The Experience of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective

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Catherine Louisa Pirkis (1841-1910) was a British author known for her detective stories featuring the formidable female sleuth, Loveday Brooke. Publishing as "C. L. Pirkis," she was one of the earliest notable female mystery writers, with a body of work that includes numerous short stories and 14 novels between 1877 and 1894. Loveday Brooke, who found herself penniless and nearly friendless at 24, embarked on a career as a private detective despite lacking "marketable accomplishments." Her unconventional methods caught the attention of Ebenezer Dyer, head of a detective agency, who praised her common sense as bordering on genius. Pirkis' stories are rich with classic British mystery elements such as false identities, disguises, ciphers, and plot twists. However, Loveday's approach often surprises, as she relies more on intuition and deduction than on meticulous scientific investigation. This leads to unexpected outcomes, with wrongdoers underestimating her at their peril. Readers have enjoyed following her adventures in "The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective," which includes classic short stories first published in "The Ludgate Monthly" in 1893, along with "Missing!" from the 1894 edition. The unabridged text is faithfully reproduced, featuring illustrations by Bernard Higham that reflect the style of British periodicals of the time.