The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective

Maud West ran her detective agency in London for more than thirty years, having starting sleuthing on behalf of society's finest in 1905. Her exploits grabbed headlines throughout the world but, beneath the public persona, she was forced to hide vital aspects of her own identity in order to thrive in a class-obsessed and male-dominated world. And - as Susannah Stapleton reveals - she was a most unreliable witness to her own life. Who was Maud? And what was the reality of being a female private detective in the Golden Age of Crime? Interweaving tales from Maud West's own 'casebook' with social history and extensive original research, Stapleton investigates the stories Maud West told about herself in a quest to uncover the truth. With walk-on parts by Dr Crippen and Dorothy L. Sayers, Parisian gangsters and Continental blackmailers, The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective is a portrait of a woman ahead of her time and a deliciously salacious glimpse into the underbelly of 'good society' during the first half of the twentieth century.

Product details

• Authors: Susannah Stapleton, SUSANNAH STAPLETON
• Publisher: Picador Uk
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.06.2019
• EAN: 9781509867301
• ISBN: 978-1-5098-6730-1
• No. of pages: 320
• Dimensions: 153 mm x 233 mm x 30 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Biographies, autobiographies; London, Greater London, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women, True Crime, European History, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Criminals & Outlaws, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Law Enforcement, 20th Century, TRUE CRIME / General, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Women, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / 20th Century, British & Irish history, Early 20th century c 1900 to c 1950