Women in Mystery Fiction

One of the things I've found interesting in the field of mystery and crime fiction, today and yesterday, is the role women have played.

Since the early days, female authors such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers were able break through and acheive commercial and literary success during a period of time — and in a genre — where only men could succeed. What's more, they didn't have to do like their science ficiton counterparts, and assume pen names with initials and/or vague gender identity.

I doubt that things were all peaches and cream back in the day, but certainly things have changed.

Women have always had success in mystery fiction, but it seems to me the last 25 years or so has brought about some gender-defying writers.

Sue Grafton, Sarah Paretsky and others have very successfully crossed into private detective fiction — sometimes hardboiled detective fiction — and they do it with female characters who fight, float in and out of relationships, and really are all that unfamiliar in the genre.

Today, the mystery bestseller lists are filled with female writers, like always. But some, ranging from the two women above, to Faye Kellerman to P.D. James and a host of others are writing fiction that is definitely not the realm of cozy, crime solving cats, little old ladies and novels with no blood, gore, or dirtiness.