Sisters in Crime: Early Crime and Mystery Stories by Women

(Paperback)

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Description

Many of the leading writers of crime fiction are women Agatha Christie,Ruth Rendell et al but it still comes as a surprise to many that the firstfull-length detective novel was by one Metta Fuller whose The Dead Letter,under the alias Seeley Regester, appeared as far back as 1866, predatingWilkie Collins' The Moonstoneby two years.In fact, women writers were instrumental in developing the new genre ofdetective fiction. This anthology selects stories from the late Victorian andEdwardian era including anearly privatewoman detective and a story by the Australian writer Mary Fortune whohad written over 500 detective novels by the time Edward VII came to thethrone.

Reviews

"Ashley does his usual fine job in selecting and introducing the 11 entries . . . sure to appeal to fans of both Victorian fiction and ghost stories." --Publishers Weekly, on The Darker Sex
"This stellar collection showcases the brilliant imagination of a heretofore neglected generation of female writers." --Bust magazine, on The Dreaming Sex

Author Bio

Mike Ashley is a bibliographer, author, and editor of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy. He is the editor The Darker Sex, The Dreaming Sex, and the Mammoth Book series of short-story anthologies. He won the Edgar Award for The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction.