A recent post from Moira at Clothes in Books has got me thinking about the relationship between employers and their employees. I’m not talking here of working for, say, a large company, where your immediate supervisor isn’t your actual employer. Rather, I’m talking of a small-scale relationship, such as that between PIs and their secretaries. Those relationships come up all the time in crime fiction, and if you read enough of that genre, you learn an important thing. Wise employers respect their employees’ skills and support them. The relationship is actually a lot more reciprocal than it may seem on the surface.

For instance, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot very much depends on his frighteningly efficient secretary, Felicity Lemon. She manages his professional life, more or less, and he knows it. Yes, he pays her and yes, he is her boss. At the same time, though, he knows better than to dismiss her ideas. Poirot treats his valet, Georges, in much the same way. Georges manages Poirot’s personal things, his private diary, and so on. He  runs the household, too. Poirot knows how reliable Georges is, but more than that, he knows that Georges has valuable insights and a useful perspective. He doesn’t order his valet around; instead, he listens to what Georges has to say.

Fans of Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey know that he has a strong relationship with his valet, Mervyn Bunter. Bunter sees to Lord Peter’s personal things, he keeps Lord Peter’s diary, and he manages the household. He also has a way of managing Lord Peter. Not that Lord Peter is stupid or irresponsible, but Bunter has a way of helping his employer focus and pointing things out that Lord Peter might not notice. And Bunter does some of the investigation, too, when Lord Peter takes an interest in a case. Lord Peter knows how much he depends on his valet, and he’s not high-handed in the way he talks to Bunter. Yes, he pays Bunter and directs him. At the same time, he respects him.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason is a very busy lawyer. He’s the one who prepares cases when he’s defending them. He meets with clients, represents them in court, and decides on his approach. But he couldn’t do much of anything without his secretary, Della Street. She screens potential clients, makes his appointments, follows up on information, and even does some of his investigating. He depends a great deal on her and he knows it. While this series is of its time in terms of attitudes towards women, Perry Mason doesn’t verbally pat Della Street on the head and send her away with a few coins. He generally treats her with respect and listens when she has ideas.

Phoebe Atwood Taylor’s Asey Mayo is a sort of man-of-all-work who lives at Cape Cod. He cooks, does repairs, builds, and otherwise manages things for Bill Porter. Technically, Bill pays Asey and Asey is responsible for doing the many fixes and upkeep tasks that houses need. At the same time, Bill knows and respects the fact that Asey has quite a lot of wisdom and experience. In fact, he’s almost philosophical at times. In the first of this series, The Cape Cod Mystery, Asey even steps up to clear Bill’s name when Bill is accused and arrested in connection with the murder of summer resident Dale Sanborn. Asey has his own sense of dignity and Bill respects that because he knows that his handyman has much to offer.

Emily Brightwell’s Victorian-Era series features professional housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries. She is employed by Inspector Gerald Witherspoon. As his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries supervises the maids, cook, and other staff members. She also keeps Witherspoon’s home accounts, makes purchases on his behalf, and otherwise keeps his household running. She also is able to provide some important insights into the cases he investigates. Witherspoon isn’t a stupid, foolish man, but there are things he misses. More than that, there are things Mrs. Jeffries can learn that he might not know. Since her staff members are loyal, she can make use of their skills to get information from places like local shops, pubs and so on that Witherspoon might find harder to get. He also has learned that Mrs. Jeffries makes a very helpful sounding board for his ideas, as she knows how to guide conversations. Witherspoon knows how much he depends on Mrs. Jeffries, and while he is her employer, he treats her with respect and usually ends up listening to what she says.

I don’t think this post would be complete without a mention of P.G. Wodehouse’ Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves. Bertie is a privileged young English gentleman with a positive disposition and personal code that directs him to help others. But he’s not particularly bright or quick-thinking. That’s where his brilliant valet, Jeeves, comes in. Not only is Jeeves highly intelligent, but he is also cool and composed, so he can manage trouble. He’s also extremely discreet. So, when Bertie gets himself into trouble, for instance, Jeeves always knows what to do. Bertie doesn’t always know exactly how Jeeves manages everything, but he knows he’s dependent on his valet. I know, I know, this is not a crime-fictional series. But it’s a very good example of the kind of employer/employee relationship I have in mind with this post, and it’s my blog. So there. 😉

There are plenty of other employer/employee relationships in crime fiction. They show just how mutual those relationships can be, especially when the employer respects the employee and listens to what that person has to say. Thanks, Moira, for the inspiration. Folks, if you are not already follow Moira’s excellent blog, you want to do that. It’s a gold mine of posts on culture, clothes, and what it all says about us in fiction.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5. I mean, I didn’t feel there was much choice…