Here are a few tantalizing slides from two of my lectures. All the lectures are listed below.
NOT EXACTLY JAMES BOND, BUT . . .
An investigation into women spies from the American Revolution to the Cold War.
Button, button, who’s got the button?
Lydia Darragh’s husband, William, wrote the information she uncovered in a special shorthand known to most members of the family. Darragh then hid the message under cloth-covered buttons on her son John’s coat. John then took the message to his older brother, Charles, who was serving in the Continental Army under General Washington.
THE ICON OF FEMALE SPYDOM: Margaretha Geertruida Zelle aka Mata Hari
LET’S FIND OUT FROM SOME ACTUAL ACCOUNTS OF THE WOMEN OF THE OSS
4500 women served in the OSS during WWII.
Along with the women who served in the WASPS, The Women’s Air Service Pilots, the Rosies who manufactured the war materiel, the nurses, the code breakers, and the WAFS, WACS and WAVES.
Was it glamourous? Was there gender bias? What did they accomplish?
Here is a complete list of Linda Maria Frank’s Lecture Series
- NOT EXACTLY JAMES BOND, BUT . . .: The story of women’s contributions to America’s war efforts are some of the most interesting stories in the world of espionage. Women have acted as spies since Biblical times. Their ability to blend into the natural commerce of human affairs allows them the anonymity required by espionage. This lecture deals with women of the Culper Spy Ring, George Washington’s secret service, the first in America. We move on to the Civil War, both Union and Confederate agents. As we enter WWI, spies become more international, and ever though some are not American, they are noteworthy. WWII sees the formation of the OSS with 4,50 women operatives. And then there is the cold war. Who were they? What did they do? What happened to them?
- DNA TECHNOLOGY: includes an explanation of how we are related and how we are different by our DNA and illustrates how this technology has become one of the best tools of criminologists.
- DNA AND FAMOUS MURDER CASES outlines how DNA analysis was used and misused in the O.J. Simpson trial, the Laci and Connor Petersen murders, the Sam Sheppard trial, and the Boston Strangler.
- THE LINDBERG KIDNAPPING traces the evidence used to convict Bruno Hauptman of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindberg, Jr. This was the first case dubbed the “Crime of the Century” by the print and radio media.
- SOLVING ANCIENT MYSTERIES I: This lecture illustrates how modern forensic techniques using DNA technology are used to solve mysteries of the past. The initial segment focuses on the ancient mystery closest to home, our own ancestry. It includes an explanation of how services like ancestry.com work and what they tell us. A discussion of the efforts to identify the remains of POW’s and MIA’s is included in this lecture. The main points presented are:
- DNA, its role in heredity, and the technologies used to link individuals
- The DNA technology used in ancestry searches
- Cases where DNA has solved some age-old mysteries, for example, the migration of the human species, the Mitochondrial Eve, the lost tribe of Israel.
- How DNA technology is used to identify the victims of war and catastrophes, like the American MIA’s in Vietnam and other wars.
- SOLVING ANCIENT AND COLD MYSTERIES II: Evidence to explain fascinating discoveries such as Otzi, the Ice Man, the Bog People of Denmark, the Peruvian mummies and even the Vampire folklore of Eastern Europe is presented. This presentation includes:
- A review of how DNA technology works
- The ancient mysteries described above, and
- The case of Tsar Nicolas, the last Czar of Russia, and his family including the infamous Anastasia.
- The final resting place of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
- PLANTS, POISONS AND PLOTS I: This lecture includes an investigation into the forensic world of toxicology. It concentrates on poisons derived from plants.
- PLANTS, POISONS AND PLOTS II: This investigation goes on to illustrate how the various plant poisons and their uses or misuses have been used over the centuries. It illuminates how famous mystery writers have employed them in their books. From Snow White to Agatha Christie to the popular Outlander series, follow the authors’ notes on Plants, Poisons and Plots.
- ART, NOT ART I: This program delves into the lucrative world of art crime.
- Explanations of how art pieces are scientifically authenticated, including both scientific methods and the expertise of the art historian.
- The significance of a provenance.
- The difference between fake, forgery and restoration.
- Examples of forgeries.
- Cases of both, successful and unsuccessful forgeries and thefts are included.
- ART, NOT ART II: After a brief discussion of art crime, the effects of war on art works and cultural artifacts is addressed.
- Famous cases of art theft, such as the Nazi atrocities regarding art works during WWII are described.
- The work of the Museum Fine Arts and Archives (Monuments Men), created by FDR, to restore art works to their owners at the end of the war is described in detail.
- The destruction of human history in the Middle East by ISIS and other terrorist groups is detailed, and compared to the previous discussed response, by the United States, to this atrocity.
- The case of Woman in Gold, and art world mysteries, involving Michelangelo, Leonardo DaVinci and Rembrandt are also included.
- THOSE CSI SHOWS, FACT OR FICTION: An investigation of the protocols, procedures and laboratory world of crime investigation in the real world and on TV, with references to notable cases solved by the various divisions of the modern forensics laboratory makes this a must for fans of the popular crime solving genre of TV fare.
- I THINK I CAN WRITE A BOOK, MAYBE A MYSTERY: How does one go about writing a book? In this lecture, the author explains the process of getting down to the actual writing and production of a book. From inspiration, sources of ideas, research and the art of writing, Linda Frank gives her best advice and anecdotes of how the Annie Tillery Mystery Series came about. She also discussed the three ways to publish, what is entailed in book to movie or TV, and the use of social media to get your book out there. It is a personal story chock full of factual information gleaned by the author as a result of her journey from idea to book. I have described this process in my latest book, “Making a Mystery with Annie Tillery: The Madonna Ghost”.
Linda Maria Frank, retired from a career teaching science, including forensic science, resides on Long Island and is currently writing the Annie Tillery Mysteries, The Madonna Ghost, Girl with Pencil, Drawing, Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys, and The Mystery of the Lost Avenger. She also produces The Writer’s Dream, her local access TV show, seen on YouTube. Frank is active in LI Authors Group, LI Sisters in Crime, LI Children’s Writers and Illustrators, and Mystery Writers of America.
https://annietillerymystery.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/AnnieTilleryMysteries/
https://www.facebook.com/The-Writers-Dream-144688198966801/
https://www.youtube.com/user/lindamariafrank
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