And as fictional detectors in The Vanished Bride they become part of a long line of brilliant women, both real and imagined, intent on seeking out the truth. Here are my top five favourite female detectives.

Unlike fictional detectives, Einstein and Smith weren’t neurotic geniuses who relied on their vast wealth of knowledge. For the most part, the pair became successful detectives because of their willingness to work long hours and their native knowledge of New York City life.

But for all their growing prevalence on screen and in literature, women detectives are hard to find in history books. So we searched the historical papers on Newspapers.com to bring you the...

If you love Miss Scarlet and The Duke and admire Eliza Scarlet’s unconventional career as a private detective, you’ll be amazed at history’s real female trailblazers!

The Secret History of the Girl Detective. Long before Nancy Drew, avid readers picked up tales of young women solving mysteries