On Saturday, August 16 at 10:30am, Catherine Crohan will talk about The History of Women Detectives in Fiction: The Early Years Through the 1960’s. There have been women detectives in fiction almost as long as the detective story has flourished. This talk looks at both amateur detectives and professionals. Interestingly, there were professional women detectives in fiction long before they existed in reality. Among the detectives to be discussed are Loveday Brooke (Catherine Louisa Pirkis), Lady Molly of Scotland Yard (Baroness Orczy), Dorcas Dene (George R. Sims), Miss Marple (Agatha Christie), Miss Climpson (Dorothy Sayers), and Susan Dare (Mignon C. Eberhart). Of note are the major contributions of author Anna Katharine Green.
Crohan is a librarian at Siena College in Loudonville, New York. She has spoken on topics related to the history of detective fiction to public library and other groups throughout New York’s Capital District. Her specialty is the history of women detectives in fiction.