Phryne Fisher

Kerry Greenwood is a Melbourne based author who has created a glamorous and liberated private eye in Phryne Fisher. Her stories are set in the 1920s with the swinging set popularized by Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby in the background.

Phryne is beautiful and rich with a strong sense of justice. The earlier books are much better than her later efforts where the plots become much more implausible and Phryne's efforts seem too much like Superhero setting the world right. Greenwood would have made it more plausible if she didn't have a happy ending for every character, the world is not perfect and the imperfections could become subplots for future books. It is of course much easier to criticize than to write!

Phryne is essentially a modern heroine ; she takes on lovers without regrets and her wealth makes her independent of men and the trappings of family. She has a menagerie consisting of Dot her companion, two adopted daughters who were poor and abused, a sister who does good works and her lesbian lover Alice.

Domestically she is presided over by Mr and Mrs Butler (a joke of a name) Her lovers are many but her favourite is Lin Chang who marries with Phryne's approval and blessings. For roughwork she has Bert and Cec, wharvies, taxi drivers and ockers.

I applaud Greenwood writing such entertaining adventures with a local flavour. But I often wonder how Phryne's character could be realistically developed as she ages in an era where women marry and have children. Could she continue her carefree existence withstanding the pressures of society and her own biological clock? Or would she succumb?