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Detectives victorianas: Las pioneras de la novela policíaca
En los últimos años de la era victoriana, la opinión pública británica estaba fascinada —¡y preocupada!— por esa sospechosa figura conocida como la nueva mujer. Montaba en bicicleta, conducía esos peligrosos automóviles y no le gustaba en absoluto que le dijeran lo que tenía que hacer. También en la novela policiaca, estas mujeres rompían todas las reglas: en lugar de asistir a recepciones para tomar el té y conversar sobre las últimas tendencias de la moda, estas detectives pioneras preferían perseguir a un sospechoso bajo la espesa niebla de Londres, tomar ellas mismas las huellas dactilares a un cadáver o, incluso, cometer algún delito menor para así resolver un caso especialmente difícil.
Esta antología reúne por primera vez a las más grandes luchadoras contra el crimen de la época —y también a algunas selectas delincuentes—, como Loveday Brooke, Dorcas Dene o Lady Molly, predecesoras de las modernas damas del crimen. Relatos inteligentes, dinámicos y extremadamente divertidos, de mujeres que, por fortuna, se negaron a ocupar el estrecho lugar que la sociedad les tenía reservado.
Esta antología reúne por primera vez a las más grandes luchadoras contra el crimen de la época —y también a algunas selectas delincuentes—, como Loveday Brooke, Dorcas Dene o Lady Molly, predecesoras de las modernas damas del crimen. Relatos inteligentes, dinámicos y extremadamente divertidos, de mujeres que, por fortuna, se negaron a ocupar el estrecho lugar que la sociedad les tenía reservado.
329 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
40 people are currently reading
949 people want to read
About the author
Michael Sims
53 books69 followersMichael Sims is the author of the acclaimed "The Story of Charlotte's Web, Apollo's Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination," "Adam's Navel: A Natural and Cultural History of the Human Form," and editor of "Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories" and "The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories." He lives in western Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
February 26, 2018
Sigo sin hallarle sentido a incluir en una antología de relatos un primer y único capítulo! de un libro! como han hecho aquí con el titulado “El asunto de la puerta de al lado” de Anna Katharine Green. O me lo cuentas o no me lo cuentas, entero, no me hagas esto de darme con un palmo de narices preguntándome dónde está el resto de la historia, es de un absurdo supino, ahórratelo.
Un primer capítulo (El asunto de la puerta de al lado) que se corresponde por cierto, con un libro editado por la editorial dÉpoca titulado “El misterio de Gramercy Park” y que recomiendo muchísimo.
Si me hacía especial ilusión leer Detectives Victorianas era pensando que me reencontraría con la genial protagonista de Anna Katharine Green, Amelia Butterworth, no sabía que ambos títulos son la misma obra.
Por lo demás el libro me ha gustado.
Aparte, curiosidad para aquellos que como yo amen y adoren la magnífica y extraordinaria serie producida por la tvg del abogado/detective Pablo Veiga y su ayudante Matilde, “As Leis de Celavella.” Encontrarán que el tercer relato “Dagas dibujadas” de la escritora Catherine Louisa Pirkis, es en el que se basaron para uno de los episodios de tan inolvidable serie plagada de entrañables personajes.
Un primer capítulo (El asunto de la puerta de al lado) que se corresponde por cierto, con un libro editado por la editorial dÉpoca titulado “El misterio de Gramercy Park” y que recomiendo muchísimo.
Si me hacía especial ilusión leer Detectives Victorianas era pensando que me reencontraría con la genial protagonista de Anna Katharine Green, Amelia Butterworth, no sabía que ambos títulos son la misma obra.
Por lo demás el libro me ha gustado.
Aparte, curiosidad para aquellos que como yo amen y adoren la magnífica y extraordinaria serie producida por la tvg del abogado/detective Pablo Veiga y su ayudante Matilde, “As Leis de Celavella.” Encontrarán que el tercer relato “Dagas dibujadas” de la escritora Catherine Louisa Pirkis, es en el que se basaron para uno de los episodios de tan inolvidable serie plagada de entrañables personajes.
March 19, 2023
Le hubiera puesto 5 estrellas si este libro no trajera un texto incompleto y nos dejara a las lectoras con la DUDA. Entiendo que es sólo un capítulo pero qué necesidad.
June 22, 2016
A mixed bag...
Michael Sims begins his anthology of Victorian detective stories with an interesting introduction where he gives a potted history of the detective in literature, going back as far as Daniel in the Bible! Much of this is ground that has been covered many times, of course, but Sims doesn't only stick to British detectives, as many of these anthologies tend to, so some of the information about early writings from America was unfamiliar to me. And he ranges more widely than usual in his selection of stories too, taking us to Australia, Canada, and even the American wilderness.
Sims brings in several writers I haven't come across before, and in particular some of the early women writers of detective fiction. The stories are presented in chronological order and, before each one, he gives a little introduction – a mini-biography of the author, putting them into the context of the history of the development of the genre.
Overall, I found this collection more interesting than enjoyable. Unfortunately, my recent forays into classic crime have left me feeling that there's a good reason many of these forgotten authors and stories are forgotten. Often the stories simply aren't very good, and I'm afraid that's what I felt about many of the early stories in this anthology. The later ones I tended to find more enjoyable, partly, I think, because the detective story had developed its own form by then which most authors rather stuck to.
The book is clearly trying not to regurgitate the same old stories that show up in nearly every collection and that is to be applauded. However, some of the selections didn't work for me, and I felt on occasion that the choices were perhaps being driven too much by a desire to include something different. For example, there are a couple of selections that can't count as detective fiction at all – a newspaper report from the time of the Ripper killings, and an exceedingly dull extract of Dickens writing about his experiences of accompanying the police on a night shift, with Dickens at his most cloyingly arch. How I longed for Sims to have chosen an extract from Bleak House instead, to show one of the formative fictional detectives in action, Inspector Bucket.
It also seemed very disappointing to me that Sims should have chosen to use a short extract from A Study in Scarlet as his only Holmes selection. As a master of the short story form and major influence on detective fiction, I felt Conan Doyle should have had a complete entry to himself, and there are plenty of stories to choose from. We do get a complete Holmes pastiche in Bret Harte's The Stolen Cigar-Case, which is quite fun, and a good Ernest Bramah story, whose Max Carrados clearly derives from Holmes. But no actual Holmes story!
There is also an extract from Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, which kindly gives away the ending of the book, thus spoiling it completely for anyone who hasn't read it. And an utterly tedious extract from one of Dumas' Musketeer books, for which my note says simply 'short, but not short enough'.
However, there are several good stories in the collection, too, many of which I hadn't read before. The Murders in the Rue Morgue puts in its obligatory appearance (and yet no Holmes! You can tell I'm bitter...). There's an interesting story from William Wilkie Collins, The Diary of Anne Rodway, where the detection element might be a bit flimsy and dependent on coincidence, but it's well written, with a strong sense of justice and a sympathetic view of the poorer members of society.
The title story, The Dead Witness by WW (the pen-name of Mary Fortune), is apparently the first known detective story written by a woman. The plot is a little weak, but she builds up a good atmosphere and there's a lovely bit of horror at the end which works very well. I particularly enjoyed Robert Barr's The Absent-Minded Coterie, which has a nicely original bit of plotting, is well written and has a good deal of humour. Sims suggests Barr's detective, Mr Eugene Valmont, was the inspiration for Agatha Christie's Poirot. Hmm... on the basis of this story, I remain unconvinced.
So a bit of a mixed bag for me, really. I admire the intention more than the result overall, though the stronger stories towards the end lifted my opinion of it. One that I'm sure will appeal to anyone with an existing interest in Victorian detective fiction, but wouldn't necessarily be the first anthology I'd recommend to newcomers wanting to sample some of the best the period has to offer. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Michael Sims begins his anthology of Victorian detective stories with an interesting introduction where he gives a potted history of the detective in literature, going back as far as Daniel in the Bible! Much of this is ground that has been covered many times, of course, but Sims doesn't only stick to British detectives, as many of these anthologies tend to, so some of the information about early writings from America was unfamiliar to me. And he ranges more widely than usual in his selection of stories too, taking us to Australia, Canada, and even the American wilderness.
Sims brings in several writers I haven't come across before, and in particular some of the early women writers of detective fiction. The stories are presented in chronological order and, before each one, he gives a little introduction – a mini-biography of the author, putting them into the context of the history of the development of the genre.
Overall, I found this collection more interesting than enjoyable. Unfortunately, my recent forays into classic crime have left me feeling that there's a good reason many of these forgotten authors and stories are forgotten. Often the stories simply aren't very good, and I'm afraid that's what I felt about many of the early stories in this anthology. The later ones I tended to find more enjoyable, partly, I think, because the detective story had developed its own form by then which most authors rather stuck to.
The book is clearly trying not to regurgitate the same old stories that show up in nearly every collection and that is to be applauded. However, some of the selections didn't work for me, and I felt on occasion that the choices were perhaps being driven too much by a desire to include something different. For example, there are a couple of selections that can't count as detective fiction at all – a newspaper report from the time of the Ripper killings, and an exceedingly dull extract of Dickens writing about his experiences of accompanying the police on a night shift, with Dickens at his most cloyingly arch. How I longed for Sims to have chosen an extract from Bleak House instead, to show one of the formative fictional detectives in action, Inspector Bucket.
It also seemed very disappointing to me that Sims should have chosen to use a short extract from A Study in Scarlet as his only Holmes selection. As a master of the short story form and major influence on detective fiction, I felt Conan Doyle should have had a complete entry to himself, and there are plenty of stories to choose from. We do get a complete Holmes pastiche in Bret Harte's The Stolen Cigar-Case, which is quite fun, and a good Ernest Bramah story, whose Max Carrados clearly derives from Holmes. But no actual Holmes story!
There is also an extract from Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, which kindly gives away the ending of the book, thus spoiling it completely for anyone who hasn't read it. And an utterly tedious extract from one of Dumas' Musketeer books, for which my note says simply 'short, but not short enough'.
However, there are several good stories in the collection, too, many of which I hadn't read before. The Murders in the Rue Morgue puts in its obligatory appearance (and yet no Holmes! You can tell I'm bitter...). There's an interesting story from William Wilkie Collins, The Diary of Anne Rodway, where the detection element might be a bit flimsy and dependent on coincidence, but it's well written, with a strong sense of justice and a sympathetic view of the poorer members of society.
The title story, The Dead Witness by WW (the pen-name of Mary Fortune), is apparently the first known detective story written by a woman. The plot is a little weak, but she builds up a good atmosphere and there's a lovely bit of horror at the end which works very well. I particularly enjoyed Robert Barr's The Absent-Minded Coterie, which has a nicely original bit of plotting, is well written and has a good deal of humour. Sims suggests Barr's detective, Mr Eugene Valmont, was the inspiration for Agatha Christie's Poirot. Hmm... on the basis of this story, I remain unconvinced.
So a bit of a mixed bag for me, really. I admire the intention more than the result overall, though the stronger stories towards the end lifted my opinion of it. One that I'm sure will appeal to anyone with an existing interest in Victorian detective fiction, but wouldn't necessarily be the first anthology I'd recommend to newcomers wanting to sample some of the best the period has to offer. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
March 14, 2016
Here is my lens.
You know my methods.
—Sherlock Holmes
Description: The greatest ever anthology of Victorian detective stories, The Dead Witness gathers the finest police and private detective adventure stories from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including a wide range of overlooked gems.
'The Dead Witness', the 1866 title story by Australian writer Mary Fortune, is the first known detective story by a woman, a suspenseful clue-strewn manhunt in the Outback. This forgotten treasure sets the tone for the whole anthology as surprises appear from every direction, including more female detectives and authors than you can find in any other anthology of its kind. Pioneer women writers such as Anna Katharine Green and C. L. Pirkis take you from rural America to bustling London, introducing you to female detectives from Loveday Brooke to Dorcas Dene and Violet Strange.
In other stories, you will meet November Joe, the Canadian half-Native backwoods detective who stars in 'The Crime at Big Tree Portage' and demonstrates that Sherlockian attention to detail works as well in the woods as in the city. Holmes himself is here, too, of course - not in another reprint though - but in the first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet, the first Holmes case, in which the great man meets and dazzles Watson. Authors range from luminaries such as Charles Dickens to the forgotten author who helped inspire Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', the first real detective story. Bret Harte is here as is Mark Twain, with his small-town lawyer detective. Naturally Wilkie Collins couldn't be left behind.
Michael Sims's new collection reveals the fascinating and entertaining youth of what would mature into the most popular genre of the twentieth century.
The Secret Cell by William E. Burton
The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
On Duty with Inspector Field by Charles Dickens
The Diary of Anne Rodway by Wilkie Collins
You Are Not Human, Monsieur d’Artagnan by Alexandre Dumas, père
Arrested on Suspicionby Andrew Forrester Jr.
The Dead Witness; or, The Bush Waterhole by W. W. (Mary Fortune)
The Mysterious Human Leg by James McGovan (William Crawford Honeyman)
The Little Old Man of Batignolles by Émile Gaboriau
The Science of Deduction by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Whitechapel Mystery by Anonymous
The Assassin’s Natal Autograph by Mark Twain
The Murder at Troyte’s Hill by C. L. Pirkis
The Haverstock Hill Murder by George R. Sims
The Stolen Cigar-Case by Bret Harte
The Absent-Minded Coterieby Robert Bar
he Hammer of Godby G. K. Chesterton
The Angel of the Lord by Melville Davisson Post
The Crime at Big Tree Portage by Hesketh Prichard
The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage by Ernest Bramah
The Case of Padages Palmer by Harvey O’Higgins
An Intangible Clue by Anna Katharine Green
July 27, 2019
3.5 ★★★☆☆
Reseña en español | Review in English (below)
Editar una antología, sea del tipo que sea, debe ser un trabajo de investigación concienzudo –y desde mi humilde opinión, también bastante interesante–: ¿qué textos merecen mayor atención que otros? ¿qué colección incluir y cuál dejar de lado? ¿qué escritores y escritoras escoger que sirvan para describir una visión general de lo que queremos reseñar?. Pero acercarse a la lectura de una antología tampoco es fácil: seguramente siempre haya alguien que se crea más inteligente que los editores y crea que lo hubiera hecho mejor, que hubiera escogido otros textos –de mejor calidad literaria, que hubiera sido más paritario, que se hubiera dedicado exclusivamente a incluir historias cortas… etc.–. Además, siempre ronda el peligro de que no todos los fragmentos incluidos te van a gustar, y en ocasiones te quedarás con ganas de más.
Sabiendo todo esto de antemano y conociendo mis gustos lectores, sabía que leer esta antología me iba a suponer esas dos dificultades: no todos los textos me iban a gustar, y me iba a quedar con ganas de seguir leyendo más relatos de detectives victorianas. Podía haber leído esta antología poquito a poco –ahora creo y recomendaría que lo hicierais así– para disfrutar a pequeños sorbos los 11 textos incluidos en Detectives Victorianas: las pioneras de la novela policíaca y no acabar sobreexcitada creando una lista de esos nuevos libros que has descubierto y quieres leer cuanto antes.
Lo que más me ha gustado de esta antología es haber tenido la oportunidad de descubrir esos “nuevos” escritores y escritoras, autores que se han quedado fuera del canon y que el paso del tiempo ha relegado a un segundo plano de la literatura de detectives tras Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie o Edgar Allan Poe. Me ha gustado mucho tener esa visión de la protagonista detective, que bien por hobby, necesidad o siendo detective profesional privada, al más puro estilo Sherlock Holmes, resuelve diferentes crímenes, robos y misterios, en una época en la que la mujer iba ganando, muy poquito a poco, cierta autonomía.
Os dejo la puntuación individual y algunas opiniones personales de cada uno de los relatos incluidos:
*La Condesa Misteriosa, W. S. Hayward – ★★★☆☆
*El arma desconocida, Andrew Forrester hijo – ★★★★☆: Uno de los relatos que más me han gustado, especialmente por el estilo narrativo del autor y la ambientación en un pequeño pueblo de la campiña inglesa.
*Dagas dibujadas, C. L. Pirkis — ★★☆☆☆
*El Brazo Largo, Mary E. Wilkins – ★☆☆☆☆: Es uno de los relatos que menos me ha gustado y su inclusión es un tanto extraña: no hay ningún personaje femenino detective; es más, utiliza la ayuda de un detective varón para resolver el caso; y la calidad literaria deja bastante que desear.
*El asunto de la puerta de al lado, Anna Katharine Green – ★★★☆☆: Me ha gustado bastante y en parte entiendo la inclusión de este primer capítulo de la novela superventas de Anna Katharine Green–es la primera novela de detectives legítimamente escrita por una mujer–, pero no hay resolución y debes continuar leyendo la novela.
*El hombre de los ojos feroces, George R. Sims – 3.5 ★★★☆☆: Una narración de violencia de género, pero quizás es el relato más Sherlockiano de todos.
*La aventura de la anciana quisquillosa, Grant Allen – ★★★★★: Aunque no es un relato de detectives per se, ha sido mi relato favorito de esta antología. Me ha encantado el estilo narrativo del autor y me he reído a carcajadas con la maravillosa protagonista. Es también el capítulo inicial de la novela Miss Cayley's Adventures, pero tiene resolución independiente.
*Las muescas del bastón, M. McDonnell Bodkin – ★★☆☆☆
*El hombre que me cortó el pelo, Richard Marsh – ★☆☆☆☆: Además de que es un relato aburrido y de una dudosa calidad literaria, la violencia de género está muy presente en esta narración donde la ‘pérdida del cabello’ de una niña de 12 años tiene grandes significaciones sexuales.
*El hombre que tenía nueve vidas, Hugh C. Weir – ★★★★☆: Entre mis relatos favoritos y con dos mujeres protagonistas en una suerte de roles Sherlock-Watson muy interesante.
*La segunda bala, Anna Katharine Green – ★★☆☆☆
Altamente recomendado si os gustan las llamadas historias de detectives y queréis conocer nuevos personajes y diferentes escritoræs del género. Muy interesante la bibliografía adicional incluida por si os interesa leer, de forma más teórica, sobre este tema.
Por último, debo mencionar que esta antología reúne algunos textos que sobrepasan los ‘límites’ de la época victoriana y que se adentran ya en los inicios del periodo eduardiano –los últimos cuatro relatos son ya de inicios del siglo XX–.
— — — —
To publish an anthology, of whatever type, must be a conscientious research work –and in my humble opinion, also quite interesting–: Which texts deserve more attention than others? What collection to include and which to leave aside? What writers do you want to select to illustrate a general view of what we want to analyse?. But getting closer to reading an anthology is not easy either: Inevitably, there'll always be someone who considers themselves to be more intelligent than the editors and believes that they would've done the work better, that they would've chosen different texts –of better literary quality, for example–, that they would've devoted themselves exclusively to include short stories... etc. In addition, there's always the danger that you're not always to like all the included fragments, and sometimes you'll finish these types of collections craving for more.
Comprehending all this in advance, I realised that while reading this anthology I was going to assume those latter difficulties: I wasn't going to like all the stories and I was going to be left craving to continue reading about Victorian detectives. I could've read this anthology little by little –now I believe and I'd recommend that you do it this way– to both enjoy in small sips the 11 fragments included in The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock Holmes, and not end up being overly excited organising a gigantic wish-list of those new books that you've discovered and want to read as soon as possible.
What I liked the most is having had the opportunity to discover these "new" writers, authors who've been left out of the canon and that the passing of time has relegated to the second plane of detective literature after Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie or Edgar Allan Poe. I really liked having now that general view of the female detective protagonist, that either because of hobby, need or pursuing a professional career, in the style of Sherlock Holmes, solves different crimes, robberies and mysteries, at a time when women were gaining, very little by little, a certain autonomy.
I show you here the individual rating and some personal opinions of each of the stories included:
*The Mysterious Countess, W. S. Hayward - ★★★☆☆
*The Unknown Weapon, Andrew Forrester Jr. - ★★★★☆: This is one of the stories that I liked the most, especially for the narrative style and the setting in a small town in the English countryside.
*Drawn Daggers, C. L. Pirkis - ★★☆☆☆
*The Long Arm, Mary E. Wilkins - ★☆☆☆☆: This is one of the stories that I liked the least and its inclusion is somewhat strange: there is no female detective character; moreover, she uses the help of a male detective to solve the case; and the literary quality is somewhat poor.
*That Affair Next Door, Anna Katharine Green - ★★★☆☆: I liked it a lot and although I partly understand the inclusion of this first chapter of Anna Katharine Green's bestselling novel –the first detective novel legitimately written by a woman– there is no resolution and you must continue reading the novel to have one.
*The Man With the Wild Eyes, George R. Sims - 3.5 ★★★☆☆: A history of gender violence, but perhaps it's the most Sherlockian story of all.
*The Adventure of the Cantankerous Old Lady, Grant Allen - ★★★★★: Although it's not a detective story per se, it has been my favourite story in this anthology. I loved the narrative style and I laughed out loud with the wonderful protagonist. It's also an opening chapter –from Miss Cayley's Adventures–, but it has an independent resolution.
*How He Cut His Stick, M. McDonnell Bodkin - ★★☆☆☆
*The Man Who Cut Off My Hair, Richard Marsh - ★☆☆☆☆: Apart from being boring and of dubious literary quality, gender violence is very present in this short story where the 'hair loss' of a 12-year-old girl has vast sexual meanings.
*The Man With Nine Lives, Hugh C. Weir - ★★★★☆: Among my favourite stories and with two women protagonists in a sort of Sherlock-Watson roles.
*The Second Bullet, Anna Katharine Green - ★★☆☆☆
Highly recommended if you like the so-called detective stories and want to meet new characters and different writers of the genre. The additional bibliography included is very interesting if you're also interested in reading, in a more theoretical way, about this topic.
Finally, I must mention that this anthology brings together some texts that go beyond the 'limits' of the Victorian era and that are already entering the early Edwardian period –the last four stories are from the early twentieth century–.
Reseña en español | Review in English (below)
Editar una antología, sea del tipo que sea, debe ser un trabajo de investigación concienzudo –y desde mi humilde opinión, también bastante interesante–: ¿qué textos merecen mayor atención que otros? ¿qué colección incluir y cuál dejar de lado? ¿qué escritores y escritoras escoger que sirvan para describir una visión general de lo que queremos reseñar?. Pero acercarse a la lectura de una antología tampoco es fácil: seguramente siempre haya alguien que se crea más inteligente que los editores y crea que lo hubiera hecho mejor, que hubiera escogido otros textos –de mejor calidad literaria, que hubiera sido más paritario, que se hubiera dedicado exclusivamente a incluir historias cortas… etc.–. Además, siempre ronda el peligro de que no todos los fragmentos incluidos te van a gustar, y en ocasiones te quedarás con ganas de más.
Sabiendo todo esto de antemano y conociendo mis gustos lectores, sabía que leer esta antología me iba a suponer esas dos dificultades: no todos los textos me iban a gustar, y me iba a quedar con ganas de seguir leyendo más relatos de detectives victorianas. Podía haber leído esta antología poquito a poco –ahora creo y recomendaría que lo hicierais así– para disfrutar a pequeños sorbos los 11 textos incluidos en Detectives Victorianas: las pioneras de la novela policíaca y no acabar sobreexcitada creando una lista de esos nuevos libros que has descubierto y quieres leer cuanto antes.
Lo que más me ha gustado de esta antología es haber tenido la oportunidad de descubrir esos “nuevos” escritores y escritoras, autores que se han quedado fuera del canon y que el paso del tiempo ha relegado a un segundo plano de la literatura de detectives tras Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie o Edgar Allan Poe. Me ha gustado mucho tener esa visión de la protagonista detective, que bien por hobby, necesidad o siendo detective profesional privada, al más puro estilo Sherlock Holmes, resuelve diferentes crímenes, robos y misterios, en una época en la que la mujer iba ganando, muy poquito a poco, cierta autonomía.
Os dejo la puntuación individual y algunas opiniones personales de cada uno de los relatos incluidos:
*La Condesa Misteriosa, W. S. Hayward – ★★★☆☆
*El arma desconocida, Andrew Forrester hijo – ★★★★☆: Uno de los relatos que más me han gustado, especialmente por el estilo narrativo del autor y la ambientación en un pequeño pueblo de la campiña inglesa.
*Dagas dibujadas, C. L. Pirkis — ★★☆☆☆
*El Brazo Largo, Mary E. Wilkins – ★☆☆☆☆: Es uno de los relatos que menos me ha gustado y su inclusión es un tanto extraña: no hay ningún personaje femenino detective; es más, utiliza la ayuda de un detective varón para resolver el caso; y la calidad literaria deja bastante que desear.
*El asunto de la puerta de al lado, Anna Katharine Green – ★★★☆☆: Me ha gustado bastante y en parte entiendo la inclusión de este primer capítulo de la novela superventas de Anna Katharine Green–es la primera novela de detectives legítimamente escrita por una mujer–, pero no hay resolución y debes continuar leyendo la novela.
*El hombre de los ojos feroces, George R. Sims – 3.5 ★★★☆☆: Una narración de violencia de género, pero quizás es el relato más Sherlockiano de todos.
*La aventura de la anciana quisquillosa, Grant Allen – ★★★★★: Aunque no es un relato de detectives per se, ha sido mi relato favorito de esta antología. Me ha encantado el estilo narrativo del autor y me he reído a carcajadas con la maravillosa protagonista. Es también el capítulo inicial de la novela Miss Cayley's Adventures, pero tiene resolución independiente.
*Las muescas del bastón, M. McDonnell Bodkin – ★★☆☆☆
*El hombre que me cortó el pelo, Richard Marsh – ★☆☆☆☆: Además de que es un relato aburrido y de una dudosa calidad literaria, la violencia de género está muy presente en esta narración donde la ‘pérdida del cabello’ de una niña de 12 años tiene grandes significaciones sexuales.
*El hombre que tenía nueve vidas, Hugh C. Weir – ★★★★☆: Entre mis relatos favoritos y con dos mujeres protagonistas en una suerte de roles Sherlock-Watson muy interesante.
*La segunda bala, Anna Katharine Green – ★★☆☆☆
Altamente recomendado si os gustan las llamadas historias de detectives y queréis conocer nuevos personajes y diferentes escritoræs del género. Muy interesante la bibliografía adicional incluida por si os interesa leer, de forma más teórica, sobre este tema.
Por último, debo mencionar que esta antología reúne algunos textos que sobrepasan los ‘límites’ de la época victoriana y que se adentran ya en los inicios del periodo eduardiano –los últimos cuatro relatos son ya de inicios del siglo XX–.
— — — —
To publish an anthology, of whatever type, must be a conscientious research work –and in my humble opinion, also quite interesting–: Which texts deserve more attention than others? What collection to include and which to leave aside? What writers do you want to select to illustrate a general view of what we want to analyse?. But getting closer to reading an anthology is not easy either: Inevitably, there'll always be someone who considers themselves to be more intelligent than the editors and believes that they would've done the work better, that they would've chosen different texts –of better literary quality, for example–, that they would've devoted themselves exclusively to include short stories... etc. In addition, there's always the danger that you're not always to like all the included fragments, and sometimes you'll finish these types of collections craving for more.
Comprehending all this in advance, I realised that while reading this anthology I was going to assume those latter difficulties: I wasn't going to like all the stories and I was going to be left craving to continue reading about Victorian detectives. I could've read this anthology little by little –now I believe and I'd recommend that you do it this way– to both enjoy in small sips the 11 fragments included in The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock Holmes, and not end up being overly excited organising a gigantic wish-list of those new books that you've discovered and want to read as soon as possible.
What I liked the most is having had the opportunity to discover these "new" writers, authors who've been left out of the canon and that the passing of time has relegated to the second plane of detective literature after Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie or Edgar Allan Poe. I really liked having now that general view of the female detective protagonist, that either because of hobby, need or pursuing a professional career, in the style of Sherlock Holmes, solves different crimes, robberies and mysteries, at a time when women were gaining, very little by little, a certain autonomy.
I show you here the individual rating and some personal opinions of each of the stories included:
*The Mysterious Countess, W. S. Hayward - ★★★☆☆
*The Unknown Weapon, Andrew Forrester Jr. - ★★★★☆: This is one of the stories that I liked the most, especially for the narrative style and the setting in a small town in the English countryside.
*Drawn Daggers, C. L. Pirkis - ★★☆☆☆
*The Long Arm, Mary E. Wilkins - ★☆☆☆☆: This is one of the stories that I liked the least and its inclusion is somewhat strange: there is no female detective character; moreover, she uses the help of a male detective to solve the case; and the literary quality is somewhat poor.
*That Affair Next Door, Anna Katharine Green - ★★★☆☆: I liked it a lot and although I partly understand the inclusion of this first chapter of Anna Katharine Green's bestselling novel –the first detective novel legitimately written by a woman– there is no resolution and you must continue reading the novel to have one.
*The Man With the Wild Eyes, George R. Sims - 3.5 ★★★☆☆: A history of gender violence, but perhaps it's the most Sherlockian story of all.
*The Adventure of the Cantankerous Old Lady, Grant Allen - ★★★★★: Although it's not a detective story per se, it has been my favourite story in this anthology. I loved the narrative style and I laughed out loud with the wonderful protagonist. It's also an opening chapter –from Miss Cayley's Adventures–, but it has an independent resolution.
*How He Cut His Stick, M. McDonnell Bodkin - ★★☆☆☆
*The Man Who Cut Off My Hair, Richard Marsh - ★☆☆☆☆: Apart from being boring and of dubious literary quality, gender violence is very present in this short story where the 'hair loss' of a 12-year-old girl has vast sexual meanings.
*The Man With Nine Lives, Hugh C. Weir - ★★★★☆: Among my favourite stories and with two women protagonists in a sort of Sherlock-Watson roles.
*The Second Bullet, Anna Katharine Green - ★★☆☆☆
Highly recommended if you like the so-called detective stories and want to meet new characters and different writers of the genre. The additional bibliography included is very interesting if you're also interested in reading, in a more theoretical way, about this topic.
Finally, I must mention that this anthology brings together some texts that go beyond the 'limits' of the Victorian era and that are already entering the early Edwardian period –the last four stories are from the early twentieth century–.
May 3, 2012
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
This fascinating new anthology, by an academe who has made a career out of putting together such anthologies, is a lively and unexpected guide to the early history of the detective story, whose invention is largely credited to Edgar Allen Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and which really flowered into mainstream success during the Victorian Age of the 1830s to 1900s. And indeed, by placing his only Sherlock Holmes story right in the middle of this massive book, editor Michael Sims is clearly showing just how much precedence there was leading up to what eventually became the most famous character in this genre's history; because with the very idea of a city police department not even invented in the real world until the early 1800s, many of the first stories about solving crimes came about in a roundabout way, whether through "Newgate" novels that salaciously glorified the criminals or "Sensation" novels that combined noir-like plots with Gothic moodiness and supernaturalism. And there's lots more surprises awaiting the eager Victoriana fan who picks this up, not an "all-star" compilation but with stories picked precisely because of their uniqueness and obscurity; for example, how many female writers found real success in this genre back then, or how much great crime fiction came from other areas of the Empire like Canada and Australia. And in the meanwhile, Sims throws in a few nonfiction tidbits to help us maintain a sense of society in general back then; of particular interest, for example, is a full reprint of the first long newspaper article to come out about the first Jack The Ripper slaying. A huge collection that kept an armchair historian like me flipping pages quickly, it comes strongly recommended to other Baker Street Irregulars, and the only reason it's not getting a higher score is the unavoidable fact that you won't like it at all if you're not already a fan of Victorian genre fiction.
Out of 10: 8.9
This fascinating new anthology, by an academe who has made a career out of putting together such anthologies, is a lively and unexpected guide to the early history of the detective story, whose invention is largely credited to Edgar Allen Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and which really flowered into mainstream success during the Victorian Age of the 1830s to 1900s. And indeed, by placing his only Sherlock Holmes story right in the middle of this massive book, editor Michael Sims is clearly showing just how much precedence there was leading up to what eventually became the most famous character in this genre's history; because with the very idea of a city police department not even invented in the real world until the early 1800s, many of the first stories about solving crimes came about in a roundabout way, whether through "Newgate" novels that salaciously glorified the criminals or "Sensation" novels that combined noir-like plots with Gothic moodiness and supernaturalism. And there's lots more surprises awaiting the eager Victoriana fan who picks this up, not an "all-star" compilation but with stories picked precisely because of their uniqueness and obscurity; for example, how many female writers found real success in this genre back then, or how much great crime fiction came from other areas of the Empire like Canada and Australia. And in the meanwhile, Sims throws in a few nonfiction tidbits to help us maintain a sense of society in general back then; of particular interest, for example, is a full reprint of the first long newspaper article to come out about the first Jack The Ripper slaying. A huge collection that kept an armchair historian like me flipping pages quickly, it comes strongly recommended to other Baker Street Irregulars, and the only reason it's not getting a higher score is the unavoidable fact that you won't like it at all if you're not already a fan of Victorian genre fiction.
Out of 10: 8.9
May 12, 2012
The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories by Michael Sims (ed) jumped right off the library "New Arrivals" shelf and into my hands. Like I needed another book to read right now. Like I don't have two-thirds of a Mount TBR pile of my own books to read for challenges this year. Like I could really resist this combination: Victorian (Vintage!)--Mysteries! The collection gathers some of the best stories about private investigators and police detectives from the mid-19th to the early 20th Century. It includes well-known stories like Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" as well as rare gems like "The Secret Cell" by William E. Burton--a story that sees print for the first time since its initial appearance in 1837. The tales take us from France to London to the Outback in Australia to high-society New York and the backwoods of Canada.
Here's a run-down of the stories and some thoughts:
"The Secret Cell" by Burton: Quite well-done for an early detective story. L-- (the only name given the detective) uses the art of disguise and chatting up pub regulars and innkeepers. There is a highspeed chase (well--as high speed as one can get in horse-drawn carriages) and fisticuffs. And there is even the use of a dog to track down the missing woman. Realistic detective work--with an investigator who is not quite the eccentric that Dupin and Holmes will be.
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe: The classic story credited with starting the whole detective ball rolling. Dupin is a moody, night-loving character. He uses an investigative method--observing everything and discounting nothing...until it can be proven irrelevant or impossible. Definitely a forerunner of Holmes's method: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"On Duty with Inspector Field" by Charles Dickens: This is a very uninteresting and confusing "true" story of life on the beat with a policeman. It just did absolutely nothing for me.
"The Diary of Anne Rodway" by Wilkie Collins: Anne cannot bear to think that her friend Mary has been foully murdered and the culprit will get away. The verdict at the inquest is accident--Mary has died of a blow to the head that could have occurred in a fall. Anne is convinced that Mary was struck down on her way home. A piece of a man's cravat clutched in her friend's hand is the only clue to be had. The diary reveals Anne's journey to find the truth of Mary's death. Very enjoyable!
"You Are Not Human, Monsieur d'Artagnan" by Alexandre Dumas: A selection from the larger work The Vicomte de Bragelonne, this very short work is pretty matter-of-fact and leaves no mystery for the reader to try and unravel. D'Artagnan goes and investigates the scene--which is not described to the reader at the time--and then lays his deductions before the king one by one. No suspense, no mystery. Interesting only for its place in the development of detective stories.
"Arrested on Suspicion" by Andrew Forrester, Jr.: Another very short piece--notable for the early use of the now time-worn trick of the "mysterious double." Also a fairly good example of a forerunner of today's police procedural.
"The Dead Witness" by "W. W." (Mary Fortune): The first known detective short story by a woman. Published as an entry in a series featuring the "Memoirs of an Australian Police Officer." Provides an interesting and slightly shocking surprise at the end--a convenient way to get the culprit to fully confess.
"The Mysterious Human Leg" by "James McGovan" (William Crawford Honeyman): From another series of articles purported to be the experiences of the workaday life of a metropolitan detective. This one follows McGovan as he tracks down the body belonging to the mysterious leg.
"The Little Old Man of Batignolles" by Emile Gaboriau: This one features a shrewd but compassionate policeman named Mechinet. We have a Watson-like companion--a 23 year old health officer who lives in the same tenant house as Mechinet. The story opens with their meeting--and our narrator's attempts to discover what kind of man his neighbor is. He realizes he has become friends with a detective when Mechinet is called out to investigate the death of a wealthy old man. Everything points to the man's nephew--but our narrator is the first to call attention to a clue that will lead Mechinet to the truth of the matter.
"The Science of Deduction" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The opening chapters of The Study in Scarlet. Chapters which give us the one of the most famous meetings of detective story history: "Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said Stamford, introducing us. "How are you?" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly give him credit. "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."
"The Whitechapel Mystery": No fictional short story here. Just an account of the very first of the attributed Jack the Ripper murders--from a newspaper article in the Evening News to the Daily Telegraph's transcript of the first day of the inquest.
"The Assassin's Natal Autograph" by Mark Twain: the opening of Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, this excerpt shows lawyer David Wilson securing the release of an innocent man (and identification of the guilty party) based on fingerprints--well before the first legal conviction using fingerprint evidence which took place in 1902. A bit long-winded in build-up, but a very nice little synopsis of courtroom antics.
"The Murder at Troyte's Hill" by C. L. Pirkis: Starring Loveday Brooke--the first known female detective crated by a female author. Miss Brooke is presented as not only an intelligent and independent young woman, but as a woman who has taken up the profession because she is good at it. She's not supporting a sister or a disabled husband. She's not ultra-feminine to make up for her brains. She's just a good detective. In this one, she gets to the bottom of the mystery of who killed Alexander "Sandy" Henderson, lodge-keeper to Mr. Craven of Troyte's Hill. The police have fastened on to the son of the house, but Miss Brooke has reason's to doubt the official reading of the case.
"The Haverstock Hill Murder" by George R. Sims. This features another female detective of the era--Dorcas Dene. Dorcas is a former actress--which makes her particularly adept at the art of disguise. And she puts her art to good use in helping Inspector Swanage discover who murdered Mrs. Hannasford of Haverstock Hill.
"The Stolen Cigar Case" by Bret Harte: Billed as one of the best Holmes parodies (of which there have been many, I have to say that this very short send-up of Holmes and Watson didn't do a whole lot for me.
"The Absent-Minded Coterie" by Robert Barr: Barr wrote short stories which featured a French predecessor to Christie's Hercule Poirot by the name of Eugene Valmont. Valmont has a superior intellect as well as superior vanity to go along with it. Considering that the fact is revealed in the very first paragraph, I don't feel bad about telling you that I'm a bit disappointed to find that the bad guys get away at the end of this story. Valmont is very clever about discovering that Inpsector Hale's quarry is indeed up to no good--albeit not at the crime the English detective suspects. But his vanity and belief in the superiority of French ways enables the culprits to escape with no fear of capture. At least not for this crime.
"The Hammer of God" by G. K. Chesterton: To my mind, a well-known Father Brown story. At least I have seen it reproduced in several collections. But it is a clever short story and shows off Chesterton's detective to good effect as he solves the mystery of how such a staggering blow could be delivered by such a small hammer.
"The Angel of the Lord" by Melville Devisson Post: Uncle Abner is another detective with a religious bent. He is not a clergyman, but he is still very interested in sin and retribution. Abner follows a man and proves how he disposed of both his partner and his horse. I have to say that Uncle Abner's style of speech isn't one that just reaches out and draws me in. Not a very long story, but I couldn't tell that in the reading of it....
"The Crime at Big Tree Portage" by Hesketh Pritchard: November Joe is a regular backwoods Sherlock Holmes. Using methods familiar to anyone who has read the Holmes stories, Joe covers the campsite at Big Tree Portage and holds up clues for his "Watson" Quaritch to see and be mystified by. It's the small indications that lead Joe to the killer of Henry Lyon.
"The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage" by Ernest Bramah: Starring Max Carrados, a blind detective who has hyperacute senses which allow him to unravel an intricate plot--involving a kite, a plate of metal and a few pebbles at a window. He prevents a murder, but is unable to prevent the suicide.
"The Case of Padages Palmer" by Harvey O'Higgins: This features Barney Cook, one of the youngest detectives of the era. Barney begins as a telegram delivery boy and winds up being taken on by Walter Babbing and his detective agency. In Barney's first "case" he helps Babbing track down a man using a very simple clue--the length of his cigar.
"The Intangible Clue" by Anna Katharine Green: One of a set of short stories starring Violet Strange--a young society woman who assists Mr. Driscoll with cases that involve the strata of society where she can move freely. This story involves Miss Strange in a "sordid" murder case--something she never intended to be part of. But...without her observations in the needlewoman's home, the perpetrator would never have been caught.
This is a pretty good collection of early detective stories. Age of course will tell and there are several plots and twists that will seem old hat to regular readers of detective fiction. It's good to keep in mind that some of these stories are showing off these plots and twists for the first time and to try and imagine how mystified the readers in the Victorian age must have been. Three and a half stars for the entire collection.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Here's a run-down of the stories and some thoughts:
"The Secret Cell" by Burton: Quite well-done for an early detective story. L-- (the only name given the detective) uses the art of disguise and chatting up pub regulars and innkeepers. There is a highspeed chase (well--as high speed as one can get in horse-drawn carriages) and fisticuffs. And there is even the use of a dog to track down the missing woman. Realistic detective work--with an investigator who is not quite the eccentric that Dupin and Holmes will be.
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe: The classic story credited with starting the whole detective ball rolling. Dupin is a moody, night-loving character. He uses an investigative method--observing everything and discounting nothing...until it can be proven irrelevant or impossible. Definitely a forerunner of Holmes's method: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"On Duty with Inspector Field" by Charles Dickens: This is a very uninteresting and confusing "true" story of life on the beat with a policeman. It just did absolutely nothing for me.
"The Diary of Anne Rodway" by Wilkie Collins: Anne cannot bear to think that her friend Mary has been foully murdered and the culprit will get away. The verdict at the inquest is accident--Mary has died of a blow to the head that could have occurred in a fall. Anne is convinced that Mary was struck down on her way home. A piece of a man's cravat clutched in her friend's hand is the only clue to be had. The diary reveals Anne's journey to find the truth of Mary's death. Very enjoyable!
"You Are Not Human, Monsieur d'Artagnan" by Alexandre Dumas: A selection from the larger work The Vicomte de Bragelonne, this very short work is pretty matter-of-fact and leaves no mystery for the reader to try and unravel. D'Artagnan goes and investigates the scene--which is not described to the reader at the time--and then lays his deductions before the king one by one. No suspense, no mystery. Interesting only for its place in the development of detective stories.
"Arrested on Suspicion" by Andrew Forrester, Jr.: Another very short piece--notable for the early use of the now time-worn trick of the "mysterious double." Also a fairly good example of a forerunner of today's police procedural.
"The Dead Witness" by "W. W." (Mary Fortune): The first known detective short story by a woman. Published as an entry in a series featuring the "Memoirs of an Australian Police Officer." Provides an interesting and slightly shocking surprise at the end--a convenient way to get the culprit to fully confess.
"The Mysterious Human Leg" by "James McGovan" (William Crawford Honeyman): From another series of articles purported to be the experiences of the workaday life of a metropolitan detective. This one follows McGovan as he tracks down the body belonging to the mysterious leg.
"The Little Old Man of Batignolles" by Emile Gaboriau: This one features a shrewd but compassionate policeman named Mechinet. We have a Watson-like companion--a 23 year old health officer who lives in the same tenant house as Mechinet. The story opens with their meeting--and our narrator's attempts to discover what kind of man his neighbor is. He realizes he has become friends with a detective when Mechinet is called out to investigate the death of a wealthy old man. Everything points to the man's nephew--but our narrator is the first to call attention to a clue that will lead Mechinet to the truth of the matter.
"The Science of Deduction" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The opening chapters of The Study in Scarlet. Chapters which give us the one of the most famous meetings of detective story history: "Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said Stamford, introducing us. "How are you?" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly give him credit. "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."
"The Whitechapel Mystery": No fictional short story here. Just an account of the very first of the attributed Jack the Ripper murders--from a newspaper article in the Evening News to the Daily Telegraph's transcript of the first day of the inquest.
"The Assassin's Natal Autograph" by Mark Twain: the opening of Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson, this excerpt shows lawyer David Wilson securing the release of an innocent man (and identification of the guilty party) based on fingerprints--well before the first legal conviction using fingerprint evidence which took place in 1902. A bit long-winded in build-up, but a very nice little synopsis of courtroom antics.
"The Murder at Troyte's Hill" by C. L. Pirkis: Starring Loveday Brooke--the first known female detective crated by a female author. Miss Brooke is presented as not only an intelligent and independent young woman, but as a woman who has taken up the profession because she is good at it. She's not supporting a sister or a disabled husband. She's not ultra-feminine to make up for her brains. She's just a good detective. In this one, she gets to the bottom of the mystery of who killed Alexander "Sandy" Henderson, lodge-keeper to Mr. Craven of Troyte's Hill. The police have fastened on to the son of the house, but Miss Brooke has reason's to doubt the official reading of the case.
"The Haverstock Hill Murder" by George R. Sims. This features another female detective of the era--Dorcas Dene. Dorcas is a former actress--which makes her particularly adept at the art of disguise. And she puts her art to good use in helping Inspector Swanage discover who murdered Mrs. Hannasford of Haverstock Hill.
"The Stolen Cigar Case" by Bret Harte: Billed as one of the best Holmes parodies (of which there have been many, I have to say that this very short send-up of Holmes and Watson didn't do a whole lot for me.
"The Absent-Minded Coterie" by Robert Barr: Barr wrote short stories which featured a French predecessor to Christie's Hercule Poirot by the name of Eugene Valmont. Valmont has a superior intellect as well as superior vanity to go along with it. Considering that the fact is revealed in the very first paragraph, I don't feel bad about telling you that I'm a bit disappointed to find that the bad guys get away at the end of this story. Valmont is very clever about discovering that Inpsector Hale's quarry is indeed up to no good--albeit not at the crime the English detective suspects. But his vanity and belief in the superiority of French ways enables the culprits to escape with no fear of capture. At least not for this crime.
"The Hammer of God" by G. K. Chesterton: To my mind, a well-known Father Brown story. At least I have seen it reproduced in several collections. But it is a clever short story and shows off Chesterton's detective to good effect as he solves the mystery of how such a staggering blow could be delivered by such a small hammer.
"The Angel of the Lord" by Melville Devisson Post: Uncle Abner is another detective with a religious bent. He is not a clergyman, but he is still very interested in sin and retribution. Abner follows a man and proves how he disposed of both his partner and his horse. I have to say that Uncle Abner's style of speech isn't one that just reaches out and draws me in. Not a very long story, but I couldn't tell that in the reading of it....
"The Crime at Big Tree Portage" by Hesketh Pritchard: November Joe is a regular backwoods Sherlock Holmes. Using methods familiar to anyone who has read the Holmes stories, Joe covers the campsite at Big Tree Portage and holds up clues for his "Watson" Quaritch to see and be mystified by. It's the small indications that lead Joe to the killer of Henry Lyon.
"The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage" by Ernest Bramah: Starring Max Carrados, a blind detective who has hyperacute senses which allow him to unravel an intricate plot--involving a kite, a plate of metal and a few pebbles at a window. He prevents a murder, but is unable to prevent the suicide.
"The Case of Padages Palmer" by Harvey O'Higgins: This features Barney Cook, one of the youngest detectives of the era. Barney begins as a telegram delivery boy and winds up being taken on by Walter Babbing and his detective agency. In Barney's first "case" he helps Babbing track down a man using a very simple clue--the length of his cigar.
"The Intangible Clue" by Anna Katharine Green: One of a set of short stories starring Violet Strange--a young society woman who assists Mr. Driscoll with cases that involve the strata of society where she can move freely. This story involves Miss Strange in a "sordid" murder case--something she never intended to be part of. But...without her observations in the needlewoman's home, the perpetrator would never have been caught.
This is a pretty good collection of early detective stories. Age of course will tell and there are several plots and twists that will seem old hat to regular readers of detective fiction. It's good to keep in mind that some of these stories are showing off these plots and twists for the first time and to try and imagine how mystified the readers in the Victorian age must have been. Three and a half stars for the entire collection.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
November 7, 2020
Es un libro curioso; diría que también necesario y la mar de interesante. Se sabe poco acerca de las mujeres detectives de la Era Victoriana, y no solo en lo que se refiere a las que pertenecen a la ficción sino a esos casos reales que en verdad estuvieron muy a la zaga de la imaginación de los autores. Gracias a Sims tenemos un excelente compendio de historias que no solo nos muestran a esas damas que no dudaron en remangarse las enaguas para resolver todo tipo de crímenes sino que también sabemos un poco más de todas aquellas que fueron incorporándose a la labor policial a lo largo del tiempo en una época tan complicada para la mujer.
February 18, 2019
La traducción me ha parecido magnífica, pero como antología lo encuentro algo flojo.
November 29, 2015
The Dead Witness: A Connoisseurs Collection of Victorian Detective Stories by Michael Sims
It’s a wonderful assortment of stories from some of the best authors of the inventors of detective fiction. Are you new to this genre? This is the book to start with. I’m not new and had read many of the stories before, but there were enough new stories and authors to keep my interest. One of my favorite things to do is find free, public domain, mystery books and most of these authors works are out there for free. The short introduction Sims gives each author makes it all the more enjoyable.
I had read the Bramah, Doyle, Dickens, Chesterton, Poe, & Post. Of those the Post was my favorite. His hero is just so different from the others. If you haven’t read any of his Uncle Abner stories, let me suggest you do so soon. The Chesterton is much like all of his, lots of theology, and bad theology at that. That gives them such a hopeless color. God is mentioned, but not the true Biblical God of love and forgiveness.
The Diary of Ann Rodway by Collins was surprisingly good. I don’t normally like his works, but that one was good.
Arrested on Suspicion, by Forrester Jr., despite being a little cumbersome and slow is still interesting.
The Dead Witness by W.W. (Mary Fortune) had an interesting setting and a poor plot. The detective wasn’t cleaver enough to make up for it either.
The Mysterious Human Leg by McGovan (Honeyman) was lots of fun to read a fun twist. You have to find out not only what happened but also who did it.
Murder at Troyte’s Hill by C.L. Pirkis is a so-so mystery. The detective was very different, neither cleaver nor pretty just an average working detective.
The Haverstock Hill Murder by George Sims was rather obvious as to plot, and the relationship between the detective and narrator is confusing and not really explained.
The Absent-Minded Coterie by Robert Barr now that was a really fun story with a very cleaver plot line, an amusing detective, and an aggravating ending. You’ll see why when you read it.
The Crime at the Big Tree Portage by Prichard has a very different setting and very good characterization. A bit of taking justice into our own hands, but not a bad story.
An Intangible Clue by Anna Katharine Green is a fun melodramatic little mystery with twist of romance in the solution.
The Case of Padages Palmer by Harvey O’Higgins. This one had some bad language. It was a selection from a larger work so I couldn’t really tell you if I like it or not.
The one and only thing a compiler of stories and selections should never do is give away the ending of a novel length book, and he did! The Assassins Natal Autograph by Mark Twain is an extract from a novel and it gives away the ending. I’ll probably read the book but it’s still aggravating.
The one story I would not have included would be The Stolen Cigar-Case by Bret Harte. It is a mockery of the whole genre. I found it just irritating. Why include a story that mocks the hero in a story you included previously? So I would skip that one.
It’s a wonderful assortment of stories from some of the best authors of the inventors of detective fiction. Are you new to this genre? This is the book to start with. I’m not new and had read many of the stories before, but there were enough new stories and authors to keep my interest. One of my favorite things to do is find free, public domain, mystery books and most of these authors works are out there for free. The short introduction Sims gives each author makes it all the more enjoyable.
I had read the Bramah, Doyle, Dickens, Chesterton, Poe, & Post. Of those the Post was my favorite. His hero is just so different from the others. If you haven’t read any of his Uncle Abner stories, let me suggest you do so soon. The Chesterton is much like all of his, lots of theology, and bad theology at that. That gives them such a hopeless color. God is mentioned, but not the true Biblical God of love and forgiveness.
The Diary of Ann Rodway by Collins was surprisingly good. I don’t normally like his works, but that one was good.
Arrested on Suspicion, by Forrester Jr., despite being a little cumbersome and slow is still interesting.
The Dead Witness by W.W. (Mary Fortune) had an interesting setting and a poor plot. The detective wasn’t cleaver enough to make up for it either.
The Mysterious Human Leg by McGovan (Honeyman) was lots of fun to read a fun twist. You have to find out not only what happened but also who did it.
Murder at Troyte’s Hill by C.L. Pirkis is a so-so mystery. The detective was very different, neither cleaver nor pretty just an average working detective.
The Haverstock Hill Murder by George Sims was rather obvious as to plot, and the relationship between the detective and narrator is confusing and not really explained.
The Absent-Minded Coterie by Robert Barr now that was a really fun story with a very cleaver plot line, an amusing detective, and an aggravating ending. You’ll see why when you read it.
The Crime at the Big Tree Portage by Prichard has a very different setting and very good characterization. A bit of taking justice into our own hands, but not a bad story.
An Intangible Clue by Anna Katharine Green is a fun melodramatic little mystery with twist of romance in the solution.
The Case of Padages Palmer by Harvey O’Higgins. This one had some bad language. It was a selection from a larger work so I couldn’t really tell you if I like it or not.
The one and only thing a compiler of stories and selections should never do is give away the ending of a novel length book, and he did! The Assassins Natal Autograph by Mark Twain is an extract from a novel and it gives away the ending. I’ll probably read the book but it’s still aggravating.
The one story I would not have included would be The Stolen Cigar-Case by Bret Harte. It is a mockery of the whole genre. I found it just irritating. Why include a story that mocks the hero in a story you included previously? So I would skip that one.
August 5, 2020
Para el bimestre, @clubclasicosjuveniles había que leer novelas de detectives y entre las opciones estaba esta joya. Me lo crucé hace un tiempo en mi biblioteca y ahora he decido leerlo. 11 novelas cortas en total, publicadas inicialmente en periódicos y dominicales, que ahora se recogen en este libro de @siruelaediciones Se trata de una recopilación de biografías y datos de interés breves y relatos cortos de escritoras de novela policiaca victorianas. Una de las cosas que más me han gustado es que hay bastantes autoras y que, en cada novela, la detective es una mujer. Además, es una oportunidad para conocer más novelas y autoras, porque el autor nombra más libros de cada una de ellas y otros autores y libros inspirados en estas. Conoceremos mujeres astutas, inteligentes y valientes como la señora Paschal (Hayward), la señora G (Forrester), Loveday Brooke (la primera detective creada por una autora, C.L. Pirkis), Sarah Fairbanks (Mary E. Wilkins), Dorcas Dene (George Sims), Amelia Butterworth o Violet Strange (Anna Katharine Green), Lois Cayley (Grant Allen), Dora Myrl (McDonnell Bodkin), Judith Lee (Richard Marsh) y Madelyn Mack (Hugh Weir). También me ha gustado ver y analizar las similitudes entre las diferentes detectives, las intenciones de cada autor hombre sobre su protagonista mujer (unos por principios, otros por adecuación a la historia), cómo algun@s esbozaban una personalidad menos femenina para la aceptación del público y cómo otr@s diseñaban personajes inteligentes, astutos, muy femeninos y profundamente reivindicativos. Mis novelas favoritas han sido: “La condesa misteriosa”, “Dagas dibujadas”, “El asunto de la puerta de al lado (sólo primer capítulo)”, “El hombre de los ojos feroces”, “El arma desconocida” y “La segunda bala".
Aconsejo leer la introducción dos veces, al principio y al final, a modo de resumen. Por último, aunque esté parapetado en la edición de un hombre, lo incluyo en el #retomujeresautoras como traductora (Laura Salas Rodríguez), como novela feminista (reivindica el papel de la mujer como escritora y como detective) y como autoras del siglo XIX.
Aconsejo leer la introducción dos veces, al principio y al final, a modo de resumen. Por último, aunque esté parapetado en la edición de un hombre, lo incluyo en el #retomujeresautoras como traductora (Laura Salas Rodríguez), como novela feminista (reivindica el papel de la mujer como escritora y como detective) y como autoras del siglo XIX.
January 6, 2013
I have one rule with my Goodreads tags - everything gets either fiction or non-fiction, so I can track the relative balance in what I read. This is the first book to give me serious trouble with that designation. That's because while this works as a collection of detective fiction, it works even better as an overview of the emergence of the genre, and it is as the latter that I would strongly recommend it.
The introductions to each story, like the introduction to the book, are excellent (marred only slightly in the ebook edition by bad chapter encoding ensuring that the introduction to the next story is included in the chapter with the preceding one. Someone should fix that). Learning about the role of natural science and paleontology in inspiring the developments, for example, led to one of those "of course" moments. And if not all the stories are successful, or in fact fiction, their inclusion adds something in most cases. ( An exception would be a couple of the big names, Mark Twain in particular, whose excerpt seemed neither influential nor very interesting.) It's interesting to note the different styles between Britain and North America, a gap that seems to widen over time. The exploration of female detectives is also interesting.
The introductions to each story, like the introduction to the book, are excellent (marred only slightly in the ebook edition by bad chapter encoding ensuring that the introduction to the next story is included in the chapter with the preceding one. Someone should fix that). Learning about the role of natural science and paleontology in inspiring the developments, for example, led to one of those "of course" moments. And if not all the stories are successful, or in fact fiction, their inclusion adds something in most cases. ( An exception would be a couple of the big names, Mark Twain in particular, whose excerpt seemed neither influential nor very interesting.) It's interesting to note the different styles between Britain and North America, a gap that seems to widen over time. The exploration of female detectives is also interesting.
February 12, 2022
Rather disappointing. These aren't all standalone stories - there are several excerpts from novels, and a section on Jack the Ripper that includes a contemporary article and part of an inquest. The final story wasn't even Victorian! Sigh. Most of these writers and characters faded out of public consciousness for good reason and don't deserve a big push to be revived.
A collection for a strict connoisseur, I suppose.
A collection for a strict connoisseur, I suppose.
February 12, 2018
La coleccion de relatos es buena, pero me cortaba mucho el hilo de los relatos las paginas que hablan sobre cada autor y su obra antes de cada relato. Lo hubiera preferido al principio del libro como en otros libros de relatos.
April 20, 2024
3,5/5
March 21, 2024
Enjoyed reading other Victorian detective stories by authors that most readers may not connect mystery to - Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, or Mark Twain to name a few. Loved the short story collection, as I could read one story in one sitting, chew over it in my mind, and then start another short story the next time I picked up the book. Not only were the stories captivating for the police detective or private detective; it also gave a great historical perspective. It is always fun to follow sleuthing through the different eras, review of evidence, deduction of clues, interviews of people, etc. It was a very enjoyable read.
October 26, 2013
Literary historians often argue about what was the first detective fiction story ever written but most agree it was either Edgar Allen Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue or Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, both of which I have read recently. It doesn't matter, in my opinion which one gets the credit, but reading both of them has led me to further explore the early days of detective fiction, my previous exposure largely limited to all things Sherlock.
And so it was that my eye was drawn to this book, an anthology representing many of the most influential mystery writers of the Victorian age from the 1830s to the 1900s. Some of the giants are represented here including Poe, Collins, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, and Conan Doyle. It also strikes me that editor Michael Sims chose to position his Sherlock Holmes entry (just the first couple of chapters of A Study in Scarlet where Sherlock's science of deductive reasoning is first described) near the middle of the overall collection, demonstrating just how many influential predecessors came prior to the great Sherlockian stories.
But most striking of all to me were the many stories from authors that I had never heard of, with their equally obscure detectives. Often these stories were written by authors in Australia or Canada or other places and many penned by women. While I got to visit with some old friends such as Poe's M. Dupin, D'Artagnon (of Three Musketeers fame), Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Sherlock Holmes, I was pleased to make the acquaintance of new friends such as Father Brown, Eugene Valmont (a predecessor to Hercule Poirot), Dorcas Dene, Uncle Abner, and the wonderful backwoods detective, November Joe, and many others.
For readers of early mystery/detective fiction, or for those interested in expanding your reading horizons in this era, I highly recommend this collection. One must keep in mind that several of these stories use very innovative mystery plots for the time, but if encountered in today's fiction would be considered old and tired and "been there, done that." But to read some of the very first plots involving locked room mysteries, body doubles, etc. is absolutely delightful.
And so it was that my eye was drawn to this book, an anthology representing many of the most influential mystery writers of the Victorian age from the 1830s to the 1900s. Some of the giants are represented here including Poe, Collins, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, and Conan Doyle. It also strikes me that editor Michael Sims chose to position his Sherlock Holmes entry (just the first couple of chapters of A Study in Scarlet where Sherlock's science of deductive reasoning is first described) near the middle of the overall collection, demonstrating just how many influential predecessors came prior to the great Sherlockian stories.
But most striking of all to me were the many stories from authors that I had never heard of, with their equally obscure detectives. Often these stories were written by authors in Australia or Canada or other places and many penned by women. While I got to visit with some old friends such as Poe's M. Dupin, D'Artagnon (of Three Musketeers fame), Pudd'nhead Wilson, and Sherlock Holmes, I was pleased to make the acquaintance of new friends such as Father Brown, Eugene Valmont (a predecessor to Hercule Poirot), Dorcas Dene, Uncle Abner, and the wonderful backwoods detective, November Joe, and many others.
For readers of early mystery/detective fiction, or for those interested in expanding your reading horizons in this era, I highly recommend this collection. One must keep in mind that several of these stories use very innovative mystery plots for the time, but if encountered in today's fiction would be considered old and tired and "been there, done that." But to read some of the very first plots involving locked room mysteries, body doubles, etc. is absolutely delightful.
November 3, 2019
Una excelente antología que da cuenta del auge de las protagonistas en las novelas de detectives de la época victoriana, relacionándolas con las primeras mujeres que participaron en la policía y agencias de detectives, además de la mayor participación de las mujeres en la vida pública gracias a cosas tan aparentemente sencillas como la bicicleta. Si bien, hay muchos cuentos escritos por hombres, destaco los relatos de Anna Katherine Green, Catherine Louise Pirkis y Mary E. Wilkins (con el excelente "El brazo largo" de un gótico finísimo). Ojo con este consejo que no ha perdido vigencia desde 1889: "Querida, no te cases nunca con un hombre de apellido compuesto y ningún medio de subsistencia visible, sobre todo si por lo general se le conoce por algún apodo".
January 5, 2016
This is a pretty cool collection of early detective stories. There are a bunch of good stories here, and I also really enjoyed reading Sims' intro and notes and learning how the detective genre evolved. There are some important classics here, such as Murder in the Rue Morgue (which I'd actually never read before) and an excerpt from A Study in Scarlet. There are also some more obscure stories, including one that predates Poe's, and a few others that are clear inspirations for Arthur Conan Doyle's work. The best of these was The Little Old Man of Batignolles, which featured a medical doctor narrator, a detective with strange habits, and even a partial name written in blood. I really enjoyed the inclusion of a few nonfiction pieces, especially early accounts about Jack the Ripper, gruesome though they were. There were some stories I didn't like as much, including the titular "The Dead Witness" and the two stories revolving around strongly religious detectives. Still, there were a number of enjoyable sleuths here, and I myself plan to do a bit of detective work to track down more of my favorite characters. All in all, this is well worth reading, both because it is an excellent history of mysteries, and because the back blurb's claim that Victorian mysteries are just as good as modern day ones is definitely justified.
April 20, 2018
Antología que reúne a grandes detectives de la época .Relatos dinámicos y divertidos .
📎La introducción es una maravilla .Hace un repaso por la historia del papel de la mujer detective,personajes famosos, avances científicos de la época .
Además de esta introducción general de la que os hablo.Cada texto seleccionado tiene una introducción individual:describe con detalle al autor,los personajes y el contexto histórico.Nada saturado ni “pedante “de una página y media como mucho(para que os hagáis una idea🧐).
🔝Que aciertode portada!.Una mujer montada en bicicleta no era algo convencional en la época .Y estamos ante historias de mujeres poco convencionales: ellas mismas tomaban huellas dactilares a los fallecidos.Inteligentes,luchadoras y muy sagaces.
📎Un libro que he disfrutado muchísimo y que a los fans de Dupin ,Sherlock...les recomiendo sin duda.
📌El éxito del libro está en la base de documentación y selección de textos . Sumado a cómo han sabido presentarlo ,metiéndote de lleno en la época y en el caso.Disfrute los 12 casos y solo uno por el final no me convenció .
📍”Las sospechas no son pruebas “
📎La introducción es una maravilla .Hace un repaso por la historia del papel de la mujer detective,personajes famosos, avances científicos de la época .
Además de esta introducción general de la que os hablo.Cada texto seleccionado tiene una introducción individual:describe con detalle al autor,los personajes y el contexto histórico.Nada saturado ni “pedante “de una página y media como mucho(para que os hagáis una idea🧐).
🔝Que aciertode portada!.Una mujer montada en bicicleta no era algo convencional en la época .Y estamos ante historias de mujeres poco convencionales: ellas mismas tomaban huellas dactilares a los fallecidos.Inteligentes,luchadoras y muy sagaces.
📎Un libro que he disfrutado muchísimo y que a los fans de Dupin ,Sherlock...les recomiendo sin duda.
📌El éxito del libro está en la base de documentación y selección de textos . Sumado a cómo han sabido presentarlo ,metiéndote de lleno en la época y en el caso.Disfrute los 12 casos y solo uno por el final no me convenció .
📍”Las sospechas no son pruebas “
April 9, 2019
A very interesting collection of Victorian Era stories centered around detectives. Some are very well known such as "Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Poe, while others are lesser known stories written by luminaries such as Dickens, Dumas, Twain, etc.
We see the start of the concept of the "detective" as he appears in modern novels. The stories are all over the map and all have some of the foundations of modern detective stories. While this is a nice collection of some less-well-known stories, the Victorian style of writing can become slightly tedious. It is exceedingly verbose and can be dificult to read for modern readers. I, however, would recommend taking the time to read these ground-breaking short detective stories.
An interesting addition to my collection of anthologies. Any detective-story fan will appreciate this collection.
We see the start of the concept of the "detective" as he appears in modern novels. The stories are all over the map and all have some of the foundations of modern detective stories. While this is a nice collection of some less-well-known stories, the Victorian style of writing can become slightly tedious. It is exceedingly verbose and can be dificult to read for modern readers. I, however, would recommend taking the time to read these ground-breaking short detective stories.
An interesting addition to my collection of anthologies. Any detective-story fan will appreciate this collection.
December 17, 2012
As an avid reader of mysteries and literature, this collection was an amazing find. Sims has collected well known and little known mystery stories from the 1890s and put them all together in one place as well as writing a thoughtful introduction. Every story was a good read, some were scary and a few were even funny. I would recommend this book to someone who's read all of Doyle and Poe and is wondering what to read next. This provides a history lesson as well as chance to meet new authors.
September 16, 2021
An interesting collection of short stories of another era, this one is probably for aficionados of the genre. A casual fan might be bored by the quaintness of many of these very early stories. I was, by a few of them, and I’m a serious fan. So, casual acquaintance beware.
Most of the stories operate with the style of the detective being brought to the scene; decently intelligent or affable characters set the scene and express their confusion; the genius or unusually highly perceptive detective points out things a normal person couldn’t be expected to notice; said detective explains the connections, and by extension points out the idiocy of everyone else, and solves the case. Sometimes they also trip up the villain, often by the smallest clue (or, clew, in the earliest ones) or verbal bon mot, and they often end in the over-explanation, a la Scooby-Doo, really, where the chagrined villain rues the meddling detective and is led away. The best stories somehow step out of this pastiche. A few of them don’t punish the villain at all, especially when the villain seemed less villainous after the info dump. Some take advantage of the time or setting. Some, like Poe’s tale of the orangutan, you just have to go along for the ride.
There were a few stories like Poe’s, but you’ve got to enjoy the ride of those, or they fall flat. Poe’s story worked because he’s Poe, but many of the copycats fall flat. One that took place in the Australian outback fell flat for me, as did a few stories with a female detective, there just to be a female Sherlock.
“The Haverstock Hill Murder” was a good one, with a female detective, Dorcas, who refreshingly was not just a female Sherlock, though of course there were some Holmes touches, such as the many changes of disguise. “The Diary of Anne Rodway,” by Dickens pal Wilkie Collins, was very good, and also has a female detective. Dickens’s nonfiction piece, about an excursion with Inspector Field, written by Dickens in full Boz mode, was also good. Field, in fact, later became a popular Victorian character of fiction, and in some circles still is. G.K. Chesterton’s “The Hammer of God” is also very good. Very atmospheric, deceptively simple. Father Brown was a popular character, for good reason. Lastly, “The Crime of Big Tree Portage,” is good because it’s got the Sherlock Holmes of the Canadian woods. Very authentically peaceful scenes.
To each his own, of course, with anthologies like this, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t like the ones I liked. You may also like the ones I didn’t, I guess, but who doesn’t like Dickens, Collins, and the woods? I was a tiny bit disappointed that there weren’t a ton of concrete details and descriptions of things unique to the time, but of course we don’t write our present-day scenes with the aforethought that someone a hundred years later will pore through them for historically authentic detail.
Most of the stories operate with the style of the detective being brought to the scene; decently intelligent or affable characters set the scene and express their confusion; the genius or unusually highly perceptive detective points out things a normal person couldn’t be expected to notice; said detective explains the connections, and by extension points out the idiocy of everyone else, and solves the case. Sometimes they also trip up the villain, often by the smallest clue (or, clew, in the earliest ones) or verbal bon mot, and they often end in the over-explanation, a la Scooby-Doo, really, where the chagrined villain rues the meddling detective and is led away. The best stories somehow step out of this pastiche. A few of them don’t punish the villain at all, especially when the villain seemed less villainous after the info dump. Some take advantage of the time or setting. Some, like Poe’s tale of the orangutan, you just have to go along for the ride.
There were a few stories like Poe’s, but you’ve got to enjoy the ride of those, or they fall flat. Poe’s story worked because he’s Poe, but many of the copycats fall flat. One that took place in the Australian outback fell flat for me, as did a few stories with a female detective, there just to be a female Sherlock.
“The Haverstock Hill Murder” was a good one, with a female detective, Dorcas, who refreshingly was not just a female Sherlock, though of course there were some Holmes touches, such as the many changes of disguise. “The Diary of Anne Rodway,” by Dickens pal Wilkie Collins, was very good, and also has a female detective. Dickens’s nonfiction piece, about an excursion with Inspector Field, written by Dickens in full Boz mode, was also good. Field, in fact, later became a popular Victorian character of fiction, and in some circles still is. G.K. Chesterton’s “The Hammer of God” is also very good. Very atmospheric, deceptively simple. Father Brown was a popular character, for good reason. Lastly, “The Crime of Big Tree Portage,” is good because it’s got the Sherlock Holmes of the Canadian woods. Very authentically peaceful scenes.
To each his own, of course, with anthologies like this, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t like the ones I liked. You may also like the ones I didn’t, I guess, but who doesn’t like Dickens, Collins, and the woods? I was a tiny bit disappointed that there weren’t a ton of concrete details and descriptions of things unique to the time, but of course we don’t write our present-day scenes with the aforethought that someone a hundred years later will pore through them for historically authentic detail.
September 6, 2017
This was a fairly long compilation of short stories by various Victorian authors. At least as interesting as the stories themselves were the introductions by Michael Sims, giving a short background of the authors and the stories in their time. They were largely strong and enjoyable tales, although there was the one compulsory Holmes mockery story (a yawner by Bret Harte that shows up in nearly every holmes collection).
Several of the stories are by women, several featuring female detectives, more on that in a moment. Almost all of them are about private detectives, although there are a couple about the police, including one by Charles Dickens! One is simply news reports of the Ripper killings.
Some are better than others, but a few make me wish I could dig up more such as the James McGovan stories.
In particular interest were the stories of female detectives, including one official professional detective working openly and without shame or condemnation by anyone in the story. She is an employee for a detective agency and faces none of the stereotypical attitudes or reactions we're told these days must have been the case. In fact, the other female detective is not concerned about being thought of as less of a woman or condemnation, so much as hurting her social status by being associated with the police. I thought that pretty significant.
Several of the stories are by women, several featuring female detectives, more on that in a moment. Almost all of them are about private detectives, although there are a couple about the police, including one by Charles Dickens! One is simply news reports of the Ripper killings.
Some are better than others, but a few make me wish I could dig up more such as the James McGovan stories.
In particular interest were the stories of female detectives, including one official professional detective working openly and without shame or condemnation by anyone in the story. She is an employee for a detective agency and faces none of the stereotypical attitudes or reactions we're told these days must have been the case. In fact, the other female detective is not concerned about being thought of as less of a woman or condemnation, so much as hurting her social status by being associated with the police. I thought that pretty significant.
July 17, 2021
This is more of an historical treatise on the detective story. Sims compiled a fairly broad list of Victorian crime writers, many of whom I had not heard of, though of course I'm not an expert. Before each story, he gives a few pages of background on the writer and how they came to write the genre.
However, the stories themselves leave a lot to be desired. Obviously, many of the detectives are known in a series, and I can't help feeling that they would read a lot better if you knew them better. As it is, many of the stories are like weird non sequiters that don't interest or excite. I even skipped Dicken's chapter because it read like a stenographer's account rather than a story.
I should have consulted reviews before picking this one up.
However, the stories themselves leave a lot to be desired. Obviously, many of the detectives are known in a series, and I can't help feeling that they would read a lot better if you knew them better. As it is, many of the stories are like weird non sequiters that don't interest or excite. I even skipped Dicken's chapter because it read like a stenographer's account rather than a story.
I should have consulted reviews before picking this one up.
January 9, 2018
I enjoyed reading stories of authors that I had never heard of before, either because their work is little published today or through some other means. It is interesting to see some of the early women detectives as well as the established Sherlock Holmes and his ilk. There is a wide variety of types of detectives and locations where the crimes take place as well as the origins of the writers. If you are interested in the early days of mystery fiction this will delight the reader for its scope.
May 21, 2025
En general me ha gustado el libro. No me ha encantado porque es verdad que los libros de relatos no son lo mío pero este está muy bien. Me gusta que ponga una pequeña introducción de los autores y las historias están bien escogidas. La única pega que le pongo es que en el prólogo podrían haber puesto otro formato de texto o haberlo editado de otra forma, apenas hay párrafos y la letra es tirando a pequeña.
October 20, 2018
Aunque la idea de poner un capítulo de una obra más extensa no me ha gustado, los relatos en los que aparece el relato entero, la introducción, las biografías de los autores y la idea en sí de recopilar estos textos sí me ha parecido que merecía la pena. Lo recomiendo para pasar un buen rato entretenido.
August 11, 2019
Interesante antología de relatos protagonizados por mujeres detectives algo bastante inusual en la época victoriana. Como en toda antología hay relatos más interesantes o mejor elaborados que otros pero en general forman un conjunto más que interesante y recomendable para todos y no solo para los seguidores del género de detectives clásicos al mas fiel estilo de Sherlock Holmes o Miss Marple.
June 4, 2021
Me ha parecido una delicia este libro con una recopilación de relatos con las primeras detectives en la época victoriana. Casos sencillos y al mismo tiempo con gran atención al detalle, 'cozy crimes' de mujeres fuertes y decididas en una sociedad que las miraba con recelo. Un muy buena opción si os gustan las historias clásicas de detectives
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