Book review : Catherine Pirkins' Loveday Brooke, detective.

The full title is : The experiences of Loveday Brook, Lady Detective.

These late 19^th century detective stories are little gems of literary archeology. Catherine Pirkins is a precursor of famous writers, such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, who will be published fifty years later.

I was tempted to say that the approach to her story telling is quite new, but given the date of publication, it can’t be “new”. However, it is certainly original.

First of all, the detective is a woman. Even nowadays, it would be unusual. In the 1870s and 1880s, it must have been revolutionary. Many a female reader must have identified with Loveday’s intelligence and stamina, and wondered why women were not considered as fully fledge members of their society in marital situations, banking and politics. In that respect, Catherine Pirkins is a courageous and likeable pioneer.  

The approach to crime-solving is also original. A crime is committed : theft, fraud or murder. In part 1 of each story, Loveday breezes in, and solves the riddle in no time at all… but we don’t know how. In part 2, she explains at length how she managed to catch the culprit : quite enjoyable, if somewhat repetitious.