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Le avventure di Dorcas Dene. Una detective a Londra
For actress-turned-detective, Dorcas Dene, no case is too small - from missing heirs to villainous murders, from petty blackmail to international anarchist plots! Ably assisted by her husband Paul and her faithful friend and chronicler, Mr. Saxon, Dorcas takes on the seedier side of late-Victorian society in these thrilling cases.
Long out of print, George Robert Sims's stories are highly regarded amongst connoiseurs of crime fiction. Originally published in two series between 1897 and 1898, readers can rediscover the complete casebook in this specially-formatted Kindle edition!
Long out of print, George Robert Sims's stories are highly regarded amongst connoiseurs of crime fiction. Originally published in two series between 1897 and 1898, readers can rediscover the complete casebook in this specially-formatted Kindle edition!
Paperback
First published January 1, 1897
12 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
George Robert Sims
148 books6 followersGeorge Robert Sims was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and bon vivant.
Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for Fun magazine and The Referee, but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums. A prolific journalist and writer he also produced a number of novels.
Sims was also a very successful dramatist, writing numerous plays, often in collaboration, several of which had long runs and international success. He also bred bulldogs, was an avid sportsman and lived richly among a large circle of literary and artistic friends. Sims earned a fortune from his productive endeavours but had gambled most of it away by the time of his death.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...]
Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for Fun magazine and The Referee, but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums. A prolific journalist and writer he also produced a number of novels.
Sims was also a very successful dramatist, writing numerous plays, often in collaboration, several of which had long runs and international success. He also bred bulldogs, was an avid sportsman and lived richly among a large circle of literary and artistic friends. Sims earned a fortune from his productive endeavours but had gambled most of it away by the time of his death.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...]
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 9, 2017
Excellent little stories, formulaic with no great surprises but fun to read - if only to gain a glimpse into Edwardian society where ladies still wore veils and gentlemen who kept a most 'irregular establishment' were indulged, provided they married the wench eventually and didn't cheat at cards.
March 21, 2021
Dorcas Dene, Detective has enjoyed a sort of revival because there seems to be a renewed interest in female detectives of the latter 19th/early 20th century; the "female Sherlocks." Dene is an actress who left the stage when she married, and was persuaded to try detective work by a neighbor, a retired police superintendent. Though she is initially reluctant, she sees it as a means to support herself, her mother and her husband, who had been an artist before he lost his sight.
I have read many of them, and the character of Dorcas Dene seems to be the closest to Holmes. Perhaps because author George Sims, who wrote novels and plays as well as detective stories, was an avid student of psychology who was an acquaintance of Conan Doyle.When the retired police superintendent asks for her assistance on a case, though Dene balks at a job that would demand "any sacrifice of my womanly instincts," she agrees to take on a case. "You have plenty of shrewd common sense, you are a keen observer and you have been an actress," the former superintendent tells her, very Holmsian qualities and ones that serve her through adventures that require logic, observation and a knack for disguise.
Her "Watson" - that is, her narrator - is the dramatist who had first employed her and renews the acquaintance some years after she leaves the stage. As puzzle mysteries, the adventures are in keeping with many of that era, and some of the stories suffer for having the business of sleuthing recounted in long narration, rather than as it occurs. But Dene is a solid and engaging character and stands out among many of the "lady detectives" of the era.
December 24, 2024
When is the last time you heard a writer described as a "bon vivant"? I know those killer publicity tours demanded by modern publishers would turn me into a hermit. Maybe they have that effect on the writers who must endure them to sell books.
I'd never heard of George Sims, but he was a nice guy. Although born into wealth himself, he cared about the poor at a time when such compassion was rare. The Victorian Era brought prosperity to England and life was good for the growing middle class. Not for working families, who were paid as little as possible, while their children had no educational opportunities to lift them out of povery.
Conditions in London slums were horrible and Sims wrote poems, books, and plays to bring them to the attention of more fortunate people. So did Arthur Morrison - creator of genial detective Martin Hewitt and monstrous, but fascinating Horace Dorrington. I admire these men who could so easily have looked the other way, but instead used their platforms to call attention to the needs of the less fortunate.
Sherlock Holmes wasn't the only P.I. in gas-lit London. Even women were getting into the act. Lady detective Loveday Brooke is my favorite, but Sims' Dorcas Dene is a corker. Like Holmes, Dorcas solves mysteries with her keen eye for detail. She doesn't just SEE what's in front of her, she pays attention to its meaning.
Most of the female 'tecs then were single women or widows, but Dorcas is married and her husband Paul is a fine character. Not to mention her out-spoken mother, who's never shy about voicing HER opinions. The three of them bring intelligence, creativity, and common sense to the mysteries that Dorcas solves for the detective agency that employs her.
Playwright/producer Saxon is Dr Watson, helping with the footwork and then writing up the cases. With his gift for languages and Dorcas' talent for convincing disguises, they're a formidable team. No wonder Scotland Yard's top men are impressed.
These stories were serialized in magazines in 1897 and '98 and they're LONG by modern standards. What looks like twenty stories in the table of contents is actually ten stories. Most have two chapters and a few have three. Don't worry. You'll get your ninety-nine cents worth and more.
There are tales of wronged wives and missing jewelry. One husband has been accused of murdering his wife, but his mother hires Dorcas to prove him innocent. A doting father is horrified when his daughter is almost killed. Worse, she appears to be shielding the man who attacked her. The heir to a European throne is missing. Kidnapped or out for a night on the town?
Unlike some old mysteries that deal only with rich aristocrats, Sims' characters come from a variety of backgrounds. There's that AWOL prince, but Dorcas also interrupts a much-needed vacation to help a poor widow whose beloved daughter has mysteriously disappeared.
Apparently, Sims didn't share the common English distaste for self-made men. Judkins Barraclough is a "new money" millionaire and he's a stinker. But Sir Joshua Broome turned a small business into a prosperous one and his knighthood is a political plum. Furthermore, Lady Broome is a former governess. Both are admirable and I was delighted when Dorcas was able to help them out of a sticky situation.
Great emphasis is placed on Dorcas' womanliness and delicate feelings, but she has a nice line in cynicism, too. When her friend protests that a clients is compounding a felony by covering up an old family misdeed, she shrugs. "My dear Mr Saxon, if everybody did the legal thing and the wise thing, there would be very little work left for a lady detective."
Well-said, Mrs Dene. Never bite the hand that feeds you. This is a charming book. I'm looking forward to reading Sims' "Memoirs of a Mother-in-Law." I enjoyed Dorcas' out-spoken mother and the narrator of "Memoirs" sounds very similar.
I'd never heard of George Sims, but he was a nice guy. Although born into wealth himself, he cared about the poor at a time when such compassion was rare. The Victorian Era brought prosperity to England and life was good for the growing middle class. Not for working families, who were paid as little as possible, while their children had no educational opportunities to lift them out of povery.
Conditions in London slums were horrible and Sims wrote poems, books, and plays to bring them to the attention of more fortunate people. So did Arthur Morrison - creator of genial detective Martin Hewitt and monstrous, but fascinating Horace Dorrington. I admire these men who could so easily have looked the other way, but instead used their platforms to call attention to the needs of the less fortunate.
Sherlock Holmes wasn't the only P.I. in gas-lit London. Even women were getting into the act. Lady detective Loveday Brooke is my favorite, but Sims' Dorcas Dene is a corker. Like Holmes, Dorcas solves mysteries with her keen eye for detail. She doesn't just SEE what's in front of her, she pays attention to its meaning.
Most of the female 'tecs then were single women or widows, but Dorcas is married and her husband Paul is a fine character. Not to mention her out-spoken mother, who's never shy about voicing HER opinions. The three of them bring intelligence, creativity, and common sense to the mysteries that Dorcas solves for the detective agency that employs her.
Playwright/producer Saxon is Dr Watson, helping with the footwork and then writing up the cases. With his gift for languages and Dorcas' talent for convincing disguises, they're a formidable team. No wonder Scotland Yard's top men are impressed.
These stories were serialized in magazines in 1897 and '98 and they're LONG by modern standards. What looks like twenty stories in the table of contents is actually ten stories. Most have two chapters and a few have three. Don't worry. You'll get your ninety-nine cents worth and more.
There are tales of wronged wives and missing jewelry. One husband has been accused of murdering his wife, but his mother hires Dorcas to prove him innocent. A doting father is horrified when his daughter is almost killed. Worse, she appears to be shielding the man who attacked her. The heir to a European throne is missing. Kidnapped or out for a night on the town?
Unlike some old mysteries that deal only with rich aristocrats, Sims' characters come from a variety of backgrounds. There's that AWOL prince, but Dorcas also interrupts a much-needed vacation to help a poor widow whose beloved daughter has mysteriously disappeared.
Apparently, Sims didn't share the common English distaste for self-made men. Judkins Barraclough is a "new money" millionaire and he's a stinker. But Sir Joshua Broome turned a small business into a prosperous one and his knighthood is a political plum. Furthermore, Lady Broome is a former governess. Both are admirable and I was delighted when Dorcas was able to help them out of a sticky situation.
Great emphasis is placed on Dorcas' womanliness and delicate feelings, but she has a nice line in cynicism, too. When her friend protests that a clients is compounding a felony by covering up an old family misdeed, she shrugs. "My dear Mr Saxon, if everybody did the legal thing and the wise thing, there would be very little work left for a lady detective."
Well-said, Mrs Dene. Never bite the hand that feeds you. This is a charming book. I'm looking forward to reading Sims' "Memoirs of a Mother-in-Law." I enjoyed Dorcas' out-spoken mother and the narrator of "Memoirs" sounds very similar.
August 7, 2020
Dorcas Dene was a beginning actress strong in using various impersonations, but she left the stage when she married the young and promising artist Paul Dene. Then Paul had an illness and became blind, so Dorcas Dene again had to look out for an occupation to make both ends meet. As chance would have it, next door lived a retired superintendent of police, who conducted a high-class inquiry business, and Dorcas started working for him as a lady detective.
Dorcas is an attractive woman, with soft grey eyes, who is a master of disguise. The earliest tales occasionally become sentimental (much is made of poor Paul’s blindness), but this element is fortunately reduced as the stories progress and the husband is moved offstage.
Dorcas shows outstanding detective skills and relies on leg work and professionalism. She always uses real detection to solve her cases, never guess work or coincidence. She impresses the reader as a highly intelligent, gifted woman excelling in her profession. She therefore enjoys the respect of Scotland Yard.
The stories are told by Mr Saxon, an elderly dramatist who originally introduced Dorcas Dene to the stage, but who now acts as her assistant and trusted chronicler. Interesting is how Dorcas orders her "Watson" around, directing and planning his activities - the unusual thing for the 19th century is of course that we have a woman giving a man orders. This portrait of an able woman boss is much in advance of its time.
George R. Sims (1847-1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist and novelist. Sims started out as a satirist, but soon concentrated on social reform. He was an avid sportsman and had a large circle of artistic friends. Sims was interested in the psychology of crime, and he penned some ingenious detective stories. Sims liked to discuss actual criminal cases with Max Pemberton and Arthur Conan Doyle, such as the murders of Jack the Ripper.
Dorcas Dene was featured in two case books, Dorcas Dene, Detective, First Series (1897) and Second Series (1898), written in a somewhat Holmesian vein. The mysteries are well plotted and logically presented - they are also often quite inventive and hold up very well to other stories about the “rivals” of Sherlock Holmes.
Only the "origin story" "The Council of Four" is disappointing, as Dorcas Dene is shown in strict Victorian style as subservient to the intellect of her husband. Happily, this pretense is discarded in the other stories, where Dorcas Dene is the major intellect and "boss" who orders her male assistant around. Some of my favorite stories are "The Man With the Wild Eyes," "The Diamond Lizard" and "The Mysterious Millionaire" - but all stories are fun to read.
Dorcas is an attractive woman, with soft grey eyes, who is a master of disguise. The earliest tales occasionally become sentimental (much is made of poor Paul’s blindness), but this element is fortunately reduced as the stories progress and the husband is moved offstage.
Dorcas shows outstanding detective skills and relies on leg work and professionalism. She always uses real detection to solve her cases, never guess work or coincidence. She impresses the reader as a highly intelligent, gifted woman excelling in her profession. She therefore enjoys the respect of Scotland Yard.
The stories are told by Mr Saxon, an elderly dramatist who originally introduced Dorcas Dene to the stage, but who now acts as her assistant and trusted chronicler. Interesting is how Dorcas orders her "Watson" around, directing and planning his activities - the unusual thing for the 19th century is of course that we have a woman giving a man orders. This portrait of an able woman boss is much in advance of its time.
George R. Sims (1847-1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist and novelist. Sims started out as a satirist, but soon concentrated on social reform. He was an avid sportsman and had a large circle of artistic friends. Sims was interested in the psychology of crime, and he penned some ingenious detective stories. Sims liked to discuss actual criminal cases with Max Pemberton and Arthur Conan Doyle, such as the murders of Jack the Ripper.
Dorcas Dene was featured in two case books, Dorcas Dene, Detective, First Series (1897) and Second Series (1898), written in a somewhat Holmesian vein. The mysteries are well plotted and logically presented - they are also often quite inventive and hold up very well to other stories about the “rivals” of Sherlock Holmes.
Only the "origin story" "The Council of Four" is disappointing, as Dorcas Dene is shown in strict Victorian style as subservient to the intellect of her husband. Happily, this pretense is discarded in the other stories, where Dorcas Dene is the major intellect and "boss" who orders her male assistant around. Some of my favorite stories are "The Man With the Wild Eyes," "The Diamond Lizard" and "The Mysterious Millionaire" - but all stories are fun to read.
August 1, 2023
Questo libro è stato una vera novità, per una come me che ama perdersi in storie elaborate dove l'autore spinge continuamente il lettore a porsi delle domande, su chi sia il colpevole.
È la prima volta che mi imbatto su Dorcas Dene. Un incontro del tutto casuale se così lo si può definire.
“Il caso è il miglior detective che si conosca" dice Dorcas Dene al suo assistente Mr. Saxon. Dal mio punto di vista lei è la migliore detective che si conosca e lo è per caso, visto che sulla scena del delitto è arrivata dritta dal teatro (faceva l'attrice), in un periodo storico in cui le donne non avevano alcuna voce in capitolo in situazioni gestite da soli uomini.
Alter Ego femminile del maestro indiscusso del mistero di tutti i tempi Sherlock Holmes.
In alcune parti del testo si evince lo stretto legame tra i due.
Da Mr. Saxon, che inevitabilmente rimanda al celebre Mr. Watson.
In conclusione, Dorcas Dene è una donna acuta,abilissima nei travestimenti, dall'animo nobile sempre pronta a smascherare i cattivi della situazione con grande destrezza e parsimonia. Mrs.Dene vi piacerà!
Consigliatissimo. Buona lettura!
È la prima volta che mi imbatto su Dorcas Dene. Un incontro del tutto casuale se così lo si può definire.
“Il caso è il miglior detective che si conosca" dice Dorcas Dene al suo assistente Mr. Saxon. Dal mio punto di vista lei è la migliore detective che si conosca e lo è per caso, visto che sulla scena del delitto è arrivata dritta dal teatro (faceva l'attrice), in un periodo storico in cui le donne non avevano alcuna voce in capitolo in situazioni gestite da soli uomini.
Alter Ego femminile del maestro indiscusso del mistero di tutti i tempi Sherlock Holmes.
In alcune parti del testo si evince lo stretto legame tra i due.
Da Mr. Saxon, che inevitabilmente rimanda al celebre Mr. Watson.
In conclusione, Dorcas Dene è una donna acuta,abilissima nei travestimenti, dall'animo nobile sempre pronta a smascherare i cattivi della situazione con grande destrezza e parsimonia. Mrs.Dene vi piacerà!
Consigliatissimo. Buona lettura!
November 19, 2025
Questo libricino dimostra due cose: è possibilissimo faticare per terminare un libro molto breve e, per altro, che contiene racconti gialli; non tutti i ricchi vittoriano sapevano scrivere come Dickens.
Si tratta di una breve raccolta di racconti nessuno di questi interessante ma tutti intrisi di stereotipi veramente fastidiosi. Che la detective sia donna in epoca vittoriana capiamo da soli sia evento particolare, che il suo autoproclamato assistente non faccia altro che segnalare differenze di genere ridicole e come lei riesca ad essere detective donna indipendente ma contemporaneamente moglie amorevole è veramente stucchevole.
Le trame mystery, poi, non sono affatto misteriose perché si capisce dopo un secondo chi sia il colpevole e come andrà la vicenda e l'indagine è non solo inutile ma ridicola perché sembra che gli indizi vengano messi sulla strada della detective come briciole di pollicino: tanta volontà e pochissimo caso.
In ultimo il fatto che ogni singola volta che la donna si traveste il suo assistente inevitabilmente non la riconosca e rimanga scioccato dallo scoprire la sua vera identità fa veramente ridere, neanche Zorro e Superman così bravi con i travestimenti.
Si tratta di una breve raccolta di racconti nessuno di questi interessante ma tutti intrisi di stereotipi veramente fastidiosi. Che la detective sia donna in epoca vittoriana capiamo da soli sia evento particolare, che il suo autoproclamato assistente non faccia altro che segnalare differenze di genere ridicole e come lei riesca ad essere detective donna indipendente ma contemporaneamente moglie amorevole è veramente stucchevole.
Le trame mystery, poi, non sono affatto misteriose perché si capisce dopo un secondo chi sia il colpevole e come andrà la vicenda e l'indagine è non solo inutile ma ridicola perché sembra che gli indizi vengano messi sulla strada della detective come briciole di pollicino: tanta volontà e pochissimo caso.
In ultimo il fatto che ogni singola volta che la donna si traveste il suo assistente inevitabilmente non la riconosca e rimanga scioccato dallo scoprire la sua vera identità fa veramente ridere, neanche Zorro e Superman così bravi con i travestimenti.
August 13, 2018
A book written in 1897 and 1898 about a "lady detective"! That's amazing in itself. Interesting tales of an intelligent and resourceful detective and an innovative way of putting a woman as a leader of men. If in our days women's roles are still questioned, let's imagine what it was in the 19th century. Some of the stories give us evidence of the social frame, like the one in which a divorce is the key to the plot, in which the woman is in terror of her reputation because of an alleged lover. I read this kind of book not only as entertainment, but as an era's witness.
July 24, 2023
Needs her own Netflix series
What a great find. Not the most sophisticated mysteries ever written, but everyone with an interest in the genre should know about the 'female Sherlock Holmes".
What a great find. Not the most sophisticated mysteries ever written, but everyone with an interest in the genre should know about the 'female Sherlock Holmes".
May 30, 2017
Short stories all very much of the same ilk. Quite disappointing. Won't bother reading any others.
Want to read
July 21, 2023Read so far--
The Council of Four--
The Helsham Mystery--
The Man with the Wild Eyes--2
The Secret of the Lake--
*The Diamond Lizard--
The Prick of a Pin--
The Mysterious Millionaire--
The Empty House--
The Clothes in the Cupboard--
The Haverstock Hill Murder--3
The Brown Bear Lamp--
The Missing Prince--
The Morganatic Wife--
The House in Regent's Park--
The Co-respondent--
The Handkerchief Sachet--
A Bank Holiday Mystery--
A Piece of Brown Paper--
Presented to the Queen--
The One Who Knew--
The Council of Four--
The Helsham Mystery--
The Man with the Wild Eyes--2
The Secret of the Lake--
*The Diamond Lizard--
The Prick of a Pin--
The Mysterious Millionaire--
The Empty House--
The Clothes in the Cupboard--
The Haverstock Hill Murder--3
The Brown Bear Lamp--
The Missing Prince--
The Morganatic Wife--
The House in Regent's Park--
The Co-respondent--
The Handkerchief Sachet--
A Bank Holiday Mystery--
A Piece of Brown Paper--
Presented to the Queen--
The One Who Knew--
Want to read
September 20, 2018Synopsis: for actress-turned-detective, Dorcas Dene, no case is too small; this is her complete casebook.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews