The Experiences of a Lady Detective.

One of the very first female detectives in fiction. Though originally believed to have first been published in 1861, experts in the genre have determined that to be a 'ghost issue', with the first edition actually appearing in 1864 under the title The Revelations of a Lady Detective. After this came a 'reissue with the title The Experiences, which [the British Museum] dated as of 1884' (Ellery Queen, In the Queens' Parlor, p. 43). Sometimes attributed to William Stephens Hayward. Features Mrs. Paschal, one of the very first female detectives.

Queen writes, 'we found a reprint of Revelations of a Lady Detective--an obvious reissue of later vintage. And on glancing through this later volume a strange sight met our astonished eyes. While the front cover and the spine clearly gave the title as Revelations of a Lady Detective, the title page just as clearly read The Experiences of a Lady Detective...' (Parlor, p. 42).

Reissue of first edition; 8vo; some light foxing and marginal toning, with some soft creasing and roughening to page-edges towards the end, advertorial endpapers, old repair to fore-edge of front free endpaper; publisher's pictorial paper-covered boards; all edges trimmed, slight rubbing and soiling to binding, mild edge wear, a few tiny spots of soiling; spine ends pushed with a bit of loss at foot, front joint splitting from bottom but sound, lower corners gently bumped, presented in custom brown cloth chemise in brown cloth slip-case, with dark brown leather spine labels stamped in gilt.

Queen's Quorum 5; Ellery Queen (In the Queens' Parlor), p. 43