The detective story-the classic whodunit with its time-displacement structure of crime-according to most literary historians, is of relatively recent origin. Early in its development, the whodunit was harshly criticized for its tightly formula-bound structure. Many critics prematurely proclaimed "the death of the whodunit" and even of detective fiction altogether. Yet today, the genre is alive, as contemporary authors have brought it into modern times through a significant integration of elaborate character development and psychology. With the modern psychological detective story emerging from the historical cauldron of detective fiction and early psychology, the genre continues to develop a complexity that reflects and guides the literary sophistication needed. This book, the first of its kind, analyzes over 150 whodunit novels and short stories across the decades, from The Moonstone to the contemporary novels that saved the genre from an ignominious death

Although fantasy and supernatural literature have long and celebrated histories, many critics and readers of detective fiction contend that the "fantastic" and the supernatural have no place in the logical, rational, world of the detective story. This book is the first extensive study of the fantastic in detective fiction and it explores the highly debated question of whether detective fiction and the "fantastic" can comfortably coexist. The "locked room" mystery-which often uses the fantastic as a red-herring to eventually be debunked by reason and logic-has long been among the most popular subgenres of detective fiction, but it is not the only type of celebrated detective story. This book also explores stories featuring almost supernaturally gifted detectives, stories where the supernatural is truly encountered, and stories with ambiguous endings. Almost 500 detective stories from 1841-2000, in which the fantastic or supernatural plays a central role, are discussed and analyzed. Although not all the stories are judged to be successful as detective tales, in the great majority, the fantastic enlivens the tale and deepens the mystery without weakening the detective elements.

It is high time for Good Fortune again. H.C. Bailey's fascinating detective Reggie Fortune was one of the most popular fictional detectives of the Golden Age, and Bailey was considered to be one of the Big Five of detective story authors of the period (with Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, R. Austin Freeman, and Freeman Wills Crofts). Although Fortune appeared in 9 novels, it is in the 84 short stories spread over 12 books from 1920-1940 where he truly shines, combining elements of so many of the detective types popular then: eccentric Thinking Machine, Scientific, Psychological, Defender of Justice, Philosophical, Hard-Boiled. However, despite his wild popularity throughout the 1920's, 30's, and 40's, he is largely forgotten today. This book, the first critical study of the Reggie Fortune stories, places them in the context of other popular Golden Age detective fiction and identifies and describes their notable and appealing qualities. Not only are these classic stories distinguished by clever well-clued puzzles, brilliant sleuthing, vivid description, and intriguing philosophy and social critique, but they evoke powerful mythological images of Don Quixote and the Arthurian Knights and the enduring human pursuit of truth and justice in the face of a sometimes uncaring world.

G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories are widely considered to be some of the finest detective short stories ever published, offering vivid writing, brilliant puzzles, biting social criticism, and metaphysical explorations of life's great questions. This book presents the first in-depth analysis of his works both as classics of the detective genre and as meaningful philosophical inquiries. The Father Brown stories are examined along with Chesterton's less well known fiction, including the short stories about Mr. Pond, Gabriel Gale, Basil and Rupert Grant, Horne Fisher, Dr. Adrian Hyde and Philip Swayne, and the novels The Man Who Was Thursday and Manalive.

As author of the popular Ellery Queen novels and short stories, as literary historian and critic, and especially as editor of the renowned Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine--Ellery Queen was the single greatest force in the mid-1900s for the survival and health of the detective-crime short story. Queen's indefatigable and enthusiastic promotion of his favorite form of fiction was vital to its continuing popularity after the passing of Doyle and Chesterton and Christie and Hammett and its other famous authors of the early- and mid-20th Century. This critical study presents the first thorough examination of the role Queen played in the flourishing of the detective-crime short story with particular focus on the importance of Frederick Dannay as editor of EQMM and scores of short story anthologies. Many of the authors ("Old Masters," "New Masters," and "tec tyros" alike), detectives, and stories that Queen promoted and championed are listed and described, including authors who won Edgars, EQMM Contests, Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes, famous authors from other genres such as Baum, Borges, Dreiser, Whitman, Wells, and even William Butler Yeats, "lost and forgotten" stories of classic authors, and auspicious debuts of authors and detectives who were to become famous. With over 50 years as author, historian, and editor, Queen was the detective-crime short story's "guardian angel, patron saint, and publisher." Without the influence of Queen, the detective-crime short story may not have survived, for Queen was "the last bastion of short mystery fiction"; he was "the detective-crime short story."