HeyJaredSecret Sleuths
Investigating the history of private detectives, with Dr Nell Darby
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 6
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- Aug 10, 2026
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- Jul 6, 2026
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Hiding in the Shadows (opens the original)
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When I was researching my book on female detectives - link - I had a notebook containing the names of women I had found in the censuses, who I thought I could research further. One name never made it beyond these notes.This was Beatrice Craven, a woman described in the 1911 census as a 33-year-old widow, working as a detective and living in Hammersmith. She stated that she had been born in Bayswater, had been married a year, but had one child. The child was not living with her at this time.<div
The bribery detector (opens the original)
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In 1869, one private detective set up a private inquiry office that specialised in election work. Established by a man named William Henry Bailey - although he admitted that “he did not always take the same name” - he was working for at least five years in this role.*Bailey didn’t just undertake monitoring work during elections - he did do the usual work of detectives as well. Divorce cases, watching people’s houses and spouses were all part of his job, but it was for his election work that he g
Private detection in the 1890s (opens the original)
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In 1896, Reynolds’s Newspaper ran a feature on the role of private detective agencies, recognising that the public were greatly curious about the profession. This was not an unbiased report, as it was written by an anonymous private detective, but it provided an interesting analysis of the job.The article noted that earlier in the 19th century, ‘not a half-dozen [detective agencies] existed’, and that these charged up to two guineas a day for their services, then handing jobs out to their employ
The Singing Detective (opens the original)
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A lesser known female detective in the early 20th century was Margaret Cooke. In 1914, she appeared in court, suing another woman for ‘professional services’. The other woman was Marie Toulman, also known as Baroness de Wetzel. Toulman had sought to engage Margaret’s services in order to negotiate with financiers in order to obtain a loan for £550. Margaret charged her £31 for her services, but Toulman was not happy with the results, and refused to pay. In court, the two agreed that Toulman woul
The suffragist detectives (opens the original)
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A brief post today, looking at evidence of female private detectives being involved in the women’s suffrage movement.Women who worked as private detectives in the latter 19th century and earlier 20th were already breaking gender norms. They might be married or single, but they were taking on a role that was not only dominated by men, but one that was regarded with suspicion by many, particularly in the press.In fact, though, women had been detecting for centuries: either in an informal capacity
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