Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

After viewing the all the seasons of Midsomer Murders (twice-- don't judge,) we found ourselves in need of similar light, comforting entertainment. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, set in Australia in the Twenties, is filling the bill nicely.

I'd read and blogged about some of the books featuring the redoubtable Phryne and am pleased to find that the television series is as delightful as the books. Actually, more so because of the sets and the clothes -- oh, especially the clothes.

And the hats! I've never been a hat person, except for the utilitarian straw hat I wear in the garden. But these face framing cloches are gorgeous.

Of course, it helps to have the stylish bob, the cheekbones, and the perfectly made up face -- not something that's going to happen for me. Still, I can admire the look.

The series is very much an adult Nancy Drew -- Phryne doesn't have a sporty roadster but she does have an elegant Hispano-Suiza. And, like Nancy, she has several sidekicks she can call on to aid her is solving mysteries-- but unlike Nancy, Phryne doesn't have a steady boyfriend. Nope, Phryne has a series of exotic lovers.

And like Nancy, Phryne is fearless and capable -- she carries a gold revolver, she flies a plane, she speaks French (having been an ambulance driver in France during WWI and later an artist's model in Paris,) and Mandarin Chinese. 

We're not far into the series yet -- undoubtedly more talents will be revealed.

Highly recommended for escape viewing.

Phryne Fisher and Nancy Drew

The Nancy Drew books (in their earlier incarnations) were one of my early reading addictions -- at one point I owned most of them and devoured them eagerly. No matter that the characters were completely one dimensional and the plots predictable -- Nancy was a take-charge, redoubtable heroine who ran the show without having to rely on others. I adored the books -- even though I find them pretty much unreadable now.

Well.

Imagine Nancy Drew all grown up and a member of the British aristocracy. Imagine that she's dumped the faithful blue roadster for a jazzy, shining red Hispano-Suiza and she's ditched boring old Beth and George for a private secretary/maid and a gaggle of interesting accomplices.  Hannah Gruen has been put out to pasture and a broad-minded and accomplished cook/butler couple are in charge of the somewhat rackety household which includes a series of distracting lovers  and beautiful boys who have replaced stodgy old Ned. 

Imagine that the setting is 1920s Australia. Imagine that Nancy has transmogrified into a glorious flapper, clad in the height of fashion (oh, the clothes she wears!) and as independent as a hog on ice. 

What you have is the PHRYNE FISHER BOOKS by Kerry Greenwood -- twenty plus gloriously entertaining confections.

I received the first four as a Christmas present and have been galloping through them much as I used to gallop through Nancy Drew. This isn't great or challenging writing but I found the books compulsively readable. Phryne is, like Nancy, pretty much one-dimensional and the plots are predictable - at least in these first four books -- there are many more in the series which I'll be reading soon. (There's a TV series as well but I haven't seen it--yet.)

As I said, lots of fun!

New Readings

Christmas always brings a new crop of reading material -- and not nearly enough time to read. But I have managed to gobble down Z -- a novel about the Montgomery, Alabama belle who became the wife of the young F. Scott Fitzgerald and an icon of the Jazz Age.

It's a fascinating take on the literary life in the Twenties -- a veritable Who's Who of Big Names.  Whether or not this captures the real Fitzgeralds, I don't know. But it's certainly sending me in search of Zelda's novel and the short stories that, according to this novel, Zelda wrote and allowed to be published as a joint effort.  (There's a review in the NY Times HERE that will give you a fuller picture.)

Wayfaring Strangers, the story of the music of Appalachia and its journey from Scotland to Northern Ireland and thence to our mountains, is full of pictures that look like home. 

I haven't read it through yet  but am enjoying a leisurely perusal of its pages. But wait! There's more -- a CD is part of the package and Madison County's own Sheila Kay Adams (seventh generation ballad singer) is one of the artists.

Another beautiful book is A Kitchen in France. I was overwhelmed with the idyllic life pictured -- rural France, a charming old house complete with adorable children and dogs -- and a  chatelaine/chef/mother/author who looks a lot more like a model than a serious cook.  But I must say the recipes sound amazing and I look forward to trying them.

And a new series to explore -- my daughter-in law Aileen is a fan of the Phryne Fisher mysteries. and she and Ethan got me the first four for my Kindle They've been on my radar ever since I first heard of Phryne -- a Twenties deb turned detective -- in Australia. I am really looking forward to these.

Did you get any books as gifts? Or did you treat yourself?  Tell us what you're reading