Police reporter Katie Blayne—aka the Duchess—was clearly cut from the same cloth as fellow hard-boiled female newspaper scribe Torchy Blane. These seven stories, mostly taken from the pages of Detective Fiction Weekly, are narrated by the Duchess’ reporter rival Pinky Kane, who one days hopes that Katie Blayne will accept his frequent marriage proposals. Written by screenwriter Whitman Chambers, the Duchess is one of the best female lead detective series to see print in the pulp magazines of the 1930s.
Written by Whitman Chambers; cover by John Atherton; illustrated by Joseph A. Farren
The Argosy Library #115
The Duchess Pulls a Fast One: The Complete Cases of the Duchess (The Argosy Library) by Whitman Chambers contains the following stories:
- “The Duchess Spots a Killer”
- “The Duchess Rides a Hunch”
- “The Duchess Pulls a Fast One”
- “Murder at Rehearsal”
- “The Duchess Wins a Bet”
- “The Old Maids Die”
- “The Mystery of the Barrio Snatch”