The Woman Detective in Popular Culture

Generations of readers have enjoyed Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, and legions of spunky amateur female sleuths who picked up a flashlight to creep through the attic. But the 1980s brought a new heroine to the best seller list: the professional woman detective who gets her man with an arrest warrant or a bullet to the heart. This talk by Linda Mizejewski, author and Distinguished Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Ohio State University, explores this new woman detective character and her bumpy transition to the box office and network television, where grit has often been traded for glamour. Topics include bestselling writers Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwell, television series from “Charlie’s Angels” to “Cold Case,” and films such as “The Silence of the Lambs.” Funding for this program was made possible by Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. To register for the in-person event at the McKinley Birthplace Home, 40 S. Main St., Niles, please call (330) 652-1704, ext. 3. If unvaccinated, please wear a mask. To register for the virtual event on Zoom, please visit www.mcklib.org/Woman-Detective.