Phryne Fisher: A postcolonial female detective in Ruddy Gore (1995)

Abstract

Kerry Greenwood’s The Phryne Fisher Mystery Collection is formed by 19 novels set in 1928-1929 Australia and its main character is the Hon. Phryne Fisher, a young beautiful intelligent rich woman who works as a private detective. The seventh novel of this collection is Ruddy Gore (1995), which presents one of the most relevant characters in the series: Lin, and which includes a turning-point in the protagonist’s life.This article analyses the depiction of Miss Fisher as a postcolonial detective in the late 1920s Melbourne, and focuses on the constructs of gender and ethnicity in the creation of Miss Fisher and of Lin. This novel was adapted as a TV episode, aired by the Australia Broadcasting Corporation in 2012. This article also explores the way Phryne is depicted in the episode and how she interacts with some of the characters. The article aims to find out whether the adaptation creates a female detective as author Kerry Greenwood had envisioned, and whether this character breaks stereotypes or follows them.

Keywords

• crime fiction
• female detectives
• postcolonial studies
• racism
• Australia
• The Phryne Fisher Mystery Collection
• Miss Fisher ’ s Murder Mysteries