History lessons
Author weaves story around 19th-century detective
CHICAGO – A little detective work of her own inspired children’s book author Kate Hannigan to write a book on America’s first woman detective.
“I was researching for another book when I came across this nugget … about Allan Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency and how on Aug. 22, 1856, a woman walked in, and he assumed she was there for a secretary position. She talked her way into having him hire her. That’s how Kate Warne began her career. And I thought, ‘Why do I not know who this woman is?’ So I jumped on it,” Hannigan said.
Hannigan turned that nugget of inspiration into a new historical-fiction book for middle-grade students, “The Detective’s Assistant” (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), which was released in April. It follows the story of Warne and her fictional 11-year-old niece, Nell. Hannigan weaves in actual cases Warne worked during her life, and the story follows historical events leading up to President Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration in 1861.
Pinkerton’s Chicago-based agency rose to fame when it foiled a would-be assassination of Lincoln, known as the Baltimore Plot. What’s lesser known is that Warne was instrumental in getting Lincoln to safety, Hannigan said. Warne lived in Chicago and worked as a detective until her death at 38 in 1868 of pneumonia. She is buried in Graceland Cemetery in the Pinkerton family plot (under the name Kate Warn), along with several other Pinkerton employees.
Hannigan also is the author of a three-part children’s book series, “Cupcake Cousins.” The first book was published in 2014, with the second and third books in the series set for release later this year and next year.
Hannigan, 47, lives with her husband and three children, ages 10, 12 and 15, in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Following is an edited transcript.
Q: “The Detective’s Assistant” is only partly about Kate Warne, right?
A: The gist of the story is that an 11-year-old girl is plopped on Kate Warne’s doorstep. It’s her niece. She’s a completely fictitious character. So we see Kate Warne’s adventure through the life of this young girl. I wanted to write a book where the girls are the center of the action; they’re not just off to the side. Often in kids’ books, the boys get all the fun. This was an opportunity with an American heroine at the center of it and a young girl to have some great adventures. It’s a coming-of-age story, and it’s a story of family, the family we’re stuck with and the family we choose to create.
Q: How does the real Kate Warne differ from your fictional Kate Warne?
A: All we know about (Warne) is from Pinkerton’s writings, and he treats her with the utmost respect. He describes her not as an amazing beauty, but (mentions) her quick eye, quick mind. I wanted to make sure she was not presented as this sexy mistress. Some historians wrote Kate off that way. I was not going to explore whether she and Pinkerton had an affair, but I stuck to the idea that here’s this incredible woman in history who has been dismissed. She’s not even a footnote in history. So I wanted to give her some qualities that I interpreted from Pinkerton’s writings, some qualities that were kind of humorous, and explore the way an 11-year-old might feel about an aunt she’s come to live with.
Q: Why do you think Allan Pinkerton hired her?
A: I think she did a good job of selling the idea. The way Pinkerton described it, she said, “I can befriend the wives and girlfriends of criminals and ‘worm’ out their secrets.” … I think she did a good job convincing him this was a deficit he had in getting to criminals. He decided to give it a shot and he later says she turned out to be one of (his) finest detectives.
Q: What was her part in foiling the Baltimore Plot to assassinate then-President-elect Abraham Lincoln?
A: The nation at this point was tearing apart (ahead of the Civil War). He had to go through Baltimore, (and) there was no Secret Service at this point. One of her biggest roles was physically getting Lincoln safely out of Philadelphia to Baltimore. She handled securing the last car on the train so they could get him easily on and off. They disguised Lincoln as her invalid brother. They made him stooped and with a cane and threw a big coat over him. There were two detectives on the train with him, Allan Pinkerton and Kate Warne.
Q: What was your favorite book as a child?
A: “Island of the Blue Dolphins,” by Scott O’Dell. I just read it with my kids recently, and I sobbed through the part where the dog dies.
Q: How do you get children interested in reading?
A: When I do school visits, I try to get them inspired. The books I gravitate toward have humor, some adventure and are generally happy stories.
Q: Do you have a favorite genre or type of book you like to read?
A: It would absolutely be historical fiction. In seventh grade I got hold of a copy of “The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough, which my parents hid on the top shelf. I remember being blown away by that book.