Children’s author Robin Stevens’ hit Murder Most Unladylike book series is being adapted for television by Studiocanal, Strong Film & TV and Stevens’ own company, Unladylike Productions.
Whilst fans of the books have long held desires to see Stevens’ beloved characters onscreen, for those unfamiliar with the stories, now is the perfect opportunity to start reading ahead of the series’ release.
Set in 1930s England, the first book, Murder Most Unladylike (after which the 11 book series is named), introduces best friends and partners in crime solving, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong. They board at Deepdean School for Girls and together, driven by Daisy’s love of crime fiction, form the ‘Wells and Wong Detective Society’. Now the pair must solve their biggest and most serious case yet—the murder of their Science Mistress, Miss Bell.
Though marketed as children’s mysteries, these books appeal to readers far above this age bracket. The stories are complex, exciting and immersive, whilst the heroines are clever, funny and inquisitive young women, driven by a strong desire for justice. Where Daisy is loud and gregarious, Hazel is more thoughtful and considered; they are each other’s balance.
First published in 2014, Stevens’ series emulates the ‘cosy crime’ stories of the Interwar Period, known as the ‘Golden Age of Detective Fiction’. This literary era and genre of crime fiction is most commonly associated with the works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Josephine Tey. To get a feel for Stevens’ stories, think Agatha Christie meets Malory Towers.
Although ‘cosy crime’ originally found favour amongst readers due to the escapism it provided post-war, the genre remained popular, and recent years have seen its rise in popularity through the number of adaptations that have hit our screens. In the last few months alone Netflix has released The Thursday Murder Club, a film adapted from Richard Osman’s novel of the same name, in which a group of retired friends with a penchant for solving cold cases are faced with a murder from the present day, whilst Channel 5’s drama series Murder Before Evensong, adapted from the novel written by Reverend Richard Coles, follows Canon Daniel Clement as he seeks justice for the murder of a man he discovered dead in his church. The Murder Most Unladylike series is in good company, continuing the trend of high-profile adaptations in the genre, this time with a youthful twist on the popular tried and tested TV.
With each book the Murder Most Unladylike universe expands, leading the Detective Society to solve mysteries at Daisy’s ancestral home in the English countryside, Cambridge at Christmastime and even the Orient Express and the River Nile (features which fans of the genre will recognise the importance of).
A Spoonful of Murder, the sixth book in the series, sees the Detective Society travel to Hong Kong (where Hazel is from), and become immersed in her world. It’s a rich exploration of the region as it was in 1936 which allows Hazel to take centre stage. However, this isn’t just a holiday—called home in the wake of her Grandfather’s death, Hazel is shaken to learn her position in the family appears to have shifted, but there’s no time to dwell as before too long the Detective Society have both a murder case and a kidnapping to solve, with the help of Hazel’s younger sister, Rose.
Throughout the series the Detective Society often takes on new members who become recurring stars alongside Wells and Wong, right up to the concluding book, Death Sets Sail. In particular, schoolboys George and Alexander, though initially viewed with suspicion as a rival detective agency ‘The Junior Pinkertons’ when Alexander is introduced in First Class Murder, the group quickly gain mutual respect and frequently join forces as both a crimesolving gang and firm friends.
As the colder weather draws in, now is the perfect time to get stuck into the Murder Most Unladylike books, and if you race through those, Stevens’ spin-off series, The Ministry of Unladylike Activity has three books (and counting…), so there is plenty to tide you over until the TV series is released. And if you’re looking for something more grown-up, Stevens has just announced her debut adult novel, Almost the Whole Truth, to be published in 2027.
Words by Kirsty Dow
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