Miss Fisher Sparknotes

As we all wait patiently for our favorite shows to return this fall, Netflix is added new seasons to a few of the shows that they stream to hold us over. One of these shows that you might not have heard of before is the Australian period police drama, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. The show is based off of a series of novels written by Kerry Greenwood and follows Phryne Fisher adventures as a lady private detective in 1920s Melbourne. While ladies are not allowed on the police force or around investigations, Miss Fisher (played by Essie Davis) stumbles or forces her way into a number of murder scenes and digs into these cases. Detective Inspector John “Jack” Robinson (played by Nathan Page), tries to keep Phryne away from the cases, but as

World War I has ended and the world is coming to terms with the lives lost, the advances in technology, and women starting to assert themselves outside of the home. What sets this television show apart, aside from the fun and humor not seen in some of period dramas, is how this time of change is portrayed. Miss Fisher is considered a “modern” woman because she is not married, uses birth control, can drive, is a pilot, wears trousers, and works even though she is wealthy. Yet even with all her money, Miss Fisher faces discrimination and sexism, especially when she is working with the police during an investigation. However, the series also shows women working against this discrimination and sexism. A great example is Dr. Macmillian (played by Tammy MacIntosh) who is a lesbian doctor that works at the women’s hospital in Melbourne. Mac dresses in men’s clothing, doesn’t hide her sexuality, and demands respect from her male coworkers. While she doesn’t always get this respect, it is nice to see the portrayal of not only someone in the LGBTQA+ community in a period drama, but also have her completely comfortable with her sexuality. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries does a wonderful job of both presenting the world how is was in the 1920s, it’s societal attitudes and world views, while also highlighting that not everyone adhered to these attitudes and

It is rare that female characters, even female leads, are given so many powerful attributes while not being the villain of the show. Phryne is rich, smart, and sexual as well as having an endless list of talents. While the argument could be made that she is a Mary Sue, just too perfect and too good at everything to be believable, it is a weak argument. Miss Fisher is wealthy, which opens many doors, and she was an army nurse, which brought her a bunch of training that should otherwise wouldn’t have received. No one seems to complain when male characters can pick locks, pick up every attractive woman that comes on screen, catch the bad guy, and do it all in a five hundred dollar suit, so why can’t Phryne? They way that Phryne is both the private detective and the femme fatale in most of the stories is also a welcome change from the virgin-whore dichotomy that most female characters are usually thrown into. Phryne has causal sex, but also takes in an orphan, she dances burlesque, but also funds a woman’s race group. She is a complex character, and while there has been a recent surge of these interesting female characters in media, there is always room for