The Experiences Of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective In Three Volumes

C. L. PIRKIS

Publication: Ludgate Monthly, 1892 -1894, London, 1892 - 1894

First edition. Three volumes. Contemporary cloth in very good condition and complete with all the other contents. The first appearances anywhere of all seven Loveday Brooke stories in Ludgate Monthly (1893–1894), and a rare item (fewer than five complete copies on OCLC, none at auction), preceding the more common book edition by a year. A collection of stories first published in The Ludgate Monthly, London, November - 1892 to April, 1893. Loveday Brooke is the first female detective created by a woman writer. Catherine Louisa Pirkis published stories about this smart, spirited sleuth in the 1880s, and they were collected into this anthology in 1894. In these tales Loveday takes on cases involving wayward nuns, missing debutantes, a mysterious princess, and a ghost who resembles Napoleon, among other strange phenomena. Travel back with Victorian female sleuth Loveday Brooke to the days of the shirtwaist, the top hat, and the carriage. Follow her exploits as she solves the case of "The Black Bag Left on the Door-Step," the riddle of "The Murder at Troyte's Hill," the crime of "The Redhill Sisterhood," the problem of "A Princess's Vengeance," the puzzle of "The Ghost of Fountain Lane," and other baffling mysteries. Pirkis created a character that cast aside Victorian gender expectations as a capable detective, displaying intelligence, analytical skills, and resourcefulness. A rare and desirable set.