The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective

From Wilkie Collins to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, our traditional image of the Victorian detective is male — few realise that real women detectives successfully investigated Victorian Britain, working both with the police (in Dundee, among other cities) and for private enquiry agencies, which they sometimes ran themselves. Sara Lodge recovers these forgotten women’s lives: from Elizabeth Joyes, who worked at St Bride’s police station and specialised in catching thieves, to Kate Easton, an actress-detective who worked out of Shaftesbury Avenue, often on cases involving sexual shenanigans. She tells the story of have-a-go heroines such as the brave Dundonian women Isabella and Jean Stewart, who became known as detectives in 1866 after successfully pursuing and apprehending the thief who mugged their father. Sara also explores the sensational role played by the cross-dressing, fist-swinging female detective in Victorian theatre. She will transport us into the murky underworld of Victorian society, revealing the female detective as both an unacknowledged labourer and a feminist icon.

Sara Lodge is Professor of Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture at the University of St Andrews. She is the author of four books and many articles: she writes regularly for papers including the Scotsman, the Times Literary Supplement and the Wall Street Journal. She is also an experienced radio broadcaster, whose documentaries have appeared on RTE Lyric FM and other stations. Her latest book, The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective was featured on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio London, in the Guardian, the Telegraph (which gave it five stars and dubbed it ‘a joy to read’), the Sunday Times (which called it ‘a revelation’) and the Scotsman (which picked it as one of the Scottish Books of the Year 2024). It has been shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize, Britain’s biggest prize for history writing. She’s now working on her next book, The Haunted Causeway: magic, pilgrimage and imagination on the paths to Britain’s tidal islands. She’s also hoping to turn her research on Victorian female detectives into a drama series.

Please note that this event follows the Annual General Meeting of the Abertay Historical Society, which starts at 6pm in Lecture Theatre 2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee. Non-members are welcome to attend the AGM (in which case please arrive before 6pm) or come afterwards (in which case please enter between 6.25 and 6.30pm). Donations are requested from non-members.

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