Fiction Friday: The Bow Street Runners Series
Intrigue, danger, and romance abounds in this three book series.
My latest release, The Innkeeper’s Daughter, features hero Alexander Moore who is a Bow Street Runner. It also makes mention of Nicholas Brentwood, the hero of Brentwood’s Ward, who is also a runner. And I’m currently working on the third book featuring their fellow officer, Daniel Thatcher, in a new story titled The Noble Guardian.
I didn’t actually intend to write a trilogy featuring Bow Street Runners. It just kind of grew into one, and it all started when I ran across a small newspaper ad.
Henry Fielding was the Bow Street magistrate. He placed an advertisement in a London newspaper encouraging the public to send a note to Bow Street as soon as any serious crime occurred so that a “set of brave fellows could immediately be dispatched in pursuit of the villains.” I wondered about those brave fellows and what kind of villains they might come up against.
Traditionally, male householders in London were expected to police the streets in their neighborhood, and every citizen was to report anyone they witnessed committing a crime. This changed in the eighteenth century because of increasing concerns about the threat of dangerous criminals who were attracted by the growing wealth of London’s middle class.
Prompted by a post-war crime wave in 1749, Magistrate Henry Fielding hired a small group of men to locate and arrest serious offenders. He operated out of No. 4 Bow Street, hence the name “Bow Street Runners.”
Despite Bow Street’s efforts, most Londoners were opposed to the development of an organized police force. The English tradition of local government was ingrained deep, and they feared the loss of individual liberty. So, as gallant as the Runners were in tracking down criminals, the general public did not always view them in a positive light. Even the nickname given them by the public—Bow Street Runners—was considered derogatory and was a title the officers never used to refer to themselves.
Bow Street eventually gave way to the Metropolitan Police, and by 1839, the Runners were completely disbanded. But that doesn’t mean they don’t live on in the fictional realm. See if you can match wits with experienced lawman Alexander Moore as he tracks down a dangerous criminal in The Innkeeper’s Daughter.
And good news…here’s your chance to win a signed copy of both books.