Phryne Fisher

Phryne Fisher
Phryne Fisher mysteries character
First appearance	Cocaine Blues
Created by	Kerry Greenwood
Portrayed by	Essie Davis
Information
Gender	Female
Title	The Honourable
Children	Jane Fisher and Ruth Fisher (adopted daughters)
Religion	Church of England

Phryne Fisher (/ˈfraɪ.niː/, FRY-knee), often called "Miss Fisher", is the main character in Australian author Kerry Greenwood's series of Phryne Fisher detective novels. Phryne is a wealthy aristocrat and private detective who lives in St Kilda, Melbourne, in the late 1920s. With the assistance of her maid Dot, and Bert and Cec (who are wharfies, taxi drivers and red raggers), she solves all manner of crimes as a quintessentially Australian construction. Phryne is no ordinary aristocrat, as she can fly a plane, drives her own car (a Hispano-Suiza) and sometimes wears trousers. However, while displaying bohemian panache, she manages also to maintain style and class.

Phryne was accidentally named after a famous Greek courtesan who lived in the 4th century BC. At her christening, her father forgot the classical name, Psyche, that her parents had intended for her.

Phryne was not always rich, having been born into a poor family in Richmond, Melbourne. In World War I, the other male heirs to a British peerage were killed, and Phryne's father inherited the title. As his daughter, she was granted the style of "The Honourable Phryne Fisher" and an enormous fortune. She has an aunt, Mrs. Prudence Stanley.

After completing school, Phryne ran away to France where she joined a French women's ambulance unit during WWI, receiving a reward for bravery and a French war pension. She then worked as an artist's model in Montparnasse after the war. After several years here and there, Phryne moved temporarily from England to Melbourne to investigate for a family friend. She enjoyed the lifestyle so much that she stayed on permanently. Through the course of the books, Phryne collects a personal maid, Dot; two adoptive daughters, Ruth and Jane (whom she rescued from slavery); a cat, Ember; a dog, Molly; and two loyal servants, the Butlers. She also has relationships with a string of lovers, most notably Lin Chung, a wealthy Chinese man (whom she rescues in the city one evening). Lin is the only lover with whom she maintains a relationship for more than a few books and even goes so far as to make a deal with his autocratic and overbearing grandmother that after he is married, she (Phryne) be allowed to continue a friendship with him.

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