapers, footage, and interviews to help discover more. From the earliest known female investigators who worked for others to those who decided to work for themselves. This book charts the various activities employed, the way things have changed, the laws and also the lives of the women.
This is a wonderful book and if you are a fan of true crime then this one would probably appeal. It is one I would definitely recommend.
November 21, 2023
‘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!
‘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!
November 16, 2023
My Thoughts: we’ll I’ve well and truly had my eyes opened to a world that I never really knew anything about outside of the fictional female PI’s.
It’s a job and a world that most of us assume is dominated by the male population, well now I know otherwise, and the more I think about it the more it makes sense, no one’s going to expect the little old lady, siting drinking her cup of tea minding her own business to be listening in to conversations and possibly hiding a weapon under her clothes.
We learn a lot about the different types of women who were perfect for the jobs, some of them using their femininity to their advantage to get the answers that were needed.
I really enjoy the way Caitlin writes the books, each chapter is informative and intriguing, yet a reasonable length so the information provided never gets overwhelming or boring.
This book is about more than just telling us about some of the female sleuths, Caitlin herself shows us the process of gaining the qualification to become a Private Investigator, so much research has gone into this book & it really shows!
I’ll be looking out for more from Caitlin in the future.
🐧🩷
It’s a job and a world that most of us assume is dominated by the male population, well now I know otherwise, and the more I think about it the more it makes sense, no one’s going to expect the little old lady, siting drinking her cup of tea minding her own business to be listening in to conversations and possibly hiding a weapon under her clothes.
We learn a lot about the different types of women who were perfect for the jobs, some of them using their femininity to their advantage to get the answers that were needed.
I really enjoy the way Caitlin writes the books, each chapter is informative and intriguing, yet a reasonable length so the information provided never gets overwhelming or boring.
This book is about more than just telling us about some of the female sleuths, Caitlin herself shows us the process of gaining the qualification to become a Private Investigator, so much research has gone into this book & it really shows!
I’ll be looking out for more from Caitlin in the future.
🐧🩷
December 28, 2025
A historical review of female PI's - most I have read about previously - so the book did not 'grab' me as I had anticipated.
November 15, 2023
This was such a fascinating and thought-provoking read - something quite different to anything I've read for quite some time.
We follow Caitlin as she researches and reveals details of not only cases, but of the women private investigators of the past and present who have so far been unknown to the world.
As with so many things, we are now learning that even as far back as the 1800's women were doing jobs that are generally seen as "man's work"
We all assume that the dangers that come with digging into people's lives or tailing someone would have proven too much for women, back in the day - but this book highlights that despite being dangerous and despite being unknown, there were many great women making a name for themselves in this field.
I loved that along with all the historical research that Caitlin did, we also get some insight into how the job works now and she even went and did the course and qualifying as a Private Investigator herself.
A really interesting read!
We follow Caitlin as she researches and reveals details of not only cases, but of the women private investigators of the past and present who have so far been unknown to the world.
As with so many things, we are now learning that even as far back as the 1800's women were doing jobs that are generally seen as "man's work"
We all assume that the dangers that come with digging into people's lives or tailing someone would have proven too much for women, back in the day - but this book highlights that despite being dangerous and despite being unknown, there were many great women making a name for themselves in this field.
I loved that along with all the historical research that Caitlin did, we also get some insight into how the job works now and she even went and did the course and qualifying as a Private Investigator herself.
A really interesting read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews