The Lost Detectives Podcast

Episode 7 - The Bengali Female Detective with Maitrayee Roychoudhury

Lost Detectives is back! in this episode, Dr. Claire Whitehead sits down with Maitrayee Roychoudhury, an Assistant Professor at the University of Delhi and PhD researcher at St Andrews. Together, they discuss the fascinating and often overlooked figure of the female detective in 19th-century literature, moving beyond the traditional Western canon to explore crime fiction from the Bengal region. Key topics include: * The Female Detective: Exploring her role in 19th-century fiction, with a specific focus on examples from Bengal. * Global Connections: The complex relationships between Indian, British, and Australian crime fiction. * Mobility: How movement, travel, and social boundaries shaped the genre. Credits: * Guest: Maitrayee Roychoudhury * Host: Dr. Claire Whitehead * Funding: This episode was supported by a Senior Research Fellowship from the British Academy / Leverhulme Trust.

Episode 6 - Immersive Storytelling & Games with Dr. Mona Bozdog

In this episode of the series, Dr. Claire Whitehead and Carol Adlam are joined by Dr. Mona Bozdog, a specialist in immersive experience design at the University of Abertay. Together, they explore the cutting edge of adaptation, looking at how stories move beyond the page into the physical world through video games and performance. Key topics include: * Hybrid Storytelling: The convergence of contemporary performance practices and video games. * Public Spaces: Designing mixed-reality experiences and games for heritage sites. * Case Studies: A look at Bozdog’s innovative crossmedia projects, Inchcolm Project and Generation ZX(X). Credits: * Guest: Dr. Mona Bozdog * Hosts: Dr. Claire Whitehead & Dr. Carol Adlam

Episode 5 - Val McDermid: A Life in Adaptation

In this special episode, Dr. Claire Whitehead and Carol Adlam are joined by bestselling and award-winning crime writer, Val McDermid. Together, they discuss McDermid's extensive experience seeing her work transformed across different media—from stage and radio to major television series. The conversation offers a fascinating look at how crime fiction evolves when it moves from the page to the screen (or speaker). Key topics include: * Early Works: How McDermid’s very first novel, though never published, found new life as a stage play. * Radio & TV: Adapting the Kate Brannigan novel Clean Break for radio, and the hit ITV series Wire in the Blood and A Place of Execution. * Setting the Scene: The TV series Traces, set against the backdrop of a sunny Dundee. * Graphic Novels: Collaborating with artist Kathryn Briggs to adapt the radio play Resistance (BBC4) into a graphic novel. * Future Projects: Insights into the filming of the first Karen Pirie novel, A Distant Echo. Credits: * Guest: Val McDermid * Hosts: Dr. Claire Whitehead & Dr. Carol Adlam

Episode 4 - In Conversation: Adapting the "Jealous Woman" Trope

This episode features a recording of a special Byre World ‘In Conversation…’ event, sponsored by the School of Modern Languages at the University of St Andrews. Claire Whitehead and Carol Adlam discuss the ongoing progress of the ‘Lost Detectives’ project, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the ethical and creative challenges of bringing 19th-century Russian crime fiction to a modern audience. Key topics include: * Principles of Adaptation: Carol’s evolving approach to working with historical texts and visual storytelling. * Challenging Tropes: How to navigate and modernize the problematic narrative of the "woman driven to murder by jealousy" found in Semyon Panov’s Three Courts, or Murder During the Ball (1876). Credits: * Hosts: Dr. Claire Whitehead & Dr. Carol Adlam * Event: Byre World ‘In Conversation…’ * Recorded: November 11, 2020.

Episode 3 - Curare: Adapting Shkliarevskii’s Secret Investigation

In this episode, Dr. Claire Whitehead and Carol Adlam explore the dark intersection of medicine, crime, and ethics in 19th-century Russia. They discuss Adlam’s audio play, Curare, which is inspired by Aleksandr Shkliarevskii’s 1881 crime novel Sekretnoe sledstvie (A Secret Investigation). From narrative craft to the history of science, the conversation unpacks the social realities behind the fiction. Key topics include: * The Adaptation: Transmedia storytelling, narrative structure, and voice. * Women in Science: Education and medical training for women during the reform period (1860s–1870s). * Medical History: The use of curare in anaesthesia and the rise of the animal rights movement. * Forensics: The emerging use of photography in early forensic science. Credits: * Hosts: Dr. Claire Whitehead & Dr. Carol Adlam * Recorded: September 2020 in Nottingham and St Andrews.