Secret Sleuths

Secret Sleuths

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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

January 2025

A warning to war widows
During World War 1, a Yorkshire private detective sought to benefit from the grief of women who had lost their husbands on the battlefields
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Dr Nell Darby
The further exploits of Dora
Two cases, 12 years apart, help build a picture of the jobs taken on by female detective Dora Ford
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Dr Nell Darby
Dora the Detective
One 1920s widow took up work as a private detective - and she was not an ordinary woman
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Dr Nell Darby
The murder of Emily Kaye
One private detective had a small but important role in catching a notorious 1920s killer
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Dr Nell Darby

December 2024

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