The Female Detective


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(4.5 stars; 2 reviews)

This 1864 collection of stories is one of the first books featuring a female detective character. Andrew Forrester (pseudonym of James Redding Ware) presents himself as editor of these “memoirs,” though he is actually the author.

Our detective is anonymous, writing only as the first person “I,” beginning the introduction with, “Who am I? It can matter little who I am.” Her reason for writing the book is to show “…that the profession to which I belong is so useful that it should not be despised.” Throughout the stories, besides the events of her cases recounted, she weaves commentaries about detective work itself.

In these seven London-set stories, our detective methodically lays out her reasoning toward solutions of cases ranging from suspicious death whodunnits to identification of a bag of body parts to answering the question of whether a death even was a murder. Enjoy this entertaining example of early detective fiction! - Summary by Verla Viera (8 hr 9 min)

Chapters

Introduction 6:40 Read by Verla Viera
Tenant for Life, Part 1 20:38 Read by tshoes76
Tenant for Life, Part 2 17:41 Read by tshoes76
Tenant for Life, Part 3 21:10 Read by tshoes76
Tenant for Life, Part 4 15:05 Read by tshoes76
Tenant for Life, Part 5 19:59 Read by tshoes76
Tenant for Life, Part 6 22:37 Read by tshoes76
Tenant for Life, Part 7 15:47 Read by tshoes76
Georgy 26:06 Read by Winnifred Assmann
The Unraveled Mystery, Part 1 20:11 Read by Anna Krasuska
The Unraveled Mystery, Part 2 16:30 Read by Anna Krasuska
The Judgment of Conscience, Part 1 21:29 Read by Anna Krasuska
The Judgment of Conscience, Part 2 23:25 Read by Anna Krasuska
The Judgment of Conscience, Part 3 18:59 Read by Anna Krasuska
A Child Found Dead: Murder or No Murder, Part 1 20:05 Read by Melissa Griffin
A Child Found Dead: Murder or No Murder, Part 2 20:25 Read by Melissa Griffin
The Unknown Weapon, Part 1 22:15 Read by 112358Kate
The Unknown Weapon, Part 2 20:39 Read by 112358Kate
The Unknown Weapon, Part 3 20:26 Read by Belinda McReynolds
The Unknown Weapon, Part 4 20:14 Read by Belinda McReynolds
The Unknown Weapon, Part 5 23:05 Read by downeyzoo
The Unknown Weapon, Part 6 24:15 Read by downeyzoo
The Unknown Weapon, Part 7 26:38 Read by downeyzoo
The Mystery 25:05 Read by mleigh