I chatted to Salma El-Wardany about 3 London locations which are important in the history of female sleuths, in the Breakfast Show’s weekly historian guest spot. We covered 37-38 the Strand (home to Detective Expert Antonia Moser in 1905), 231 Baker Street (where Annette Kerner opened the Mayfair Detective Agency in 1946), and 119 […]
I’ll be talking about female sleuths with former investigations reporter Urmee Khan at the London Library on February 29th.
I’ll be talking about the history of female sleuths, many of whom operated near Conway Hall in the 19th century, on March 24th, 2024.
I chatted to Sean Styles on BBC Radio Merseyside about the first women to work as private detectives and Liverpool’s own Zena Scott-Archer. Listen here
I chatted with Robert Elms on BBC Radio London about how I tracked down Victorian female sleuths, what crimes they solved, and the struggle to separate fiction from fact. Listen here.
The Liverpool Echo has featured Zena Scott-Archer and Private Inquiries in their Nostalgia pages, along with images from their archives. Read the article here.
I chatted with Alexis Conran about the story behind Private Inquiries, the first British woman to open her own agency, how women were squeezed out of the profession, and why the job appeals to so many women today. Listen here (around 2 hours in).
My best female private detective books of 2023, as featured on Shepherd. More here
‘Throughout history, the PI role has been seen as a job for an unshaven male in a raincoat in need of a talented dry cleaner, yet plenty of women have taken advantage of their social invisibility to excel…Caitlin Davies finds herself drawn to the idea of testing herself as a sleuth and while working […]
Private Inquiries was launched at the Sherlock Holmes pub in London, a fitting venue in which to thank the real life PIs who shared their stories in the book, and located just around the corner from where Victorian sleuth Antonia Moser became the first British woman to open her own detective agency. […]
I chatted to Mickey Noonan from Standard Issue about my training as a PI, the Victorian women who first became sleuths, and the modern women who do the job today. Listen here (39 minutes in)
Many of Britain’s first female private detectives operated from agencies in London, here’s a walking tour of 12 sites in the capital where sleuths of the past lived and worked. Read more
Private Inquires appears in the latest ‘Hot Off The Press’ from the Crime Writers’ Association.
Annette Kerner, the self-styled sleuth of the 1950s, features in this piece for the Crime Readers’ Association newsletter.
‘Pioneering women detectives are emerging from the shadows and gaining their rightful place in history books’. Dr Nell Darby, author of Sister Sleuths, reviews Private Inquiries. ‘Caitlin’s own attempts to be a private detective herself are hugely enjoyable (and) serve to highlight just how hard a job this was, and continues to be’. More […]
Private Inquiries appears in the current newsletter of the British Transport Police History Group, whose members generously responded to a request for help in terms of researching the history of female searchers. Read more here
Private Inquiries has featured on the Association of British Investigators’ website – with their former president Zena Scott-Archer on the book’s cover. Read more here
Zena Scott-Archer’s relative, Lyndsay Bird, has written a novel based on Zena’s detective cases in postwar Liverpool. It will be published by Matador in October 2023, pre order the book here, and more information here.
The Bookseller has featured Private Inquiries in its preview of books out in October, chosen by Caroline Sanderson.
A Q&A on the research behind Queens of the Underworld. Read here
I’ll be teaching a workshop on autofiction at the Margate Bookie’s Write Up!, on May 27th at 12pm. More info and booking here.
Swim, a new magazine for swimmers, includes my feature on Thames pioneers from the past, such as Agnes Beckwith who inspired Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World.
Why do we write when the monetary rewards are so low? I chatted to Melissa Benn for a feature in Mslexia magazine.
Vox is a series of bite-sized audio recordings in which Royal Literary Fund Fellows explore topics around writing. Listen here.
I’ll be talking about Holloway Prison and the history of women in the criminal justice system at the Woman Up Justice conference on March 4th. The conference is hosted by University of Cumbria School of Justice and organised by the voluntary events group Woman Up.
I’ll be talking about the history of Thames swimming at the West London Local History Conference on November 26th, a one-day virtual event with the theme ‘Play the Game’.
I’ll be joining Age UK Camden Book Club as guest author at the British Library on October 26th. The book under discussion this month is Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, followed by a talk and Q&A on Queens of the Underworld. This is a closed event, but there is more information […]
I chatted with Salma El-Wardany on BBC Radio London about the Queens of the Underworld, while Elizabeth Crawford discussed the suffragettes at Holloway Prison and Katie Fraser, Northern Services Manager at Women in Prison, explained the current situation of women in prison, as well as the future of the Holloway site. Listen here. […]
I’ll be talking about Queens of the Underworld at Conway Hall, a famed ‘hub for free speech and independent thought’ since the 1880s, as part of its Ethical Matters events held on Sunday afternoons. September 18th, London WC1R.
A chat with The Demented Goddess about Queens of the Underworld – revenge, racism and power. Read here