Helen Fry and Caitlin Davies – “Hidden Women, Hidden Lives” - Maidstone LitFest 2024

About

Join historians and authors Helen Fry (Women in Intelligence) and Caitlin Davies (Private Inquiries) as they discuss the fascinating but often hidden contribution that women have made throughout history.

Women in Intelligence is a ground-breaking history of women in British Intelligence, revealing their pivotal role across the first half of the 20th century.
In this major, panoramic history, Helen Fry looks at the rich and varied work women undertook as civilians and in uniform. From spies who worked for the Belgian network ‘La Dame Blanche’, knitting coded messages into jumpers, to those who interpreted aerial images and even ran entire sections, Fry shows just how crucial women were in the intelligence mission.

Filled with book-exclusive unknown stories, Women in Intelligence places new research on record for the first time and showcases the inspirational contributions of these remarkable women.

Private Inquiries explores the world of female private eyes, long a staple of popular culture – from plucky Victorian ladies to ‘busy body spinsters’ and fearless modern investigators. But what about the real women detectives? What crimes did they solve? Where are their stories?

Dismissed as ‘Mrs’ Sherlock Holmes or amateurish Miss Marples, mocked as private dicks or honey trappers, they’ve been investigating crime since the mid 19th century – from theft, fraud and burglary, to missing persons, blackmail, drug dealing, robbery, marriage scams, ‘white slavery’, industrial espionage, and murder.

After more than a century of working undercover, it’s time to hear the real women’s stories.

Biographies:

Dr. Helen Fry is a highly accomplished author and historian. She is an expert in the 'Secret Listeners' and has extensive knowledge of 20th century spies and espionage.

She is a passionate advocate and official ambassador for the National Centre for Military Intelligence (NCMI), a new national museum that shares the secrets of the country's military intelligence, and serves as a trustee of the Medmenham Collection.​​

Her latest book on 'Women in Intelligence' and their roles throughout WWI and WWII was published in September 2023 and is a Waterstones Best Book of 2023 in Military History.

Caitlin Davies is a novelist, non-fiction writer, award-winning journalist and teacher. She is the author of six novels, six non-fiction books, and several short stories. She has written for The Independent, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Her books include ‘Bad Girls: a History of Rebels and Renegades’, a history of Holloway Prison, and ‘Queens of the Underworld’ about female crooks.

Copies of Women in Intelligence and Private Inquiries will be available for purchase and signing by the authors.