Ireland, the first female detective, and Aristotle on storytelling: newsletter, March 1, 2019

Ireland (rather than Georgia) has been on my mind this week — purely by coincidence. I mentioned last week that I was reading my first Tana French book, Faithful Place, which is set in Dublin. Then I heard from newsletter reader Frank C., who lives in Dublin (see below) and who recommended an author he likes who uses Dublin as the setting of his novels. In a follow-up email, Frank provided some good info about the Dublin police force.

After all that, I happened to read a review of Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Keefe takes the 1972 murder of Jean McConnville, the mother of 10 children, and weaves it around a history of the Troubles, the half century of hate and violence that has wracked the sad province of the six counties in Ireland that remain under British control. I downloaded the sample of the ebook version and found it compelling, so much so that my weekend reading is set.

What are you reading this weekend? I am always happy to hear from newsletter readers and delighted to pass on their recommendations.

Whatever you are reading, have a great weekend.

Under the newsletter’s hood: Last week’s newsletter was sent to 2,913 subscribers and had a 36.3 percent open rate; 21 people unsubscribed. The open rate for last week is the highest of the year so far and one of the highest I have ever had. Thanks to all of you faithful readers.

If the name of Kate Warne is unknown to you, you’re not alone. Most of the world has never heard of her, that is too bad — particularly with those of us in the detective-fiction-to-true-crime crowd.

Kate Warne, as far as we can tell, is the first woman ever hired as a fulltime, true-to-life detective.

That happened in 1856 when she walked into the Chicago office of Allen Pinkerton, founder of the world’s most famous detective agency. Pinkerton had advertised that he was hiring detectives, and Kate, a widow, decided to apply for a job.

Pinkerton was taken aback. He had not expected that a woman would apply for so male an undertaking, and his first instinct was to dissuade her from this foolish a venture.

Kate was obviously prepared for that reaction because she set about, in modern parlance, raising his consciousness. A woman would do and say things and go place a man would not or could not do or say. Women were naturally observant. Women saw things that men did not see. She told him, as Pinkerton would later write, that she “could worm out secrets to many places to which it was not possible for male detectives to gain access.”

Pinkerton was taken by Kate herself, not just her arguments. Little is known about Kate before she joined the agency. She was born in Canada and had been recently widowed. She had at one time wanted to be an actress. She was small and feminine, and later when she was a detective, she passed herself off as a young man.

We don’t know when she got the idea of becoming a detective, but by the time she showed up at Pinkerton’s, she had set her goals and was determined to reach them.

Despite opposition from his brother, Pinkerton decided that what Kate had said made sense. He hired her, and he never regretted it. Kate became one of the agency’s most valuable assets, and she was involved in some its biggest and most famous cases.

We’ll have more to say about that next week.

From the JPROF archive: Aristotle figured out the storytelling 2,300 years ago

An article in the March (2008) issue of The Writer magazine lays out what Aristotle thought about storytelling about 2,300 years ago. The article, written by William Kowalski, points out that the Greeks didn’t have the novel, but they did have the theater. From that, Aristotle decided to outline what he thought made a compelling story:

• All stories are made up of five elements: setting, character, plot, dialogue and thought (intentions/motivations).
• Plot is everything.
• Characters come second.
• Keep the audience interested by making reversals.
• Use discoveries to move the plot.
• The perfect plot is simple, not complex.

Kowalski adds some excellent commentary to each of these points, including this one:

By the way, was it smooth sailing once our ancient student of writing achieved the goal of all literary hopefuls — publication, or in the case of dramatists, production? Not quite. “Because there have been poets before him strong in the several species of tragedy, the critics now expect the (writer) to surpass each of his predecessors,” Aristotle intones.
In other words, 25 centuries ago, authors were already awaiting their reviews with butterflies in their stomachs. Some things never change.

(The Writer magazine article is not available online. This item was originally published on JPROF in December 2008.)

The latest plagiarism controversy: The Woman in the Window

Gilbert W.: Love your watercolors of Blount County.  I like to look at old photos of Maryville when I was growing up  here. The present generation can look at Maryville in watercolor.  THANK YOU!  

Frank C.: I am reacting to your reference to a Dublin crime novel (Faithful Place) you are reading. I recommend to you an author Caimh McDonnell (A Man With One of those Faces)  who has written some hilarious crime novels based in Dublin. As a Dubliner, I am especially sensitive to false notes, and Caimh (though not currently based in Ireland) gets it just right. I really like his books.

Glenn S.: I believe I commended to you last year Hank Klibanoff’s fine series Buried Truths. The second season began this week, and it seems equally interesting and informative. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/buried-truths/…

Bonnie R.: The two series I enjoy reading and re-reading are by Elliott Roosevelt (Murder at the President’s Door) and Margaret Truman (Murder in Georgetown). Enjoy them more after spending time in Washington, D.C.