‘The filthiest gutter of the realm’?: Negotiating and negotiated Australian identities in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Abstract

The series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (2011–15) and the film Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020) are examples of female-led transnational quality drama. This article argues that both the characters and the series itself are good examples of the negotiations of identity required both of the postmodern layered (Straubhaar 2007, 2012) or fractured but functional globalized or transnational self, which can give the series increased emotional resonance to the modern audience at a ‘safe’ temporal remove. This is, of course, critically important to transnational sales. This article analyses the negotiations of identity of the regular characters (and, as space allows, recurring characters) that are evident throughout the three series and subsequent film. It focuses on the negotiations regarding national identity and its intersections, which illustrate how the series negotiates between a patina of ‘authenticity’ and the expectations of a modern audience. Where relevant, the spinoff series Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries (2019–present) is also discussed.