Detective fiction it’s a mystery

history Edgar Allan Poe: founder of the genre Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The murders in the rue morgue (1841) The purloined letter (1845) The mystery of Marie Roget (1850) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Published 4 novels and 56 short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. Doyle published A study in scarlet , the first Sherlock Holmes novel, in 1887. Holmes’ fame rose with Doyle’s publications of his short stories in the strand magazine in 1891. In contrast to Poe, Doyle gives his detective protagonist a sidekick: dr. Watson. Watson narrates all 4 novels and 53 of the Sherlock Holmes short stories.

Sherlock Holmes Holmes Watson Complex and sophisticated approaches to solving crimes Plunges into the psychology of the criminal scientific Populist and simplistic approaches to solving crimes Sees the surface of the crime emotional

Characteristics of detective fiction

The detectives Can be compared to mythological heroes (e.g., Odysseus) because they face challenges, temptations, danger, and usually have loyalty to a higher power (usually Truth) Known as “private eyes” which refers to their ability to be “all-seeing” Usually well-educated and sophisticated, sometimes wealthy, too Have physical strength and prowess Tend to have a quick wit and/or sarcasm, and have superior abilities to the average citizen in things like card playing, shooting, car racing, etc. Often defeat their opponents with language rather than simple brute strength Usually asked to restore something: an object, a person, or peace of mind

The detective’s code Closed-mouthed and anonymous; secretive and avoids publicity or fame Loyalty to partner and profession Dedication to the client Economical with the client’s money Cooperates to some degree with the police, but his or her investigation supersedes the law (dedication to the client comes first) Avoids being tricked by examining all possibilities

Common Detective Fiction motifs A search for an apparently valuable, but really worthless item Apparent crime that is revealed to be a repetition of an earlier crime A wealthy family with a problem or a secret The cleaning up of a corrupt town or system The antagonist who is the double of the detective

Common Detective Fiction Characters The Detective Male or female Loyalty to the Truth and to the client The Harbinger/client The person who comes to the detective for help Lays out all the clues and explains who is involved Femme Fatale Irresistibly attractive woman who leads men into danger Detective’s love interest Could be the cause of the crime, so the detective must ultimately reject her The villain A specific, individualized bad guy A culpable class (i.e., mobsters)

Elements of a detective story

1. A memorable detective Fictional detectives are expected to be both clever and a bit out of the ordinary. They must have some small habit, mannerism, eccentricity, interest, talent – anything that sets them apart from the crowd. 

2. A significant crime Traditionally, the detective novel is constructed around a murder or a great theft. Murder is a crime that cannot be reversed or amended; thus, it is a crime worth the detective’s (and the reader’s) time and efforts to solve.

3. The criminal is a worthy opponent In real life, crimes are committed by ordinary, everyday, sometimes dull and stupid people. However, if fictional detectives are to show off their considerable skills, they must match wits with adversaries of equal cleverness. The mind of the criminal is often the intellectual equal of the detective’s. The conflict becomes a battle of intellects between the detective, his/her opponent, and the reader.

4. All the suspects, including the criminal, are presented early in the story Half the fun of reading a good detective story comes from the mental contest between the reader and the detective in a race to solve the crime. The reader must be able to safely assume that the perpetrator of the crime is one of the main characters in the story, not someone whom the author is going to slip in on the unsuspecting reader in the next-to-the- last chapter.

5. All clues discovered by the detective must be made available to the reader Like not springing any surprise suspects, this is another “fair play” rule to which the author must adhere. The reader must be given the same opportunity to solve the crime as the detective, and this means getting the same evidence at the same time it is made available to the detective. Of course, an author may deliberately mislead the reader (red herrings), as long as his fictional detective is similarly deceived.

6. The solution must appear logical and obvious when the detective explains how the crime was solved The reader must be convinced that he could have come to exactly the same conclusion as the detective. In the end, the reader must see how all the little tidbits of information fit together like so many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It is for this reason that detective stories are so appealing.