The Experience of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective

When Loveday Brooke falls from her place in London high society, losing her financial security, she has no choice but to become a working woman. Set in the Victorian era, it is considered unusual and even shameful for a woman to participate in the workforce, but when Brooke proves her ability, no man can deny or ignore her talent. Beginning a career as a detective, Brooke becomes the go-to police consultant for any case that seems unsolvable. The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective is a collection of seven short stories, each portraying an individual mystery, varying crimes and intrigue. The Black Bag on the Doorstep is the first title in the collection, and follows a Christmas Eve robbery. Featuring a more heinous crime, The Murder at Troyte’s Hill depicts a murder mystery after a local lodge-keeper is found dead in a ransacked room. Challenged with one of her most puzzling mysteries, Brooke attempts to find a young girl who vanished without a trace in the fan-favorite story, Missing. Unable to find a lead even after ten days of searching, the police are ready to give up, but Loveday Brooke is determined to reunite the girl with her family.

With an original approach to the mystery genre, The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective was among Catherine Louisa Pirkis’ most popular work. Often compared to Sherlock Holmes, Loveday Brooke remains to be a beloved and memorable character from the detective fiction genre, and is one of the earliest depictions of a woman working in the detective field in literature. With mysteries ranging from crimes of theft, murder, kidnap, and conspiracy, The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective provides a fun and fresh reading experience, as it has remained to be progressive and intriguing nearly one-hundred and thirty years after its original publication.

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