A lively exploration of the struggles faced by women in law enforcement and mystery fiction for the past 175 years
In 1910, Alice Wells took the oath to join the all-male Los Angeles Police Department. She wore no uniform, carried no weapon, and kept her badge stuffed in her pocketbook. She wasn't the first or only policewoman, but she became the movement's most visible voice.
Police work from its very beginning was considered a male domain, far too dangerous and rough for a respectable woman to even contemplate doing, much less take on as a profession. A policewoman worked outside the home, walking dangerous city streets late at night to confront burglars, drunks, scam artists, and prostitutes. To solve crimes, she observed, collected evidence, and used reason and logic-traits typically associated with men. And most controversially of all, she had a purpose separate from her husband, children, and home. Women who donned the badge faced harassment and discrimination. It would take more than seventy years for women to enter the force as full-fledged officers.
Yet within the covers of popular fiction, women not only wrote mysteries but also created female characters that handily solved crimes. Smart, independent, and courageous, these nineteenth- and early twentieth-century female sleuths (including a healthy number created by male writers) set the stage for Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski, Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta, and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone, as well as TV detectives such as Prime Suspect's Jane Tennison and Law and Order's Olivia Benson. The authors were not amateurs dabbling in detection but professional writers who helped define the genre and competed with men, often to greater success.
Pistols and Petticoats tells the story of women's very early place in crime fiction and their public crusade to transform policing. Whether real or fictional, investigating women were nearly always at odds with society. Most women refused to let that stop them, paving the way to a modern professional life for women on the force and in popular culture.
By:
Erika Janik
Imprint: Beacon Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 228mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 340g
ISBN: 9780807047880
ISBN 10: 0807047880
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 01 September 2018
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgements Introduction Note to the Teacher Note to the Student Part I: Selfhood and Identity Introduction 1. Jose Marti, Our America 2. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance 3. Jose Vasconcelos, The Cosmic Race 4. George Herbert Mead, The 'I' and the 'Me' 5. Marcus Garvey, Speech in Nova Scotia 6. Gloria Anzaldua, How to Tame a Wild Tongue 7. V.F. Cordova, What Is It to Be Human in a Native American World View? 8. V.F. Cordova, Credo: This I Believe 9. Gary Okihiro, Is Yellow Black or White? Further Reading Part II: Knowing and Learning Introduction 10. Selection from the Popol Vuh 11. Juana Ines de la Cruz, The Reply to Sor Philothea 12. Charles S. Peirce, The Fixation of Belief 13. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, On Education 14. Manuel Gonzalez Prada, Our Indians 15. Booker T. Washington, Building a School Around a Problem 16. Hubert Harrison, Negro Culture and the Negro College, English as She is Spoke, and Education Out of School 17. John Dewey, Education as Growth 18. Anisio S. Teixeira, Democracy and its Creative Achievement in Education: New Frontiers for International Cooperation 19. William R. Jones, The Legitimacy and Necessity of Black Philosophy 20. Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, Ch'ixinakax utxiwa: A Reflection on the Practices and Discourses of Decolonization Further Reading Part III: Aesthetics and Spirituality Introduction 21. William James, The Will to Believe 22. Mary Whiton Calkins, The Nature of Prayer 23. W.E.B. Du Bois, Criteria of Negro Art 24. Alain Locke, Art or Propaganda 25. Black Elk, The Great Vision 26. Risieri Frondizi, Basic Problems in Axiology 27. Oscar Romero, The Last Sermon 28. Vine Deloria, Jr., Sacred Places and Moral Responsibility 29. Angela Y. Davis, I Used to Be Your Sweet Mama: Ideology, Sexuality, and Domesticity 30. John J. McDermott, Why Bother: Is Life Worth Living? Experience as Pedagogical Further Reading Part IV: Ethics and Community Introduction 31. Benjamin Franklin, Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection 32. Margaret Fuller, Prevalent Idea that Charity is Too Great a Luxury to be Given to the Poor 33. Josiah Royce, Provincialism 34. Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference 35. Cesar Chavez, Address to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, November 9, 1984 36. David H. Kim, Orientalism and America Enlarged 37. Dale Turner, Oral Traditions and the Politics of (Mis)recognition 38. Luis Villoro, The Triple Confusion of Utopia 39. Gregory F. Pappas, The American Challenge: The Tension Between the Values of the Anglo and the Hispanic World Further Reading Part V: Violence and Peace Introduction 40. Pope Alexander VI, Inter Caetera 41. Elihu Coleman, A Testimony Against That Anti-Christian Practice of Making Slaves of Men 42. William Whipper, The Slavery of Intemperance 43. Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? 44. Henry David Thoreau, Slavery in Massachusetts 45. Young Joseph, An Indian's View of Indian Affairs 46. Jane Addams, Respect for Law 47. Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Lynching and the Excuse for It 48. Jose Carlos Mariategui, The Problem of the Indian 49. Aime Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism 50. Robert F. Williams, Speech from Peking Review 51. Mari J. Matsuda, Asian Americans and the Peace Imperative Further Reading Index
<b>Erika Janik</b> is an award-winning writer, historian, and the executive producer of <i>Wisconsin Life</i> on Wisconsin Public Radio. She's the author of five previous books, including <i>Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine</i>. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Reviews for Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction
A history of the intrepid women who ventured into male territory to solve crimes. Janik investigates nearly two centuries of policewomen, female detectives, and fictional sleuths in this lively look at women's adventuresome careers...Janik points out that sleuthing seemed a logical career for unmarried women, in both fact and fiction. Agatha Christie's clever, observant Miss Marple and Dorothy Sayers's 'quick-witted' Miss Katherine Climpson are two examples, among many others. Women broke through police ranks as well, first taking positions as matrons in police stations and prisons, where they forged connections to social workers...Janik creates vivid portraits of many feisty women, including contemporary TV detectives such as Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote and Jane Tennison of Prime Suspect. An entertaining history of women's daring, defiant life choices. --Kirkus Reviews A fascinating mix of the history of early policewomen and their role in crime fiction--positions that were then, and, to some extent even now, in conflict with societal expectations. --Library Journal A truly exceptional, inherently fascinating, consistently compelling, informed and informative read, Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction is an impressive and unique work of deftly written history combined with a thoughtful and thought-provoking literary study. --Midwest Book Review Fiction and reality meet and mingle in this fascinating work of cultural history. Who are the great female detectives in literature? Who were their historical precedents? How did they make their way in a predominantly male world, whether we're talking about the Pinkerton Detective Agency in 1861 or SVU on NBC? The best study of this hugely popular genre that I have ever read. --William Martin, author of Back Bay and The Lincoln Letter Erika Janik does a fine job tracing the history of women in police work while at the same time describing the role of females in crime fiction. The outcome, with a memorable gallery of characters, is a rich look at the ways in which fact and fiction overlap, reflecting the society surrounding them. A treat for fans of the mystery--and who isn't? --Katherine Hill Page, Agatha Award-winning author of The Body in the Belfry and The Body in the Snowdrift Vivid, engaging, and informative. Erika Janik presents a fascinating gallery of pioneering female crime solvers and the fictional heroines they inspired. --Daniel Stashower, Edgar Award-winning author of The Hour of Peril and Teller of Tales
