Anthologies of Classic Crime Fiction by Women

[Critteranne]

There is currently a huge book out there called The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries -- edited by Otto Penzler. Michael Sims also has anthologies on Victorian crime fiction. Both include women writers (Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mary Fortune, Anna Katharine Green, C. L. Pirkis, etc.) Penzler also has lots of anthologies of golden age crime fiction.

Those look interesting, but I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for similar anthologies with stories by women?

Note: There are quite a few anthologies of women's ghost stories and weird fiction from this time. For example, "Women's Weird: Strange Stories by Women, 1890-1940" and "The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women."

[Catlady]

You might try Penzler's anthologies The Big Book of Female Detectives and Dangerous Women, though the authors represented aren't exclusively female.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by Catlady

You might try Penzler's anthologies The Big Book of Female Detectives and Dangerous Women, though the authors represented aren't exclusively female.

That could work! There is also a Penguin anthology by Michael Sims called “The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime: Forgotten Cops and Private Eyes from the Time of Sherlock Holmes” — but it’s not as long as one of those Penzler tomes.

If I’m feeling very nerdy, I will pick up a reference book I found while searching:
Women Writing Crime Fiction, 1860–1880: Fourteen American, British and Australian Authors

It includes authors I hadn’t thought of as crime fiction writers, such as Gaskell. Plus sensation fiction writers, of course.

[Dr. Drib]

Regarding Elizabeth Braddon and Anna Katharine Green: I noticed that Delphi Classics put out a separate volume each on these two writers.

There is also a Mobileread edition [FREE!] of Elizabeth Braddon, titled The Shadow in the Corner and Other Hauntings, listed on our site as M.E. Braddon.