New Book - Detectives Victorianas by Michael Sims (Prologue)

 

First Published: January 1, 2011

This is a collection of detective stories involving women detectives in the Victorian period. The prologue is very interesting as we learn certain facts about the period.

Henry Fielding, the author of Tom Jones, was a magistrate who created Bow Street Runners, a group of men who arrested criminals, sent court summons and orders. 

Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and judge known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His famous novels include Shamela (1741), Joseph Andrews (1742), The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749) and Amelia (1751). He also played an important role in the history of law enforcement in the United Kingdom, using his authority as a magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners, London's first professional police force.

The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in 1749 by magistrate Henry Fielding.  His assistant, brother, and successor as magistrate, John Fielding, moulded the constables into a professional and effective force. The group was disbanded in 1839 and its personnel merged with the Metropolitan Police, which had been formed ten years earlier but the London metropolitan detective bureau trace their origins back from there. 

In 1829 the British Parliament passed a law to createe the Metropolitan Police. The Metropolitan Police Act 1829, introduced by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel, established the first modern, professional police force (the "Met") in London. Replacing an outdated system of parish constables, the Act created a central authority responsible for crime prevention, patrolling with uniformed officers—nicknamed "bobbies" or "peelers"—under Home Office control.

In 1842 the detective department was created. The Detective Branch of the London Metropolitan Police was formed on August 15, 1842. It was established to address criticisms that the Metropolitan Police (created in 1829) was solely focused on crime prevention rather than the investigation of crimes that had already occurred. 

In 1883 some women were hired to carry out the minor task of registering women criminals. 

The first detective story which involved a woman was The Female Detective. Published in 1864, The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester (a pseudonym for James Redding Ware) introduced "G.", widely considered the first professional female detective character in British fiction. 

Poe wrote the first detective novel, The Murder in the Rue Morgue. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story.

The prologue mentions elements that were seen in the detective novels and stories. One was the hansom. The hansom cab is a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle designed as a carriage for hire in London.

The train was also a creation of Victoirian times. Victoria was the first queen to travel on a train. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to travel by train, making her debut on June 13, 1842, from Slough to Paddington. Initially nervous, she grew to appreciate the speed and comfort, describing it as "delightful". She later commissioned luxurious private saloons for travel, particularly to Balmoral, and enforced strict safety speed limits.

The bicycle was a means of transport that was used by women, and that influenced the way they dressed. The bicycle has had a significant impact on the lives of women in a variety of areas. The greatest impact the bicycle had on the societal role of women occurred in the 1890s during the bicycle craze that swept American and European society. During this time, the primary achievement the bicycle gained for the women's movement was that it gave women a greater amount of social mobility. The bicycle impacted upper and middle class white women the most. This transformed their role in society from remaining in the private or domestic sphere as caregivers, wives, and mothers to one of greater public appearance and involvement in the community.