Miss Fisher's murder mysteries

Yes, it’s really interesting to realise that all the men over 30 and a good proportion of the women will probably be suffering from PTSD

Phryne has a Chinese lover in the books, Lin Chung

She does in the series too, for one episode at least. That's where I'm up to, so I've not RTFT in case of accidental spoilers.

DH has put it into the same 'light' murder mystery category as death in paradise and midsummer murders; at this early stage, I'm finding there's more to it, partly because of the strong female leads but also the time and place - aftershocks of WWI, for instance.

Thanks for starting this thread op. I've now got past episode 4 and I'm totally addicted. It's actually really really good and I love Phryne being so capable and amazing. So refreshing.

The courtesan thing I can see, the toad I cannot.

I think a weakness in the whole thing is how unattractive all the men are.

Phryne is named after a famous courtesan. Her name was supposed to be Psyche, but her father was drunk when he registered her name.
One thing that annoys me in the show is the romantic relationship between Phryne and Jack, in the books they're just friends.

Just looked up the name Phryne. It's from the Greek for toad. How unkind.

Many thanks for the books link, Ali !

Canadian tv has some excellent feminist style tv shows.

Shameless place mark.

A while ago someone kindly linked a Guardian article listing some the best female crime writers and I've been steadily working through the list on Audible. Its been really enjoyable - my thanks to that poster.

www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/16/50-great-thrillers-by-women-agatha-christie-gillian-flynn-val-mcdermid

I love how Phryne’s starting point is always to be kind to women and to support them

I also love the dynamic between her and Jack (obvs). I found it quite puzzling until I thought of it as the traditional monogamous woman/non-monogamous man dynamic, where she holds back to avoid getting hurt

I tried the first ep ages ago but I thought the acting was bad so didn't watch anymore. Might try and get past the first 4 eps then.

I really like Murdoch Mysteries which is based around a man but also has a great female doc side kick/love interest called Julia.

Is it better to read the books first if you're going to do both, or doesn't it matter?

Oh this is fab! I’m home poorly and started watching thanks to this thread.

It’s a bloody brilliant series. Can’t wait to read the boos.

Thanks for the tip off, I shall give it a watch

If the books are even better I feel I’m in for a serious treat

The books ARE better. I love the show though, the sets and clothes are gorgeous and Essie Davis is absolutely beautiful as Phryne. Avoid the spinoff though (Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries, set in the 60s) It's pretty awful!

Thanks for the heads-up. I shall give this a look.

thank you for the recommendation regarding the books - i'll check them out

it is pure escapism, and at the moment that's definitely what I need. and yes, I do watch it with my DS's and feel it;s great for them to see such a strong female character (although I was quite pleased that they weren't around for the episode with the mains powered vibrator! I didn't quite feel up to explaining masturbation to my 5 year old).

The books are much better, by a country mile. Phryne has a Chinese lover in the books, Lin Chung, as well as a number of her beautiful young men. The sex is quite vividly described, not for the young.
I also like her Corinna Chapman books. Corinna lives in Melbourne in a beautiful 30s apartment block, owns her own Bakery and becomes embroiled in adventures, acquiring a lover on the way. Once again there is a fascinating assortment of characters. Lord knows we need to escape into another world right now. I could live in that apartment and eat Corinna's baking.

I particularly liked the episode where Phryne found a poisonous spider in her bedroom and trapped it under the first object that came to hand....a diaphragm. Cue blushing young policeman attempting to take a statement ;-)

Zoe W played Ariadne Oliver in some Poirots. Looked it up, should have before posting, not after. Duh.

I only found Miss Fisher a couple of weeks ago & hadn't been able to figure out her first name, so thanks for the clarification.

Also loved Mrs Bradley and Zoe Wannamaker playing the apple-munching sleuth, whose name escapes me, in some Agatha Christie adaptations.

I stumbled on this series a while ago and loved it. I watched some of them with DS, which was great from a social issues POV and led to some great discussion, but the murders were a bit too detailed for him so we had to stop watching together.

just bumping this in case i'm not the only person in the world who hadn't caught onto the wonderful Phryne. It's such good fun and truly feminist. also clearly created by women. there's an episode in series 3 where part of the story line is a woman having mastitis. which shouldn't be revolutionary, but is.

Mrs Bradley