An armchair detective is a fictional investigator who does not personally visit a

crime scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcement. ...

or interview witnesses; instead, the detective either reads the story of the crime in a newspaper or has it recounted by another person. As the armchair detective never sees any of the investigation, the reader can attempt to solve the mystery on the same terms as the detective. The phrase possibly originates in a

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

story from 1893, '' The Greek Interpreter'', in which Holmes says of his brother Mycroft, "If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an arm-chair, my brother would be the greatest criminal agent that ever lived."

Examples of armchair detectives in fiction

Early examples of armchair detectives in literature include C. Auguste Dupin in

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's '' The Mystery of Marie Rogêt'' (1842), who arrives at the correct explanation for a young woman's mysterious disappearance working wholly from newspaper accounts. Amateur detective Tabaret in Émile Gaboriau's Monsieur Lecoq books, published from 1865. Both appear before the introduction of Mycroft in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' novels in 1893.

Baroness Orczy Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: ''Emma Magdalena Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci'') (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends ...

's Old Man in the Corner, first appearing in 1901, sits in a restaurant and solves crime cases while talking with an acquaintance. Lancelot Priestley appeared in a long-running series of novels by Cecil Street after making his debut in '' The Paddington Mystery'' (1925). A very literal example is

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Principality of Montenegro, Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a ...

, created by

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886–October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

in 1934, who only leaves his house in exceptional circumstances, typically delegating the legwork for his cases to his assistant. In the novella '' Before I Die'', Wolfe says, "I would be an idiot to leave this chair, made to fit me." Marian Phipps, a character appearing from 1937 in stories by Phyllis Bentley, is a detective novelist who begins solving cases that a policeman friend relates to her. More recent examples include L Lawliet from ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to ...

'' (2004), who reads case files to find unsolved crimes, which he then investigates. Lord El-Melloi II, in the light novel '' Fate/strange Fake'' (2006) provides a number of tips and solutions relating to the Holy Grail War taking place in North America, while he is in London.

Magazine

''The Armchair Detective'' magazine was "primarily a mystery

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

featuring articles, commentary, checklists, bibliographical material, etc., started by the legendary crime fan and bibliographer Allen J. Hubin." It was published from 1967 to 1997.

Radio and television

*''Armchair Detective'' was the title of a British

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

series created by Ernest Dudley. *'' Armchair Detective'' was also the title of an early TV series on

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

, flagship station of the

Paramount Television Network The Paramount Television Network, Inc. was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s. The company-built television stations KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago; it also in ...

(approximately 1949–50). *'' Armchair Detectives'' is the name of a British TV game show hosted by Susan Calman in 2017 on the BBC

References

{{reflist Detective fiction