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Dora Myrl: The Lady Detective
Dora Myrl is a modern young woman of astonishing accomplishments, having been educated at Cambridge and trained as a medical doctor. Her profession, however, is that of private investigator - a lady detective whom men underestimate at their peril! In these twelve tales Dora pits her wits against villainous murderers, thieves, blackmailers and swindlers as she plumbs the depths of criminality hidden beneath the veneer of well-to-do nineteenth century society.
195 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1900
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About the author
M. McDonnell Bodkin
61 books11 followersMatthias McDonnell Bodkin was an Irish nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Anti-Parnellite representative for North Roscommon, 1892–95, a noted author, journalist and newspaper editor, and barrister, King’s Counsel and County Court Judge for County Clare, 1907-24.
Bodkin was a prolific author, in a wide range of genres, including history, novels (contemporary and historical), plays, and political campaigning texts. Bodkin earned a place in the history of the detective novel by virtue of his invention of the first detective family. His most famous character is the detective Paul Beck, who appears in a series of stories and eventually marries another of Bodkin's series characters, Dora Myrl, "Lady Detective".
Bodkin was a prolific author, in a wide range of genres, including history, novels (contemporary and historical), plays, and political campaigning texts. Bodkin earned a place in the history of the detective novel by virtue of his invention of the first detective family. His most famous character is the detective Paul Beck, who appears in a series of stories and eventually marries another of Bodkin's series characters, Dora Myrl, "Lady Detective".
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 14, 2018
A Good Collection of Short Crime Stories – 3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I feel fortunate to have found a second volume of Bodkin’s short stories. This one, as the title tells us, is about a young, well-educated (Cambridge) lady, a qualified medical doctor, who becomes a detective. She tried several occupations but couldn’t settle on any one in particular. She answers an advertisement for a position as a companion to a woman who is melancholic and it is her job to cheer the woman up. Dora finds a mystery and solves it and that decides her on her vocation as a Lady Detective. There are one or two digitisation problems, mainly simple words coming up wrongly spelt, e.g. "lace" instead of "face". "bat" instead of "hat", but nothing major.
These twelve stories cover a variety of crimes, including murder, forgery, blackmail, and theft. Some I liked better than others, and many of them are quite imaginative, both in the crime and the solving of it. In some of the stories I was able to pick up on the clues as Dora isn’t quite as stingy as Paul Beck [in Paul Beck: The Rule of Thumb Detective by the same author], and shows her excitement or eagerness when she comes across something that she thinks is important. Of course, in others, I didn’t pick up on anything although I guessed the culprit, easily in a couple of cases.
These stories are written with the same deft hand that wrote “Paul Beck” and the characters are well-drawn with swift pen-strokes. Places and scenes that are important to the story are very well-detailed, and in many stories, for some reason, Dora’s clothes and appearance are described rather poetically. In the main I enjoyed these stories and will probably read some of them again at some stage.
I feel fortunate to have found a second volume of Bodkin’s short stories. This one, as the title tells us, is about a young, well-educated (Cambridge) lady, a qualified medical doctor, who becomes a detective. She tried several occupations but couldn’t settle on any one in particular. She answers an advertisement for a position as a companion to a woman who is melancholic and it is her job to cheer the woman up. Dora finds a mystery and solves it and that decides her on her vocation as a Lady Detective. There are one or two digitisation problems, mainly simple words coming up wrongly spelt, e.g. "lace" instead of "face". "bat" instead of "hat", but nothing major.
These twelve stories cover a variety of crimes, including murder, forgery, blackmail, and theft. Some I liked better than others, and many of them are quite imaginative, both in the crime and the solving of it. In some of the stories I was able to pick up on the clues as Dora isn’t quite as stingy as Paul Beck [in Paul Beck: The Rule of Thumb Detective by the same author], and shows her excitement or eagerness when she comes across something that she thinks is important. Of course, in others, I didn’t pick up on anything although I guessed the culprit, easily in a couple of cases.
These stories are written with the same deft hand that wrote “Paul Beck” and the characters are well-drawn with swift pen-strokes. Places and scenes that are important to the story are very well-detailed, and in many stories, for some reason, Dora’s clothes and appearance are described rather poetically. In the main I enjoyed these stories and will probably read some of them again at some stage.
November 25, 2017
Nice easy ready
Nicely written, its hard to put down when you start one of the cases.
Will be reading again.
I would recommend this book
Nicely written, its hard to put down when you start one of the cases.
Will be reading again.
I would recommend this book
March 19, 2023
Victorian and Edwardian readers were smitten with stories of "lady detectives" - those intrepid dames who dared to compete in a field (detective and police work) that was exclusively male. Some are beautiful debutantes who manage to solve domestic mysteries between swooning fits. The best is Loveday Brookes, a professional detective who never swooned in her life.
The 1900 creation of an Irish lawyer, politician, editor, and writer, Miss Dora Myrl is somewhere in the middle. She IS pretty, well-dressed, and very lady-like. She can flirt with the best of them, especially in a good cause. On the other hand, she works for a living. Her father was an academic who left her no money, but insisted that she be university educated. She was a "wrangler" (top mathematics graduate at Cambridge) as well as a trained doctor of medicine, but prefers adventurous jobs. She fell into the detection racket, but made a success of it.
Modern detective and police novels invariably involve murders and the more brutal the better. Like other detectives of her era, Dora out-wits blackmailers, thieves, and forgers. There's one poisoning and a couple of bad guys meet bloody deaths, but there are no shoot-outs. There IS a train race and it's corker.
Of the twelve stories, four involve thefts of precious objects - a priceless violin, a valuable painting, rare stamps, and an uncut diamond. There are stories of forged wills, industrial espionage, fixed horse races, and an ingenious theft of gold and bank notes from a young bank employee. Dora solves them all.
She rides a bike like a pro, is good with disguises, can handle a revolver and crack a code. What other talents does a lady detective need? These stories won't have you on the edge of your seat, but they're charming and sometimes witty.
While the author claims there's "nothing of the New Woman" (early feminists) in her, Dora isn't convinced of male intellectual superiority. "Women have cunning. Men have confidence. Sometimes that confidence is their undoing." Something every smart woman knows, detective or not.
The 1900 creation of an Irish lawyer, politician, editor, and writer, Miss Dora Myrl is somewhere in the middle. She IS pretty, well-dressed, and very lady-like. She can flirt with the best of them, especially in a good cause. On the other hand, she works for a living. Her father was an academic who left her no money, but insisted that she be university educated. She was a "wrangler" (top mathematics graduate at Cambridge) as well as a trained doctor of medicine, but prefers adventurous jobs. She fell into the detection racket, but made a success of it.
Modern detective and police novels invariably involve murders and the more brutal the better. Like other detectives of her era, Dora out-wits blackmailers, thieves, and forgers. There's one poisoning and a couple of bad guys meet bloody deaths, but there are no shoot-outs. There IS a train race and it's corker.
Of the twelve stories, four involve thefts of precious objects - a priceless violin, a valuable painting, rare stamps, and an uncut diamond. There are stories of forged wills, industrial espionage, fixed horse races, and an ingenious theft of gold and bank notes from a young bank employee. Dora solves them all.
She rides a bike like a pro, is good with disguises, can handle a revolver and crack a code. What other talents does a lady detective need? These stories won't have you on the edge of your seat, but they're charming and sometimes witty.
While the author claims there's "nothing of the New Woman" (early feminists) in her, Dora isn't convinced of male intellectual superiority. "Women have cunning. Men have confidence. Sometimes that confidence is their undoing." Something every smart woman knows, detective or not.
August 8, 2020
Dora Myrl is the well-educated daughter of a (now deceased) Cambridge don. She has a degree in medicine, but unable to find work as a physician, she works in odd jobs from telephone girl to journalist. In other words, despite her impressive qualifications, there was a sad lack of opportunities for her to use them in the society of her day. Fortunately, she realizes her gift for detection while working as a companion to an elderly woman who was being blackmailed (in the first story, "The False Heir and the True"). After that, she established herself as a professional private detective, mostly catering to high society. Her practice soon became quite lucrative.
When she first appears, Dora Myrl is described as follows: "...the face of a bright schoolgirl out for a holiday, brimming over with excitement. An audacious toque, with a brace of scarlet feathers stuck in it, was perched among thick coiled hair that had the ripple and lustre of a brown trout stream in the sunshine. The short skirt of her tailor-made dress twitched by the light wind showed slim ankles and neat feet encased in tan cycling boots..."
Dora Myrl is vivacious and good at tennis and billiards; observant, adept at disguises, and intuitive. In short, she the prototype of the "New Woman," something symbolized by the fact that she always moves around on her bicycle (even using it to race after criminals!). She also can use a gun for protection.
Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (1850-1933) was an Irish politician and MP, a barrister who was appointed a judge - but also a noted author, journalist and newspaper editor. He wrote in a wide range of genres, including novels, plays, history and political texts. Bodkin earned a place in the history of the detective novel by his invention of the first detective family, for he had Dora Myrl marry his previously created character Paul Beck, a sort of Irish Sherlock Holmes; their son later also becomes a detective.
Dora Myrl, The Lady Detective (1890) contains 12 stories. My favorite story is "How He Cut His Stick," in which Dora sprints after the villain on her bicycle.
See my blog https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/.
When she first appears, Dora Myrl is described as follows: "...the face of a bright schoolgirl out for a holiday, brimming over with excitement. An audacious toque, with a brace of scarlet feathers stuck in it, was perched among thick coiled hair that had the ripple and lustre of a brown trout stream in the sunshine. The short skirt of her tailor-made dress twitched by the light wind showed slim ankles and neat feet encased in tan cycling boots..."
Dora Myrl is vivacious and good at tennis and billiards; observant, adept at disguises, and intuitive. In short, she the prototype of the "New Woman," something symbolized by the fact that she always moves around on her bicycle (even using it to race after criminals!). She also can use a gun for protection.
Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (1850-1933) was an Irish politician and MP, a barrister who was appointed a judge - but also a noted author, journalist and newspaper editor. He wrote in a wide range of genres, including novels, plays, history and political texts. Bodkin earned a place in the history of the detective novel by his invention of the first detective family, for he had Dora Myrl marry his previously created character Paul Beck, a sort of Irish Sherlock Holmes; their son later also becomes a detective.
Dora Myrl, The Lady Detective (1890) contains 12 stories. My favorite story is "How He Cut His Stick," in which Dora sprints after the villain on her bicycle.
See my blog https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/.
February 5, 2022
Maybe the rating is somewhere closer to a 3.5 but I am a generally a fan of "Lady Sherlocks", and Dora Myrl is a worthy addition to the list.
Published in 1900, author Bodkin creates Dora Myrl, one of the new women, Cambridge educated and with a degree in medicine. Finding it hard to support herself on her university degree or as a medical doctor, Myrl applies her gift for insight and ingenuity to working as a private detective. In this collection of short mysteries, Myrl is more interesting than the puzzles themselves, which often don't call for much active detective work, but Myrl is a charming heroine in the vein of Grant Allen's Lois Cayley, and the tales overall make for pleasant reading.
Myrl will appear again in one of the books in Bodkin's Paul Beck series, when the two detectives are both called into the same case.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews