{"id":4812,"date":"2017-11-19T21:16:57","date_gmt":"2017-11-19T21:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=4812"},"modified":"2017-11-19T21:16:57","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T21:16:57","slug":"master-madame-detectives-l-t-meade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/master-madame-detectives-l-t-meade\/","title":{"rendered":"Master & Madame: The Detectives of L T Meade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The supernatural horror that isn\u2019t; the most wicked women in the world, and emus. Everyone should read L T Meade<\/strong><\/span>, especially Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts. Not because of her brilliance per se, but because of the pivotal importance of the detective stories she wrote with Robert Eustace<\/strong><\/span>. In these, you will find the most brilliant and twisted female villains, murders by extraordinary means, and the tireless intertwining of evil across continents. Some say that she established the first female \u2018Moriarty\u2019, the first female leader of a Mafioso brotherhood, and even the first female occult detective. We shall explain\u2026<\/p>\n

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The Master – all shall be made clear later below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith<\/strong> (1844\u20131914), writing as L T Meade<\/strong>, was a clergyman\u2019s daughter from County Cork in Ireland. With more than 300 books and many magazine stories to her credit, she was widely read at the time, particularly because of her books for young people. She did however produce many adult romances, mysteries and thrillers, and the one we want to mention to day are in the latter categories, the results of a curious collaboration.<\/p>\n

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Eustace Robert Barton<\/strong> (1854\u20131943) was a doctor and writer from the south of England, who used the pen name Robert Eustace<\/strong>. If you\u2019ve heard of him in any other context, it\u2019s probably because he provided Dorothy L Sayers<\/strong> with the plot of her non-Peter Wimsey crime novel, The Documents in the Case<\/em>. Although she thought his plot and suggestions capital, she felt she hadn\u2019t done Eustace\u2019s ideas justice. We mention that because when we come to his collaborations with L T Meade, those stories certainly overflow with medical and scientific madness.<\/p>\n

Meade was vastly more prolific than Eustace, and we give her primary credit here because it seems likely that the bulk of the broad story flows from her fingers, whilst many of the convoluted technical twists must have come from her collaborator. In addition, their detective thrillers are notable for their strong female characters, and L T Meade was an early feminist (she was a member of the egalitarian women\u2019s Pioneer Club, which made no distinctions between class).<\/p>\n

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USELESS TRIVIA: The name of the Pioneer Club was drawn from a poem by that odd American poet, Walter Whitman<\/strong> (1819-1892), ‘Pioneers! O Pioneers!’. As a campaigner for abstinence, a man of broad sexual views and a bit of a loony, he was well-regarded in some progressive circles back then.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meade kept female characters to the fore in much of her work. Although we don\u2019t discuss them here, the L T Meade – Robert Eustace machine also wrote three tales of a palmist, Diana Marburg. These stories are highly unusual in that they utilise a degree of the supernatural \u2013 normally there is a practical explanation for all of L T Meade\u2019s mysteries. This short series was known as The Experiences of the Oracle of Maddox Street<\/em>, and was first published in Pearson\u2019s Magazine<\/em> in 1902.<\/p>\n

In addition, Meade and Eustace were responsible for the detective Florence Cusack stories, serialised in Harmsworth Magazine<\/em> between 1899-1902. In her female villains, she played away from any suggestion of old conniving crones or the commonplace. As you\u2019ll see below, her Ms Moriartys were charming, beautiful, talented and scientifically accomplished \u2013 and they succeeded, for the most part.<\/p>\n

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Today we can only give the broadest introduction to three particular sets of mystery thrillers which stand out, and we\u2019ll scribble a little about each to give you a taste. The inventiveness of late Victorian science is prominent in all three sets. Any occult detective enthusiasts should especially note the John Bell stories, in which, as a \u2018ghost exposer\u2019 he manages to prove that everything he encounters is non-occult. In fact, such is the peculiarity of some proofs that it might have been more believable to have just used the supernatural.<\/p>\n

The Brotherhood of the Seven Kings<\/h1>\n

“THAT a secret society, based upon the lines of similar institutions so notorious on the Continent during the last century, could ever have existed in the London of our day may seem impossible. Such a society, however, not only did exist, but through the instrumentality of a woman of unparalleled capacity and genius, obtained a firm footing. A century ago the Brotherhood of the Seven Kings was a name hardly whispered without horror and fear in Italy, and now, by the fascinations and influence of one woman, it began to accomplish fresh deeds of unparalleled daring and subtlety in London. By the wide extent of its scientific resources, and the impregnable secrecy of its organisations, it threatened to become, a formidable menace to society, as well as a source of serious anxiety to the authorities of the law.” (Intro to Brotherhood)
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This episodic novel should really be a classic. It can be read as a series of linked short stories, and began serialisation in The Strand<\/em> in January 1898. The highlight is Mme Koluchy, their first shot at creating a female Mistressmind, a truly wicked genius. Although the prime investigators are men, Mme Koluchy is the star \u2013 and in addition, later in the chase, a female detective is brought on board.<\/p>\n

Miss Beringer, that detective, is spoken of in terms of admiration throughout as a person to be reckoned with. The fact that one of the characters says, of Beringer, that there is \u201cnot a cleverer lady detective in the whole of London,\u201d is interesting, because it maintains L T Meade\u2019s clear message of women\u2019s capabilities. And it presses the point that, in fiction at least, professional men of the time are aware of the talents of \u201clady detectives\u201d, and see them as an established force for good.<\/p>\n

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As for Mme Koluchy, she is introduced as the head of an Italian-based criminal organisation, the eponymous Brotherhood of the Seven Kings. The main protagonist is a certain Norman Head, who had once been under the spell of Koluchy (known to him back then as Katharine) and a full member of the Brotherhood. A scientist and philosopher, he is aided by a lawyer friend, Colin Dufrayer in his hunt to make good his past and bring Koluchy to justice. But madame has inveigled her way into society.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is quite the most wonderful, delightful woman in existence. She, indeed, is a doctor to have confidence in. I understand that the men of the profession are mad with jealousy, and small wonder, her cures are so marvellous.\u201d (The Winged Assassin)<\/em><\/p>\n

As a novel or a short story collection, this is a jolly good read. It has a number of qualities which recommend it:<\/p>\n