Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact

Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction

A lively exploration of the struggles faced by women in law enforcement and mystery fiction for the past 175 years

In 1910, Alice Wells took the oath to join the all-male Los Angeles Police Department. She wore no uniform, carried no weapon, and kept her badge stuffed in her pocketbook. She wasnâ€™t the first or only policewoman, but she became the movementâ€™s most visible voice.

Police work from its very beginning was considered a male domain, far too dangerous and rough for a respectable woman to even contemplate doing, much less take on as a profession. A policewoman worked outside the home, walking dangerous city streets late at night to confront burglars, drunks, scam artists, and prostitutes. To solve crimes, she observed, collected evidence, and used reason and logicâ€”traits typically associated with men. And most controversially of all, she had a purpose separate from her husband, children, and home. Women who donned the badge faced harassment and discrimination. It would take more than seventy years for women to enter the force as full-fledged officers.

Yet within the covers of popular fiction, women not only wrote mysteries but also created female characters that handily solved crimes. Smart, independent, and courageous, these nineteenth- and early twentieth-century female sleuths (including a healthy number created by male writers) set the stage for Agatha Christieâ€™s Miss Marple, Sara Paretskyâ€™s V. I. Warshawski, Patricia Cornwellâ€™s Kay Scarpetta, and Sue Graftonâ€™s Kinsey Millhone, as well as TV detectives such as Prime Suspectâ€™s Jane Tennison and Law and Orderâ€™s Olivia Benson. The authors were not amateurs dabbling in detection but professional writers who helped define the genre and competed with men, often to greater success.

Pistols and Petticoats tells the story of womenâ€™s very early place in crime fiction and their public crusade to transform policing. Whether real or fictional, investigating women were nearly always at odds with society. Most women refused to let that stop them, paving the way to a modern professional life for women on the force and in popular culture.
Country USA
Brand Beacon Press
Manufacturer Beacon Press
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 0807039381_used
Color Black
ReleaseDate 2016-04-26
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9780807039380

Country	USA
Brand	Beacon Press
Manufacturer	Beacon Press
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	0807039381_used
Color	Black
ReleaseDate	2016-04-26
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780807039380

Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction

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