Today we’d like to introduce you to three ladies - two real and one fictional. Let’s start with the Honourable Phryne Fisher ( pronounced Fry-knee) – the star of the popular period detective drama Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Set in the risqué world of 1920s Melbourne, the series was filmed over six months, in and around Melbourne, Australia and also stars a mouth-watering collection of cars from the era like this 1923 46CV Hispano-Suiza.
Phryne loves her frocks, cocktails and cars, but before we delve deeper we must say Hello to Kerry Greenwood, the author of the twenty novels from which the TV series is drawn. She sounds quite a lady (“unmarried but lives with a ‘registered wizard") and has not only flown planes, but also parachuted out of them which explains the storyline of "Flying too high."
Lady number three is of course the actress Essie Davis who confesses, "playing Miss Fisher is a delight. She is so feisty and witty and goes on great adventures. She’s brave and reckless – she’s kind of like a superhero,” she says with a laugh, blue eyes twinkling. The role has certainly beefed up her special skills resume. “A lot of it has been learning it on the spot, including tango and foxtrot lessons, how to throw a dagger and a hatchet, how to balance on a rooftop, how to hang off the back of a train, how to drive a Hispano-Suiza, how to fly an aeroplane, how to speak Mandarin and Russian,” she reels off the list. “Phryne is just brilliant at everything and so it’s about really winging it to make it look good whilst leaving a trail of lovers in her wake.”
For those of you tempted to watch her and are not near an Australian TV, we are told the series can be viewed on the new phenomenon called 'Netflix' where she is rated with a full five stars.
Text Robin Batchelor, pictures courtesy archive.