Shortlisted for The Wolfson History Prize 2025“Academic rigour paired with vivid storytelling. . . . A joy to read.”—Alice Loxton, The Telegraph“A revelation, upending assumptions about women’s supposedly marginal presence in the investigation of 19th-century crime.”—Joan Smith, Sunday Times“Ms. Lodge has a way with witty turns of phrase—one woman is ‘wise-cracking and safe-cracking.’ This book, too, is worth cracking if you want to know more about the forerunners of women in crime fiction.”—Katrina Gulliver, Wall Street Journal“Lodge has marshalled the treasures of her research with enormous skill and style, producing a book of true importance.”—Claire Harman, Literary Review“[A] marvellous piece of scholarly detective work.”—Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp, Brisbane Times“In this stirring and superbly researched corrective, the academic historian Sara Lodge challenges the view that all detectives were men. . . . Provides a fresh view of this fascinating historical subject.”—Unseen Histories, “New history books for September 2024”“[Lodge has] transformed our understanding of Victorian policing, casting women in roles that challenge the long-held assumption that policing was an exclusively male domain until the 20th century.”—Michael Alexander, The Courier“Lodge has created a rich source of information and interest for academics and crime fiction fans alike.”—Louise Fairbairn, The Scotsman“Deeply researched and written with wit and verve, it interrogates clues, examines evidence, and sleuths through sources to make a compelling case for women being far more embedded in crime detection in the Victorian era than has previously been acknowledged.”—Rebecca Rideal, BBC HistoryIncluded in The Scotsman’s “Best Scottish Books of the Year,” 2024“An interesting and thoughtful examination of the role of women in both real life and fictional detective work in Victorian England. Well researched and informative.”—Sarah Jackson Blog“A fascinating and eye-opening account of fictional and real-life female detectives and their sleuthing activities. Meticulously researched, this is a thought-provoking and comprehensive book, and a compelling read. Highly recommended!”—Angela Buckley, author of The Real Sherlock Holmes“Sara Lodge’s book is brilliantly well-suited to its subject. Painstakingly thorough, lit with flashes of inspired deduction, and adept at building a complete picture from fragments of evidence, it combines cultural criticism with social history to shed light on a neglected but fascinating feature of Victorian life.”—Sir Andrew Motion, poet, novelist, and biographer“Zippily written, deeply researched, game-changingly original, and full of clear-eyed wisdom about why the female detective matters, Lodge’s book races along like the detective stories at its heart. It will transform your view of the Victorian detective in literature and culture, and of so much more.”—Noreen Masud, author of A Flat Place“Who were these women? What kind of work did they do? Here they are, materialised from the archive—carrying out sting operations and undercover work, catching sugar-thieves, abortionists, fraudulent businessmen and dodgy bus-conductors. With this scholarly and richly entertaining book, Lodge has done more than answer that question—she has cracked the case.”—Matthew Sweet, author of Inventing the Victorians“A fascinating exploration of the world of female sleuths in both fact and fiction. Lodge writes with brio and wry humour—a delight to read.”—Matthew Rubery, author of The Novelty of Newspapers
