GENDER IN MYSTERY NOVELS

[Louis Phillips]

   In 1931, mystery writer Edgar Wallace, expressing his views on Robinson Crusoe showed himself to be
   a true male chauvinist when he stated that Robinson Crusoe  was a great book "because there are no
  women in it.'
     Now here is a pleasant parlour game (do we have parlours anymore??) -- Can you think of mystery novels
that contain characters of one gender, i,.e. casts only men or only women?  I have no answers for this one, but
I'd be happy to hear from readers who wish to contribute to a bibliography. is there a transgender detective?


  HOW ABOUT A FAMOUS MYSTERY THAT CONTAINS NO MEN AND NO WOMEN IN IT??

    Answer: The famous nursery rhyme -- "Who killed Cock Robin?"

[Alexandra Sokoloff]

I've just been in Belgium so Tintin is on my mind (also Kate's question about favorite young detectives...)

I guess it's debatable whether Herge's series is mystery or thriller, but it certainly has mystery elements, and I was aware even as a child of the distinct lack of women in most of those books. Except for a few walk-ons by landladies and proprietresses, and the recurring but not always present Bianca Castafiore (who had more of a drag quality.... ) those books were completely populated by men.

[Louis Phillips]

Yes Tin-TIN is an intriguing character, but he is male in, as you point out, a male dominated series.
RIN-TIN-TIN, however, was a solver of crimes. LASSIE too i guess.

Thank you.
Louis Phillips

[ocogdill]

In answer to the question about transgender authors. Yes there are some. Jenny Boylan is one who comes to mind. She wrote  Long Black Veil.

[Becke Davis]

I wrote a long reply to this thread a couple days ago and just as I tried to post it, my computer froze. I had to boot it and restart, and of course my comment vanished into the ether.

I tried to copy as much as I could before I shut it down. I'm frustrated that I can't think of any books that are entirely one gender. I went to Google for help, and found some interested posts:

https://electricliterature.com/10-lgbtq-crime-fiction-must-reads/

https://www.amazon.com/Gender-Bending-Detective-Fiction-Critical/dp/1476668205