Private Eyelashes: Radio's Lady Detectives

Jack French's startling new book, PRIVATE EYELASHES: Radio's Lady Detectives, provides fresh insight into a little researched, but important corner of old-time radio---lady sleuths with a penchant for adventure, discovery, and danger. These remarkable women significantly enhanced the glory days of radio drama. They were smart and tough with unyielding determination to solve crimes and assist their victims. Jack French chronicles forty-four unusual female characters with studiously cross-referenced notes about their many counterparts and associates. He intersperses the text with actual dialogue taken directly from the program scripts. This book is a "must read" for detective lovers and fans of old-time radio.

First, I am a friend of the author. However, I am also a long-time fan of Old Time Radio - and read his history of female radio detectives with great interest and enjoyment. Jack puts you almost in front of the radio as you read and I increasingly became engrossed as he lists in detail the specific background and history of each show, I also found the anecdotes and bios - including what happened after they left the show - of some of the actresses involved to be especially interesting. This is a readable history of a brief period of entertainment history that has left its mark on many of us "of a certain age" and presents a fine introduction to those who may not be as familar.

Private Eyelashes is emphatically a book of great interest to a general reader as well as to Old Time Radio fans. Although not a devotee of old time radio's lady detectives, I was hooked as soon as I started reading Mr. French's extremely accessable treatment of the topic. He does a topnotch job of describing specific shows and heroines with helpful and interesting quotations from programs. The analysis is orderly, informed, and entertaining. The book includes a good bibliography as well as photos and background on authors and performers. I highly recommend this book.

One of the most popular genres of Old-Time Radio was the private investigator. While much has been written about male radio private investigators, comparatively little has appeared in print about their female counterparts. Well-respected Old-Time Radio writer and researcher Jack French fills this major void in OTR literature with his well-researched and well-written book, "Private Eyelashes." In his book, Jack tells the stories of the lady detectives and crime-fighters of the American Golden Age of Radio. Jack has given his topic comprehensive and insightful coverage and as a retired F.B.I. agent, he is well-qualified to write about investigative matters. In his extensive research, Jack has uncovered much previously undocumented information about many of these fictional feminine crime fighters and their series. While Old-Time Radio fans are probably familiar with Della Street of Perry Mason, Pam North of Mr. and Mrs. North, and Candy Matson of Candy Matson YU 2-8209; readers of "Private Eyelashes" will also learn about less well-known characters such Sara Berner of Sara's Private Caper, Irene Delroy of Transcontinental Murder Mystery, Barbara Sutton of The Black Hood and many others. Forty-four female private eyes, policewomen, amateur and comedic investigators, investigative journalists and lawyers, investigative assistants, wife and husband investigative teams, and female and male crime fighting partners are discussed in his book. Every female radio character known to rendered significant assistance in mystery-solving or crime-fighting is covered in the pages of "Private Eyelashes." The author not only gives extensive series background, plot line, cast and crew information, he also provides lively discussions of the female investigative characters and the other major characters in each series. Historical background is provided on characters that got their starts or later appeared in print, motion pictures, and television. Additionally, Jack presents biographical sketches of the actors who played them. Numerous script dialog samples are offered that help make these fictional characters come alive. He has even determined the number of episodes in circulation for each series. Jack French has provided Old-Time Radio fans with an incredibly entertaining and informative volume that definitively covers a previously little-known portion of radio; that of the female radio detective. Thank you, Jack for adding such a fine book to the body of Old-Time Radio literature. "Private Eyelashes" is a book that should be in the library of every serious OTR fan.

Jack French's enthusiasm for his topic shines through on every page of this small, but densely packed book. Facts and anecdotes abound. As a fan of "The Shadow" and owner of several audio tapes of the old radio mystery shows featuring Dick Powell and others, I found it immensely refreshing to read about the ladies of the crime world. In many radio crime shows, women are either holy as nuns or evil as the devil herself. Often, the men in the dramas are appalled at the shenanigans of an upstart woman wielding a pistol. So it's thrilling to find a large number of nervy, savvy, ambitious and beautiful women on the right side of the law, particularly as they were created in an era when women were routinely confined to the home. These gals, in taking Nancy Drew to the next level, were an inspiration. Thank you, Jack, for bringing them back to us in such an accessible and entertaining way! Makes me want to order some more new/old audio tapes of old mystery shows.