A Nemesis in Crinoline: the Eurasian courtesan as sleuth Mirandi Riwoe Bachelor of Arts (Modern Asian Studies), Graduate Certificate (Creative Writing), Master of Arts (Research) 2016 PhD Creative Industries: Creative Writing and Literary Studies Queensland University of Technology This thesis was submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the PhD Abstract This thesis contextualises and extends representations of the nineteenth-century fictional female detective, by way of creative practice and critical analysis. The practice led research incorporates textual analysis and reflective practice in order to triangulate neo-Victorian studies, crime fiction and the figure of Eurasian courtesan. I argue that aspects of women’s social position in relation to gender and race can be revealed via the craft of neo-Victorian crime writing and the ‘re-scripting’ of the Eurasian courtesan as fictional detective. My research findings not only disrupt depictions of the ‘sinister Oriental’ so popular in traditional crime novels, but also reveal that it was possible for certain working class women, sex- workers included, to have the necessary agency to detect in the Victorian period. The broad framework of transgression studies allows for an examination of genre (crime) and contextual issues of race and gender from the theoretical perspective of neo-Victorian studies. In re- imagining the nineteenth-century Eurasian courtesan in Playing Devil’s Delight the project adopts a creative writing approach to neo-Victorian studies. Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/ii Key words courtesan; female detective; Eurasian/Asian; crime fiction; neo-Victorianism; ventriloquism; transgression; creative writing. Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/iii Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. QUT Verified Signature 23 October 2016 Mirandi Riwoe Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/iv Acknowledgments I would particularly like to thank my primary supervisor, Associate Professor Susan Carson, for her patience and guidance over the last few years. I have appreciated her continued support and interest in my work, and the teaching opportunities she has provided me. Thank you to my associate supervisor, Professor Sharyn Pearce, who is always so cheerfully encouraging. I would also like to thank Dr Lesley Hawkes for volunteering her support and advice over the years. Thank you to QUT Creative Industries for granting me an APA scholarship and for the opportunity to attend international conferences. Thank you also to the HDR team who are always so efficient and friendly. To all the other postgraduate students I have worked alongside over the past three years, thank you: Penny Holliday, Laura Elvery, Emma Doolan, Sarah Kanake, Chris Przewloka, Mark Piccini, Stephen Smith, Jo Hartmann, Belinda Eslick, Ben Carey and Madeleine Bendixen. I have learnt from all of you. Thank you to my writers’ groups, but especially to the crime fiction work-shopper extraodinaire, Emma Doolan. Thank you to my papa, a constant inspiration, and to my mum, for her advice and care. To my children for putting up with the cranky bear in the study, and to Dave, for his constant faith in me, especially when mine is at its lowest. Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/v Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Key words ............................................................................................................................ iii Statement of Original Authorship ......................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... v Contents ................................................................................................................................... vi Creative Work .......................................................................................................................... 1 Exegesis ................................................................................................................................. 226 Chapter 1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 227 Exegetical Structure ........................................................................................................... 233 Key concepts ...................................................................................................................... 234 Scope .................................................................................................................................. 235 Research question .............................................................................................................. 237 Chapter 2 Methodology – Practice led neo-Victorianism ................................................... 238 Neo-Victorian Studies as Conceptual Framework ............................................................. 238 Chapter 3 Theoretical Approaches ...................................................................................... 247 Crime Fiction Theory ......................................................................................................... 247 Feminist Theory ................................................................................................................. 248 Transgression Theory......................................................................................................... 249 Chapter 4 Literature Review .............................................................................................. 254 The Female Detective in Crime Fiction ............................................................................. 254 The Exotic Sleuth ............................................................................................................... 264 The Courtesan as neo-Victorian Detective ........................................................................ 270 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 273 Chapter 5 Focus Texts: Analysis of Eleanor’s Victory and Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders ................................................................................................................................. 274 Eleanor Vane a nemesis in crinoline .................................................................................. 274 Reading for transgressions ............................................................................................ 275 Braddon and the conclusion of Eleanor’s Victory ......................................................... 279 Braddon’s ethical impulse ............................................................................................. 281 Kitty Peck the reluctant neo-Victorian detective ............................................................... 282 Reading for transgressions ............................................................................................ 284 How Kitty Peck informs Heloise – those ‘other Victorians’ .......................................... 286 Kitty Peck, Eleanor Vane and Orientalism ........................................................................ 288 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 290 Chapter 6 Creative Reflection ............................................................................................ 291 Playing Devil’s Delight – Crime fiction ........................................................................ 291 Creating the neo-Victorian ............................................................................................ 297 The re-scripted Asian protagonist ................................................................................. 299 Heloise Chancey – courtesan detective ......................................................................... 304 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 311 Chapter 7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 313 Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/vi Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 318 Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/vii Creative Work Playing Devil’s Delight (70 000 words) Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/1 “Sin changes, you know, like fashion” Marghanita Laski, The Victorian Chaise-Longue “A superb Nemesis in crinoline, bent on deeds of darkness and horror” Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Eleanor’s Victory Mirandi Riwoe/Courtesan as Sleuth/2 Prologue Pain bursts through Nell’s abdomen, so intense it wrenches her awake. But her eyelids are heavy. She can’t quite open them. The opiates he’d injected into her arm are too strong. He’s muttering to himself. There’s a jangle of metal. The stench of vomit is strong, and the back of her thighs