Champagne, Crime, and a Hint of Cyanide: A Retrospective on the Phryne Fisher Novels
- Allen & Unwin
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Never read a Phryne Fisher novel before? Then this is the perfect place to be!
If you’ve never met Miss Phryne Fisher, imagine this: a woman who can fly a plane, seduce a duke, and solve a murder before breakfast — all without smudging her lipstick. Created by Kerry Greenwood in 1989, Phryne burst onto the scene in Cocaine Blues like a 1920s supernova: dazzling, scandalous, and gloriously disobedient.
In an era when women were told to pour the tea and mind their hems, Phryne was ordering martinis and minding her own damn business. And for more than two decades, she’s been doing it with impeccable style.
The Allure of Miss Fisher
Phryne Fisher is what would happen if Sherlock Holmes had better manners, worse restraint, and an unerring eye for a good hat. She’s a Melbourne socialite turned private detective — smart, sensual, morally flexible, and impossible to intimidate. She drives a Hispano-Suiza, carries a pearl-handled revolver, and believes a woman can do anything a man can — preferably while wearing silk.
But beyond the glamour, Kerry Greenwood gave us something more subversive: a heroine who lives entirely on her own terms. Phryne doesn’t apologise for her pleasure, her intelligence, or her independence. She doesn’t wait for permission; she acts. It’s no wonder generations of readers (and viewers, after the TV adaptation Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) have fallen under her spell.
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From Bright Young Thing to Detective Extraordinaire
The Phryne Fisher novels — now numbering over twenty — began as brisk, witty capers but quickly evolved into something richer. Greenwood’s 1920s Melbourne isn’t just sequins and champagne; it’s a city of contradictions. Glittering ballrooms sit a tram ride away from the slums of Collingwood. War veterans nurse invisible wounds. Women navigate new freedoms — and the men who resent them.
Each novel plunges Phryne into a new corner of society: the theatre, the circus, a country manor, a convent, a travelling carnival. There’s always a body, of course, but the real pleasure is in the world-building — and in watching Phryne stride through it all with her usual mix of curiosity and mischief.
Greenwood’s own background as a solicitor and feminist advocate shines through. Beneath the sparkle lies a moral compass — one that points, unfailingly, toward justice for the overlooked and the oppressed.
Style, Substance, and the Joy of a Well-Placed Quip
Phryne’s mysteries are both escapist and acerbic. They’re champagne with a splash of absinthe — effervescent, but they bite back. Greenwood’s prose fizzes with sly humour and a love of language: elegant without pretension, witty without cruelty.
And then there are the details: the clothes, the cars, the cocktails. The Phryne Fisher books are sensual experiences — the scent of French perfume, the purr of an engine, the taste of danger. Greenwood writes indulgence like a woman who knows that pleasure is political.
A Suggested Reading Path: Where to Start!
Just discovering Phryne Fisher? There’s no need to read in order — but here’s your whirlwind tour of the dozen must-reads before you take the plunge.
Start here: The Essentials
Cocaine Blues – The debut. Meet Phryne, fall in love, and never look back.
Flying Too High – Aviation, murder, and mischief. The series really takes flight (literally).
Murder on the Ballarat Train – Introduces Dot, Phryne’s steadfast companion. Heart, humour, and a touch of grit.
Death at Victoria Dock – Political intrigue, anarchists, and Phryne’s sharper edge emerge.
The Glamour Years
Ruddy Gore – Theatre, ghosts, and gowns. Deliciously theatrical.
Blood and Circuses – One of the darker entries. Phryne joins a circus and faces the rougher side of life.
The Green Mill Murder – Jazz clubs, missing men, and Melbourne nightlife. A fan favourite.
 The Deeper Cuts
Urn Burial – A country house mystery in the Australian bush — Agatha Christie meets the outback.
Death Before Wicket – Phryne heads to Sydney for a university-set romp with cricket, class, and corruption.
Murder in Montparnasse – Flashes of Phryne’s Parisian past. Bittersweet, elegant, revealing.
The Later Jewels
Queen of the Flowers – Phryne at her most confident and maternal.
Murder and Mendelssohn –Mature Phryne, music, and mischief.
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 For Devotees
A Question of Death (short stories) – Perfect little amuse-bouches between novels.
Death by Water – A luxurious ocean liner and murder on the high seas — what more could one want?
Murder in the Cathedral — arriving November 2025 — marks the final chapter in Kerry Greenwood’s beloved series. Kerry didn’t just create a character; she created an institution. Phryne has inspired a TV phenomenon, a film (Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears), and a spin-off series (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries). But the novels remain the beating heart of it all — exuberant, feminist, and full of life.
At their best, they remind us of something simple and profound: freedom is delicious. And sometimes, the best revenge is living well, dressing magnificently, and solving the murder yourself.
Murder in the Cathedral
by Kerry Greenwood
The indefatigable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to solve what may be her most puzzling murder.
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