CREDIT: YouTube/phrynefishertv

Conservative U.S. viewers are said to be criticizing Australia's ABC TV "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" show, deeming its free-spirited heroine Phryne Fisher as being too promiscuous. The said show, currently on its second season, stars Essie Davis in the title role. The TV series is based on Australian author Kerry Greenwood's "Phryne Fisher Historical Mysteries."

The character Phryne Fisher is a private detective who is liberated and stylish and is determined to solve any crime whatever it takes. She also has a devil-may-care attitude towards her numerous relationships with different men. Fisher is somewhat similar to James Bond when it comes to women.

It is critically acclaimed in its native Australia. In the U.S., it can be viewed on Netflix, where the show's first season is streaming. However, despite its mostly good reviews, some conservative U.S. viewers are balking at Fisher's attitude and lifestyle, especially towards men.

Some viewers have even resorted to name-calling, referring to Fisher as a "tramp" and an "obnoxious airhead."

"I just wish that Miss Fisher wasn't such a tramp," wrote one reviewer reported on the Jezebel Web site.

"I mean she gives it away like Halloween candy. It is hard to respect someone with such little morality."

While Greenwood expected such criticisms about her character Phryne, she thinks that most of these views are due to misunderstanding.

Greenwood reportedly wrote Phryne Fisher as a feminist icon.

"I wanted a hero who was perfectly self assured about every aspect of her life," she said in a report by The Age.

Greenwood defended Phryne from people who think she is a slut by asking viewers to understand her history and why she behaves the way she does. She is rich but because she lost her family during the war, she is always looking for forms of pleasure that are more reliable during her time.

The "Phryne Fisher Historical Mysteries," by Kerry Greenwood includes the following books:

  1. "Cocaine Blues" (1989) also known as "Death by Misadventure"
  2. "Flying Too High" (1990)
  3. "Murder on the Ballarat Train" (1991)
  4. "Death at Victoria Dock" (1992)
  5. "The Green Mill Murder" (1993)
  6. "Blood And Circuses" (1994)
  7. "Ruddy Gore" (1995)
  8. "Urn Burial" (1996)
  9. "Raisins and Almonds" (1997)
  10. "Death Before Wicket" (1999)
  11. "Away With the Fairies" (2001)
  12. "Murder in Montparnasse" (2002)
  13. "The Castlemaine Murders" (2003)
  14. "Queen of the Flowers" (2004)
  15. "Death By Water" (2005)
  16. "Murder in the Dark" (2006)
  17. "Murder on a Midsummer Night" (2008)
  18. "Dead Man's Chest" (2010)
  19. "Unnatural Habits" (2012)
  20. "Murder and Mendelssohn" (2013)

It also includes these books:

  • "The Phryne Fisher Mysteries: Cocaine Blues" / "Flying Too High" (omnibus) (2004)
  • "A Question of Death" (short story collection) (2008)

Greenwood was nominated for a Davitt Award for Best Adult Novel in 2003 for the book "Murder in Montparnasse : A Phryne Fisher Mystery." She was also shortlisted for a Ned Kelly Award for Crime Fighting for her book "Queen of the Flowers : A Phryne Fisher Mystery."

"Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" is written by Deb Cox, Elizabeth Coleman, Ysabelle Dean Michael Miller, Jo Martino, Liz Doran, Shelley Birse and Kelly Lefever. It is produced by Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox.

Eagger thinks that the ABC TV series is tame compared to other shows. They don't even showcase Phryne's sexual encounters in vivid detail. It is mostly hinted at, with scenes depicted before or after the characters have sex in the show.

It's interesting and surprising how the U.S. seems to be such a liberated country but it still has conservative viewers that criticize "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" heroine Phryne Fisher as being too promiscuous for their own taste. Meanwhile shows like "True Blood," and "Masters of Sex" are being shown there and people don't seem to react as violently as they have for "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries."