Secret Sleuths

Secret Sleuths

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March 2025

Sergeant Standen and his family business
Standen's Detective Agency operated from the end of the 19th century until the end of World War 2: but who ran it?
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Dr Nell Darby
1
A matter of a name
How can you prove who someone was, when there might be more than one detective with a similar name, and that name might not even be their real one?
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Dr Nell Darby
None of their business
In the 1860s, there was dislike of the burgeoning private detective industry - and the newspapers made sure they expressed their concerns
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Dr Nell Darby
1
The sleuthing pub landlord
In inner city Birmingham, one man combined a job running a pub with another investigating local people...
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Dr Nell Darby
1
Borthwick & Mason: A family affair?
Who were the two 19th century private detectives who ran detective agencies in London and Glasgow, and could they have been keeping it in the family?
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Dr Nell Darby
1

February 2025

The detective, the alderman and the pub
In the 1880s, one private detective was commissioned to spy on local pub landlords. His commission would end in a lengthy prison sentence
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Dr Nell Darby
Press of the Yard: Gentleman, Detective, and Fraudster
Former police sergeant Henry Press put his private detective skills, and enjoyment of performing, to criminal use
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Dr Nell Darby
3
A demand for conjugal rights
One 1920s court case exposed allegations of drunkenness, adultery, and a dubious offer to a private detective
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Dr Nell Darby
1
Henry Slater, Britain's Greatest Private Detective
Once a household name, how and why did this private detective disappear?
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Dr Nell Darby
1
© 2025 Dr Nell Darby
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