CHAPTER ONE
Detecting Women
CHAPTER TWO
Sleuths in Skirts
CHAPTER THREE
Sisterhood Behind Bars
CHAPTER FOUR
Spinster Sleuth
CHAPTER FIVE
The First Policewomen
CHAPTER SIX
Girl Detectives
CHAPTER SEVEN
Breaking Through the Ranks
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hard-Boiled Heroes
CHAPTER NINE
From Mothers to Crime Fighters
CHAPTER TEN
Women Detectives Today
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTES
INDEX
Erika Janik is an award-winning writer, historian, and the executive producer of Wisconsin Life on Wisconsin Public Radio. She's the author of five previous books, including Marketplace of the Marvelous- The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
“A history of the intrepid women who ventured into male territory
to solve crimes. Janik investigates nearly two centuries of
policewomen, female detectives, and fictional sleuths in this
lively look at women’s adventuresome careers...Janik points out
that sleuthing seemed a logical career for unmarried women, in both
fact and fiction. Agatha Christie’s clever, observant Miss Marple
and Dorothy Sayers’s ‘quick-witted’ Miss Katherine Climpson are two
examples, among many others. Women broke through police ranks as
well, first taking positions as matrons in police stations and
prisons, where they forged connections to social workers...Janik
creates vivid portraits of many feisty women, including
contemporary TV detectives such as Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She
Wrote and Jane Tennison of Prime Suspect. An entertaining history
of women’s daring, defiant life choices.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A fascinating mix of the history of early policewomen and their
role in crime fiction—positions that were then, and, to some extent
even now, in conflict with societal expectations.”
—Library Journal
“A truly exceptional, inherently fascinating, consistently
compelling, informed and informative read, Pistols and Petticoats:
175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction is an impressive
and unique work of deftly written history combined with a
thoughtful and thought-provoking literary study.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Fiction and reality meet and mingle in this fascinating work of
cultural history. Who are the great female detectives in
literature? Who were their historical precedents? How did they make
their way in a predominantly male world, whether we’re talking
about the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1861 or SVU on NBC? The
best study of this hugely popular genre that I have ever read.”
—William Martin, author of Back Bay and The Lincoln Letter
“Erika Janik does a fine job tracing the history of women in police
work while at the same time describing the role of females in crime
fiction. The outcome, with a memorable gallery of characters, is a
rich look at the ways in which fact and fiction overlap, reflecting
the society surrounding them. A treat for fans of the mystery—and
who isn’t?”
—Katherine Hill Page, Agatha Award–winning author of The Body in
the Belfry and The Body in the Snowdrift
“Vivid, engaging, and informative. Erika Janik presents a
fascinating gallery of pioneering female crime solvers and the
fictional heroines they inspired.”
—Daniel Stashower, Edgar Award–winning author of The Hour of Peril
and Teller of Tales
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