The caper story is a subgenre of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

. The typical caper story involves one or more crimes (especially thefts, swindles, or occasionally kidnappings) perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader. The actions of police or detectives attempting to prevent or solve the crimes may also be chronicled, but are not the main focus of the story. The caper story is distinguished from the straight crime story by elements of humor, adventure, or unusual cleverness or audacity. The main characters often have comical idiosyncrasies and the law enforcement individuals are characterized by ineptitude or inadequacies. The criminals comically plan a crime with details unnecessary for the nature of the crime, and humour is created when their personalities clash and their quirks are exposed. For instance, the Dortmunder stories of Donald E. Westlake are highly comic tales involving unusual thefts by a gang of offbeat characters—in different stories Dortmunder's gang steals the same gem several times, steals an entire branch bank, and kidnaps someone from an asylum by driving a stolen train onto the property. By contrast, the same author's Parker stories (published under the name Richard Stark) are grimly straightforward accounts of mundane crime—the criminal equivalent of the

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

. Others, such as Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr novels, feature a role reversal, an honest criminal and crooked cop, and the use of burglar Rhodenbarr's criminal talents to solve murders. A caper may appear as a subplot in a larger work. For example, Tom Sawyer's plot to steal Jim out of slavery in the last part of '' Huckleberry Finn'' is a classic caper.

Etymology

The verb ''to caper'' means to leap in a frolicsome way, and probably derives from ''capriole'', which derives from the Latin for

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

('' Capra''). The noun ''caper''Caper; definition 3
from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary means a frolicsome leap, a capricious escapade or an illegal or questionable act.

Examples

Literature

* '' Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar'' (1907) by Maurice Leblanc * " The Ransom of Red Chief" (1910) by O. Henry: two kidnappers find that the little boy they are holding for ransom is more dangerous than the law * early stories of " The Saint" (beginning in 1928) by Leslie Charteris * ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1949) by W. R. Burnett, adapted for film in 1950, 1958, 1963 and 1972 * novels by John Boland such as ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a British surreal comedy horror series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives ...

'' (1958) and '' The Golden Fleece'' (1961) * '' The Light of Day'' (1962) by Eric Ambler (filmed as '' Topkapi'') * the '' Modesty Blaise'' stories (beginning in 1963) of Peter O'Donnell * the

John Dortmunder John Archibald Dortmunder is a fictional character created by Donald E. Westlake. He is the protagonist of 14 novels and 11 short stories published between 1970 and 2009. He first appeared in the novel ''The Hot Rock'', published in 1970. Westla ...

series (beginning in 1970) and other novels by Donald E. Westlake * ''Sledgehammer'' (1971) by Walter Wager * ''A Tough One to Lose'' (1972) by Tony Kenrick * '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1973) by John Godey— a subway car is hijacked and held for ransom * '' The Great Train Robbery'' (1975) by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...

* ''Stealing Lillian'' (1975) by Tony Kenrick * ''The Seven Day Soldiers'' (1976) by Tony Kenrick * ''Faraday's Flowers'' (1978) — adapted as '' Shanghai Surprise'' * ''Two Lucky People'' (1981) by Tony Kenrick * '' Swindle'' (2008) By Gordon Korman * '' Mistborn: The Final Empire'' (2006) By

Brandon Sanderson Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy, science fiction, and young adult books. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the '' Mistb ...

* '' The Lies of Locke Lamora'' (2006) by Scott Lynch * '' Heist Society'' (2010) by Ally Carter * Most books by

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stepha ...

Film

Television

* ''Now You See It, Now You Don't'', a 1968 TV-movie about an art expert who is hired by an insurance company to protect a

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

on loan from the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

and later hatches a scheme to steal it. * '' Hustle'', a British series created by Tony Jordan (2004–2012). * '' Leverage'', a TNT series created by

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

(2008–2012). * '' Olsen-banden'', a Danish comedy series.

References