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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."
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