The Girl from Whitfield Hall

By: Pete Harrison

Narrated by: Christine Rendel

Emily stood in front of a full length mirror in her well-appointed Camberwell apartment. She turned sideways on and looked over her shoulder before doing the same the other side.

“Anna, do you think I could pass for a man?"

Emily was nearly six feet tall; she wasn't fat but was definitely solidly built. Her small breasts and wide hips showed her to definitely be a woman.

“Whatever do you mean miss?”

“Well if I bound my chest, padded my stomach a little and wore a man’s suit, with all my hair cut off, do you think I would look like a man?”

“Why ever would you want to do that miss?”

Anna was never surprised by anything her mistress said, she was always unpredictable and had some very funny notions.

“I’m going to dress as a man and pass myself off as a detective in the London police force. I’m never going to get anywhere as a woman”.

©2019 Pete Harrison (P)2019 Pete Harrison

Excellent

Setting is WW I. with the many rules of what woman could do, yet men had a much wider range. She is intrigued, and does it will shifting from one role to the aother. Well done and narration added to the story. Given audio for my voluntary review

Years ahead of its time

I like this book, because Emily did something back then that was really taboo she was smart she was brave and she made a good cop so yes I think this book is yours ahead of its time but then maybe not. I would recommend this book to mature audiences.

A murder mystery set in interesting times!

This is set in the era of world war I, a time when the differences in the classes were blurred. However, the difference in what women were allowed to do, and what men were able to do, was a very wide gap, as far as most societies were concerned. Therefore, to have a upper class lady, dressing as a male and doing the duties of a male detective isn't a very hard thing to imagine.
Being able to slip from male to female personias, was advantageous, as the saga unravels.
An interesting tale, with the audiobook narrator giving further dimension to the overall experience, by the use of different accents for each character's vocalizations.

Impressive!!!!

Emily has decided to hide her identity and gender to become a detective. She wants to see if she can get away with it. Her maid is all that she has to help her. When she winds up getting away with the ruse, she continues to investigate the cases she's working on. She finds that she has a real gift for talking to people and getting the truth out of them when nobody else can. While there were many parts of this book that were so confusing and seemingly all over the place, this was a very nice book. I was impressed by the use of the items that are used to help hide feminine features so that a person can consider themselves a man. There was also something happened in the book that I won't say what that I was so happy to see! I could just gush and gush over it. I totally ship it is all I can say! There were some really sad parts though. This book was narrated by Christine Rendel. She has an impressive list of books that she's narrated. This is the first one that I have heard though. I really did enjoy it though. She definitely put herself in the time period that the book takes place in. I am very impressed when narrators do that. It makes listening that much more enjoyable. I can't wait to listen to other books by her. This book was very innovative and awe-inspiring. Yes, it could use a polish. Not everything is really understandable. It kind of jumps back and forth here and there. It's still a worthwhile read. I love the forward-thinking of the author. I know many people will disagree with me that part. They will say that she should have kept to the time frame. To them, I say, just because it wasn't talked about as much as it is now doesn't mean it didn't happen. It was just hidden better than it is now. Not that any of that needs to be hidden. I recommend this book.

Not your usual detective story.

I wasn't quite sure where this story was going based on the first few chapters, but I was pleasantly surprised by the end.
Emily passed herself off as George the police officer well enough to convince them to let her "investigate" a case involving her brother Peter who was serving as a pilot in France. With that case under her belt she moved onto pastures new, and the main crime of the story - the murder of Henry, a friend of Peter's and latterly working on a remote island far from home. The story behind his death just didn't add up. So, Emily / George and her trusted maid, Anna, made it their business to find out what had really happened to him.
Emily is definitely ahead of her time, wanting to be a detective, learning to fly, and basically doing anything necessary to be the person she wants to be, and not be defined by her gender.
The narration was very clear, providing a sense of "prim and properness" to the characters of Emily and Anna, mixed up with a real joie de vivre and can-do attitude. Quite refreshing for that period.
I did find the structure of the story quite confusing - the constant change of characters, especially the introduction of new ones who appeared out of nowhere. However, ultimately the pieces all came together - it was certainly a story that required focus to join all those dots together, and I'm not sure it's a style of writing I'd try again. I could see this working as a play though - it felt very much suited to that medium.