Dyer's Detective Agency is consulted by Major Druce, who is concerned at the mysterious disappearance of his mother's attractive Swiss secretary, Lucie Cunier. Mr. Dyer assigns his best female detective, Loveday Brooke, to unravel the network of relationships caught up in the case... The story begins at 00:01:18

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Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:18 A Princess's Vengeance
00:51:10 Credits, thanks and further listening

Catherine Louisa Pirkis (1839–1910), often credited as C. L. Pirkis, was born Catherine Louisa Lyne to a middle class family in London. She became a prominent author of detective and mystery fiction in the last quarter of the 19th century, publishing 14 novels between 1877 and 1894, after which she gave up writing in order to focus on campaigning for animal rights. She co-founded, with her husband Frederick Edward Pirkis and some like-minded friends, the British National Canine Defence League, which still exists today under the name 'The Dogs Trust'. As a writer she is best remembered for her last published work, 'The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective', a short series of adventures featuring the eponymous sleuth, almost certainly the first female detective in fiction, and the first to be created by a female author. An insight into contemporary attitudes to the revolutionary nature of the character may be seen in an 1893 review in the Glasgow Herald, which, after praising Loveday Brooke's insights and detective skill, added "We are just afraid Miss Brooke is too clever in catching criminals ever to catch a husband." Almost inevitably "Miss Brooke" became known as "The female Sherlock Holmes"; she certainly shared Holmes' eye for detail and ability to see past the obvious solution to find the truth behind the crime.

Catherine Louisa Pirkis died after a long illness in October 1910, just two days before her husband also died; they were survived by their two children.

'A Princess's Vengeance' first appeared in May 1893 as part of 'The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective', the fourth instalment of a six-part series of stories printed in the Ludgate Monthly magazine between February and July 1893; the series was subsequently published in book form by Hutchinson in 1894.

Recording © Bitesized Audio 2023