
Detective fiction 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 ...
and
mystery fiction
Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...
in which an
investigator or a
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
. The detective genre began around the same time as
speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
and other
genre fiction
In the book-trade, genre fiction, also known as formula fiction, or commercial fiction,Girolimon, Mars"Types of Genres: A Literary Guide" Southern New Hampshire University, 11 December 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024. encompasses fictional ...
in the mid-nineteenth century and has remained extremely popular, particularly in novels. Some of the most famous heroes of detective fiction include
C. Auguste Dupin,
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 ...
,
Kogoro Akechi
is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo.
Overview
Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a ps ...
,
Miss Marple
Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...
and
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...
. Juvenile stories featuring
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...
,
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and TV shows as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudo ...
, and
The Boxcar Children have also remained in print for several decades.
History
Ancient
Some scholars, such as R. H. Pfeiffer, have suggested that certain ancient and religious texts bear similarities to what would later be called detective fiction. In the Old Testament story of
Susanna and the Elders (the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
locates this story within the
apocrypha
Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...
), the account told by two witnesses broke down when
Daniel cross-examines them. In response, author
Julian Symons
Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons, pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was born ...
has argued that "those who search for fragments of detection in the Bible and Herodotus are looking only for puzzles" and that these puzzles are not detective stories.
Early Arabic
''
One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...
'' contains several of the earliest detective stories, anticipating modern detective fiction.
The oldest known example of a detective story was "
The Three Apples
The Three Apples (), or The Tale of the Murdered Woman (), is a story contained in the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' collection (also known as the "Arabian Nights"). It is a first-level story, being told by Scheherazade herself, and contains one ...
", one of the tales narrated by
Scheherazade
Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''.
Name
According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...
in the ''
One Thousand and One Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...
'' (''Arabian Nights''). In this story, a fisherman discovers a heavy, locked chest along the
Tigris
The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...
river, which he then sells to the
Abbasid Caliph
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came ...
,
Harun al-Rashid
Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...
. When Harun breaks open the chest, he discovers the body of a young woman who has been cut into pieces. Harun then orders his
vizier
A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
,
Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and to find the murderer within three days, or be executed if he fails in his assignment.
Suspense
Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...
is generated through multiple
plot twists that occur as the story progresses. With these characteristics this may be considered an
archetype
The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...
for detective fiction. It anticipates the use of
reverse chronology
Reverse chronology is a narrative structure and method of storytelling whereby the plot is revealed in reverse order.
In a story employing this technique, the first scene shown is actually the conclusion to the plot. Once that scene ends, the ...
in modern detective fiction, where the story begins with a crime before presenting a gradual reconstruction of the past.
The main difference between Ja'far ("The Three Apples") and later fictional detectives, such as
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 ...
and
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...
, is that Ja'far has no desire to solve the case. The
whodunit
A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...
mystery is solved when the murderer himself confesses his crime. This in turn leads to another assignment in which Ja'far has to find the culprit who instigated the murder within three days or else be executed. Ja'far again fails to find the culprit before the deadline, but owing to chance, he discovers a key item. In the end, he manages to solve the case through reasoning in order to prevent his own execution.
On the other hand, two other ''Arabian Nights'' stories, "The Merchant and the Thief" and "Ali Khwaja", contain two of the earliest
fictional detectives, who uncover clues and present evidence to catch or convict a criminal known to the audience, with the story unfolding in normal chronology and the criminal already known to the audience. The latter involves a
climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
where the titular detective protagonist Ali Khwaja presents evidence from
expert witness
An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...
es in a court.
Early Chinese
Gong'an fiction
''Gong'an'' or crime-case fiction () is a subgenre of Chinese crime fiction involving government magistrates who solve criminal cases. Gong'an fiction first appeared in the colloquial stories of the Song dynasty. Gong'an fiction developed into o ...
(
公案小说, literally:"case records of a public law court") is an early genre of Chinese detective fiction.
Some well-known stories include the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
story ''
Circle of Chalk'' (Chinese:
灰 闌 記), the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
story collection ''
Bao Gong An'' (Chinese:
包公
Gong was a title of nobility, title of ancient China, ancient and imperial China, imperial Chinese nobility roughly equivalent to and usually translated as duke (title), duke. It was also historically used within Chinese fiefs as a respectful tit ...
案) and the 18th century ''
Di Gong An'' (Chinese:
狄公
Gong was a title of nobility, title of ancient China, ancient and imperial China, imperial Chinese nobility roughly equivalent to and usually translated as duke (title), duke. It was also historically used within Chinese fiefs as a respectful tit ...
案) story collection. The latter was translated into English as ''
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee
''Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee'' (; lit. "Cases of Judge Dee"), also known as Di Gong An or Dee Goong An, is an 18th-century Chinese '' gong'an'' detective novel by an anonymous author, "Buti zhuanren" ( Chinese: 不题撰人). It is loosely ...
'' by Dutch sinologist
Robert Van Gulik, who then used the style and characters to write the original
Judge Dee
Judge Dee, or Judge Di, is a semi-fictional character based on the historical figure Di Renjie, County magistrate (China), county magistrate and statesman of the Tang dynasty, Tang court. The character appeared in the 18th-century Chinese detectiv ...
series.
The hero/detective of these novels was typically a traditional judge or similar official based on historical personages such as
Judge Bao (
Bao Qingtian) or Judge Dee (
Di Renjie
Di Renjie (630 – November 11, 700), courtesy name Huaiying (懷英), posthumous name Duke Wenhui of Liang (梁文惠公), was a Chinese politician of the Tang dynasty, Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, twice serving as Chancellor of the Tang dynas ...
). Although the historical characters may have lived in an earlier period (such as the
Song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
or
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
) most stories are written in the later
Ming or
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
dynasty period.
These novels differ from the Western tradition in several points as described by Van Gulik:
* The detective is the local magistrate who is usually involved in several unrelated cases simultaneously;
* The criminal is introduced at the very beginning of the story and his crime and reasons are carefully explained, thus constituting an
inverted detective story
An inverted detective story, occasionally known as a "howcatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then ...
rather than a "puzzle";
* The stories have a supernatural element with ghosts telling people about their death and even accusing the criminal;
* The stories are filled with digressions into philosophy, the complete texts of official documents, and much more, resulting in long books; and
* The novels tend to have a huge cast of characters, typically in the hundreds, all described with their relation to the various main actors in the story.
Van Gulik chose ''Di Gong An'' to translate because in his view it was closer to the Western literary style and more likely to appeal to non-Chinese readers.
A number of
Gong An works may have been
lost or destroyed during the
Literary Inquisitions and the
wars
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...
in ancient China. In traditional Chinese culture, this genre was not prestigious, and was therefore considered less worthy of preservation than works of philosophy or poetry.
Early Western

One of the earliest examples of detective fiction in Western literature is
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
's ''
Zadig'' (1748), which features a main character who performs feats of analysis.
[ '' Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams'' (1794) by ]William Godwin
William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...
portrays the law as protecting the murderer and destroying the innocent. Thomas Skinner Sturr's anonymous ''Richmond, or stories in the life of a Bow Street officer'' was published in London in 1827; the Danish crime story '' The Rector of Veilbye'' by Steen Steensen Blicher was written in 1829; and the Norwegian crime novel ''Mordet paa Maskinbygger Roolfsen'' ("The Murder of Engine Maker Roolfsen") by Maurits Hansen was published in December 1839.
" Das Fräulein von Scuderi" is an 1819 short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, in which Mlle de Scudery establishes the innocence of the police's favorite suspect in the murder of a jeweller. This story is sometimes cited as the first detective story and as a direct influence on 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 Murders in the Rue Morgue
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective fiction, detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of wikt:ratio ...
" (1841). Also suggested as a possible influence on Poe is 'The Secret Cell', a short story published in September 1837 by William Evans Burton
William Evans Burton (24 September 180410 February 1860) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and publisher who relocated to the United States.
Life and work
Early life
Born in London on 24 September 1804 (althoug ...
. It has been suggested that this story may have been known to Poe, who worked for Burton in 1839. The story was about a London policeman who solves the mystery of a kidnapped girl. Burton's fictional detective relied on practical methods such as dogged legwork, knowledge of the underworld and undercover surveillance, rather than brilliance of imagination or intellect.
English genre establishment
Detective fiction in the English-language literature is considered to have begun in 1841 with the publication of Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", featuring "the first fictional detective, the eccentric and brilliant C. Auguste Dupin". When the character first appeared, the word ''detective'' had not yet been used in English; however, the character's name, "Dupin", originated from the English word dupe or deception. Poe devised a "plot formula that's been successful ever since, give or take a few shifting variables."[Kismaric, Carole and Heiferman, Marvin. ''The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. p. 56. ] Poe followed with further Auguste Dupin tales: " The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" in 1842 and " The Purloined Letter" in 1844.
Poe referred to his stories as "tales of ratiocination".[ In stories such as these, the primary concern of the plot is ascertaining truth, and the usual means of obtaining the truth is a complex and mysterious process combining intuitive logic, astute observation, and perspicacious inference. "Early detective stories tended to follow an investigating protagonist from the first scene to the last, making the unravelling a practical rather than emotional matter."] "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" is particularly interesting because it is a barely fictionalized account based on Poe's theory of what happened to the real-life Mary Cecilia Rogers.
William Russell (1806–1876) was among the first English authors to write fictitious 'police memoirs', contributing an irregular series of stories (under the pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
'Waters') to '' Chambers's Edinburgh Journal'' between 1849 and 1852. Unauthorised collections of his stories were published in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1852 and 1853, entitled ''The Recollections of a Policeman''. Twelve stories were then collated into a volume entitled ''Recollections of a Detective Police-Officer'', published in London in 1856.
Literary critic Catherine Ross Nickerson credits Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Good Wives'' (1869), ''Little Men'' (1871), and ''Jo's Boys'' ...
with creating the second-oldest work of modern detective fiction, after Poe's Dupin stories, with the 1865 thriller "V.V., or Plots and Counterplots." A short story published anonymously by Alcott, the story concerns a Scottish aristocrat who tries to prove that a mysterious woman has killed his fiancée and cousin. The detective on the case, Antoine Dupres, is a parody of Auguste Dupin who is less concerned with solving the crime than he is in setting up a way to reveal the solution with a dramatic flourish. Ross Nickerson notes that many of the American writers who experimented with Poe's established rules of the genre were women, inventing a subgenre of domestic detective fiction that flourished for several generations. These included Metta Fuller Victor's two detective novels ''The Dead Letter'' (1867) and ''The Figure Eight'' (1869). ''The Dead Letter'' is noteworthy as the first full-length work of American crime fiction.
Émile Gaboriau was a pioneer of the detective fiction genre in France. In '' Monsieur Lecoq'' (1868), the title character is adept at disguise, a key characteristic of detectives. Gaboriau's writing is also considered to contain the first example of a detective minutely examining a crime scene for clues.
Another early example of a whodunit is a subplot in the novel ''Bleak House
''Bleak House'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode Serial (literature), serial between 12 March 1852 and 12 September 1853. The novel has many characters and several subplots, and is told partly by th ...
'' (1853) by Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
. The conniving lawyer Tulkinghorn is killed in his office late one night, and the crime is investigated by Inspector Bucket of the Metropolitan police force. Numerous characters appeared on the staircase leading to Tulkinghorn's office that night, some of them in disguise, and Inspector Bucket must penetrate these mysteries to identify the murderer. Dickens also left a novel unfinished at his death, '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood''.
Dickens's protégé, Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...
(1824–1889)—sometimes called the "grandfather of English detective fiction"—is credited with the first great mystery novel, '' The Woman in White''. T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...
called Collins's novel ''The Moonstone
''The Moonstone: A Romance'' by Wilkie Collins is an 1868 British epistolary novel. It is an early example of the modern detective novel, and established many of the ground rules of the modern genre. Its publication was started on 4 January 18 ...
'' (1868) "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels... in a genre invented by Collins and not by Poe", and Dorothy L. Sayers called it "probably the very finest detective story ever written". ''The Moonstone'' contains a number of ideas that have established in the genre several classic features of the 20th century detective story:
* English country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
robbery
* An "inside job
An inside job is a crime committed by a person in a position of trust, or with the help of someone either employed by the victim or entrusted with access to the victim's affairs or premises.
Inside Job may also refer to:
Books
* ''Inside J ...
"
* red herrings
* A celebrated, skilled, professional investigator
* Bungling local constabulary
* Detective inquiries
* Large number of false suspects
* The "least likely suspect"
* A rudimentary " locked room" murder
* A reconstruction of the crime
* A final twist in the plot
Although ''The Moonstone'' is usually seen as the first detective novel, there are other contenders for the honor. A number of critics suggest that the lesser known '' Notting Hill Mystery'' (1862–63), written by the pseudonymous "Charles Felix" (later identified as Charles Warren Adams
Charles Warren Adams (1833–1903) was an English lawyer, publisher and anti-vivisectionist, now known from documentary evidence to have been the author of ''The Notting Hill Mystery''. This is often taken to be the first full-length detective n ...
), preceded it by a number of years and first used techniques that would come to define the genre.[ Paul Collins]
"The Case of the First Mystery Novelist"
, in-print as "Before Hercule or Sherlock, There Was Ralph", ''New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'', January 7, 2011, p. 46
Literary critics Chris Willis and Kate Watson consider Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (4 October 1835 – 4 February 1915) was an English popular Novelists, novelist of the Victorian era. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'', which has also been dramatised and filmed seve ...
's first book, the even earlier '' The Trail of the Serpent'' (1861), to be the first British detective novel. ''The Trail of the Serpent'' "features an innovative detective figure, Mr. Peters, who is lower class and mute, and who is initially dismissed both by the text and its characters." Braddon's later and better-remembered work, '' Aurora Floyd'' (printed in 1863 novel form, but serialized in 1862–63), also features a compelling detective in the person of Detective Grimstone of Scotland Yard.
Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literatu ...
's melodrama '' The Ticket-of-Leave Man'', an adaptation of ''Léonard'' by Édouard Brisbarre and Eugène Nus, appeared in 1863, introducing Hawkshaw the Detective. In short, it is difficult to establish who was the first to write the English-language detective novel, as various authors were exploring the theme simultaneously.
Anna Katharine Green
Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 – April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green ...
, in her 1878 debut ''The Leavenworth Case
''The Leavenworth Case'' (1878), subtitled ''A Lawyer's Story'', is an American Detective fiction, detective novel and the first novel by Anna Katharine Green. Set in New York City, it concerns the murder of a retired merchant, Horatio Leavenwort ...
'' and other works, popularized the genre among middle-class readers and helped to shape the genre into its classic form as well as developed the concept of the series detective.
In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
created 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 ...
, arguably the most famous of all fictional detectives. Although Sherlock Holmes is not the first fictional detective (he was influenced by Poe's Dupin and Gaboriau's Lecoq), his name has become synonymous for the part. Conan Doyle stated that the character of Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...
. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing large conclusions from the smallest observations. A brilliant London-based "consulting detective" residing at 221B Baker Street, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and is renowned for his skillful use of astute observation
Observation in the natural sciences is an act or instance of noticing or perceiving and the acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the percep ...
, deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning is the process of drawing valid inferences. An inference is valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, meaning that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. For example, t ...
, and forensic
Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...
skills to solve difficult cases. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
featuring Holmes, and all but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend, assistant, and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson.
Detective Fiction in Boys Story Papers
Detective fiction aimed at young male readers emerged as a distinct and highly popular subgenre in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, particularly in British and American boys' weekly magazines. While school stories remained the dominant form of boys' fiction, detective narratives claimed a strong second place in popularity from the 1890s onward. The American market pioneered serial detective characters, with publications like the "Old Sleuth Library" (1872) and stories featuring Nick Carter establishing the format. In Britain, the genre gained prominence through publishers like James Henderson and Sons and the Aldine Publishing Company, which initially reprinted American detective stories before developing their own characters. The Amalgamated Press
The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...
with its numerous story papers played a prominent part in the spreading and popularizations of the genre.
The most enduring figure in boys' detective fiction was Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake is a fictional British detective, whose adventures captivated readers for over eight decades from 1893 to 1978. Blake featured in more than 4,000 stories by approximately 200 different authors, making him one of the most prolifica ...
, who first appeared in 1893 and featured in over 3,000 stories spanning nearly six decades. Blake's longevity was matched by a period of intense creativity in the genre, which saw the creation of numerous competing detective characters. Notable among these was Nelson Lee
Nelson Lee (born October 16, 1975; Chinese name: 李志傑) is a Taiwanese-Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Senator Hamato Xiono in ''Ahsoka'', and Dragon King in '' Stargirl''.
Life and career
Lee was born in Taipei, Taiwan on O ...
, created by John William Staniforth
John William Staniforth (14 November 1863 – 3 January 1927) was a British writer who wrote under the pen-names Stain Cortley, John Andrews and Maxwell Scott.
He wrote primarily adventure and detective fiction. His most popular creation was ...
(writing as Maxwell Scott), who shared Blake's penchant for globe-trotting adventures and narrow escapes.
The genre was characterized by several consistent features: most detectives had young assistants (like Blake's aide Tinker), operated from London addresses, and engaged in both domestic and international pursuits. These stories typically emphasized action and adventure over the cerebral puzzle-solving that characterized adult detective fiction. From the late Edwardian era onwards these detective tales often featured recurring master criminals and criminal organizations providing ongoing antagonists.
Golden Age novels
The interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
(the 1920s and 1930s) is generally referred to as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. While the Golden Age proper is usually taken to refer to works from that period, this type of f ...
. During this period, a number of very popular writers emerged, including mostly British but also a notable subset of American and New Zealand writers. Female writers constituted a major portion of notable Golden Age writers. Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
, Dorothy L. Sayers, Josephine Tey, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh
Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh ( ; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer, writer.
As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Marsh is known as one of the Detective fiction#Golden Age detective novel ...
were particularly famous female writers of this time. Apart from Marsh (a New Zealander), they were all British.
Various conventions of the detective genre were standardized during the Golden Age, and in 1929, some of them were codified by the English Catholic priest and author of detective stories Ronald Knox
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an ...
in his 'Decalogue' of rules for detective fiction. One of his rules was to avoid supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
elements so that the focus remained on the mystery itself. Knox has contended that a detective story "must have as its main interest the unravelling of a mystery; a mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end." Another common convention in Golden Age detective stories involved an outsider–sometimes a salaried investigator or a police officer, but often a gifted amateur—investigating a murder committed in a closed environment by one of a limited number of suspects.
The most widespread subgenre of the detective novel became the whodunit
A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...
(or whodunnit, short for "who done it?"). In this subgenre, great ingenuity may be exercised in narrating the crime, usually a homicide, and the subsequent investigation. This objective was to conceal the identity of the criminal from the reader until the end of the book, when the method and culprit are both revealed. According to scholars Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman, "The golden age of detective fiction began with high-class amateur detectives sniffing out murderers lurking in rose gardens, down country lanes, and in picturesque villages. Many conventions of the detective-fiction genre evolved in this era, as numerous writers—from populist entertainers to respected poets—tried their hands at mystery stories."
John Dickson Carr—who also wrote as Carter Dickson—used the “puzzle” approach in his writing which was characterized by including a complex puzzle for the reader to try to unravel. He created ingenious and seemingly impossible plots and is regarded as the master of the "locked room mystery". Two of Carr's most famous works are ''The Case of Constant Suicides'' (1941) and ''The Hollow Man (Carr novel), The Hollow Man'' (1935). Another author, Cecil Street—who also wrote as John Rhode—wrote of a detective, Dr. Priestley, who specialised in elaborate technical devices. In the United States, the whodunit subgenre was adopted and extended by Rex Stout and Ellery Queen, along with others. The emphasis on formal rules during the Golden Age produced great works, albeit with highly standardized form. The most successful novels of this time included “an original and exciting plot; distinction in the writing, a vivid sense of place, a memorable and compelling hero and the ability to draw the reader into their comforting and highly individual world.”
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is not only the most famous Golden Age writer, but also considered one of the most famous authors of all genres of all time. At the time of her death in 1976, “she was the best-selling novelist in history.”
Many of the most popular books of the Golden Age were written by Agatha Christie. She produced long series of books featuring detective characters like Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...
and Miss Marple
Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...
, among others. Her use of basing her stories on complex puzzles, “combined with her stereotyped characters and picturesque middle-class settings”, is credited for her success. Christie's best-known works include ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (1934), ''Death on the Nile'' (1937), ''Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, Three Blind Mice'' (1950) and ''And Then There Were None'' (1939).
By country
China
In 1896, a significant literary phenomenon unfolded in China with the rapid translation and serialization of four Sherlock Holmes stories in Shiwu bao (The Progress), a periodical established by the prominent reformist Liang Qichao. These translations, undertaken by Zhang Kunde, marked an early introduction of Western detective fiction to Chinese readers, reflecting the broader intellectual currents of the time. The first of these stories, The Naval Treaty, was published in three installments between August and September 1896. Notably, the story was given a culturally adapted title, The English Bao and the Case of the Stolen Secret Treaty (Ying Bao tankan daomi yuean), which reimagined Sherlock Holmes as a "pure magistrate," a figure deeply rooted in Chinese tradition. This transformation not only localized the character for Chinese audiences but also signaled the translators' intent to align the narrative with indigenous cultural and ideological frameworks.
Following The Naval Treaty, other Sherlock Holmes stories were similarly translated and serialized. The Crooked Man appeared between October and November 1896, A Case of Identity was published from March to April 1897, and The Final Problem was serialized between April and May of the same year. These translations were part of a broader effort to introduce Western literary works to China, often with a focus on themes that resonated with the reformist agenda of the period. The popularity of Sherlock Holmes paved the way for the translation of other seminal works of Western detective fiction. Among these were L’affaire Lerouge by Émile Gaboriau (1832–1873), published in 1903, John Thorndyke's Cases by Richard Austin Freeman (1862–1943), which appeared in 1911, and Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar by Maurice Leblanc (1864–1941), translated in 1914. These works collectively contributed to the growing interest in detective fiction as a genre that could both entertain and provoke critical reflection on societal issues..
Among the translators of this era, Zhou Guisheng (1863–1926) stands out as a pivotal figure. Specializing in detective and science fiction, Zhou partially translated the French novel Margot la Balafrée by Fortuné du Boisgobey (1821–1891). In 1906, he founded the first Chinese Translators' Association (Yishu jiaotong gonghui) in Shanghai, an institution that played a crucial role in fostering literary exchange. Zhou's translation of Margot la Balafrée was notable for its extensive annotations and commentaries, which were appended to most chapters. These commentaries, following a tradition cherished by Chinese literati, sought to elucidate the moral and social implications of the narrative. However, unlike earlier practices that emphasized Confucian virtues, Zhou's commentaries critiqued the contemporary political system, often employing biting irony to mock the "antiquated" customs of imperial China. It is also noteworthy that among the commentators on Zhou's translation was Wu Jianren (1866–1910), better known by his pseudonym Wu Woyao, a celebrated writer of the time. Wu's involvement underscores the collaborative nature of this intellectual endeavor and highlights the role of detective fiction as a medium for social and political critique. Through their translations and commentaries, figures like Zhou Guisheng and Wu Jianren not only introduced Chinese readers to Western literary traditions but also used these works as a lens to examine and challenge the pressing issues of their own society.
Through China's Golden Age 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 ...
(1900–1949), translations of Western classics, and native Chinese detective fictions circulated within the country.
Cheng Xiaoqing had first encountered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
's highly popular stories as an adolescent. In the ensuing years, he played a major role in rendering them first into classical and later into vernacular Chinese. Cheng Xiaoqing, who had been self-taught in English from the age of 16, collaborated with a group of friends to translate the complete series of Sherlock Holmes stories into Chinese. Published in 1916 under the title Fuermosi tan’an (The Investigative Cases of Sherlock Holmes) by the Zhonghua shuju publishing house, this translation marked a significant milestone in the introduction of Western detective fiction to Chinese readers.
Cheng Xiaoqing's translated works from Conan Doyle introduced China to a new type of narrative style. Western detective fiction that was translated often emphasized “individuality, equality, and the importance of knowledge”, appealing to China that it was the time for opening their eyes to the rest of the world.
This style began China's interest in popular 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 ...
, and is what drove Cheng Xiaoqing to write his own 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 ...
novel, ''Sherlock in Shanghai''. In the late 1910s, Cheng began writing detective fiction inspired by Conan Doyle's style, with Bao as the Watson-like narrator; a rare instance of such a direct appropriation from foreign fiction. Famed as the “Oriental Sherlock Holmes”, the duo Huo Sang and Bao Lang become counterparts to Arthur Conan Doyle, Doyle's 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 ...
and Dr. Watson characters.
His 1914 short story Dengguang renying (灯光人影), published in the journal Xinwen bao (新闻报), is often credited as the first true Chinese detective story. This work laid the foundation for a series of stories centered on the character Huo Sang, a detective whose brilliance and methods bore a striking resemblance to those of Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, the parallels between the two detectives are unmistakable: not only do their names share the same initials, but both characters are defined by their extraordinary intellect, their reliance on abductive reasoning, and their unwavering skepticism toward seemingly supernatural phenomena. Huo Sang, much like his Western counterpart, became a cultural icon, embodying the rational, analytical spirit of the modern detective. Cheng Xiaoqing's creation of Huo Sang not only signaled the birth of a distinctly Chinese detective genre but also reflected the broader intellectual currents of the time, as Chinese writers sought to adapt Western literary forms to address local concerns and sensibilities.
Iran
"Sadiq Mamquli, The Sherlock Holmes of Iran, The Sherriff of Isfahan" is the first major detective fiction in Persian literature, Persian, written by Kazim Musta'an al-Sultan (Houshi Daryan). It was first published in 1925. There was no biographical account of the author of the book for over 70 years until being identified after the book was reprinted in 2017.
Japan
Edogawa Rampo is the first major Japanese modern mystery writer and the founder of the Mystery Writers of Japan, Detective Story Club in Japan. Rampo was an admirer of western mystery writers. He gained his fame in the early 1920s, when he began to bring to the genre many bizarre, erotic and even fantastic elements. This is partly because of the social tension before World War II. In 1957, Seichō Matsumoto, Seicho Matsumoto received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for his short story ''The Face'' (''顔'' ''kao''). ''The Face'' and Matsumoto's subsequent works began the "social school" (社会派 ''shakai ha'') within the genre, which emphasized social realism, described crimes in an ordinary setting and sets motives within a wider context of social injustice and political corruption. Since the 1980s, a "Golden Age of Detective Fiction#The "new traditionalist" movement in Japanese mystery writing, new orthodox school" (新本格派 ''shin honkaku ha'') has surfaced. It demands restoration of the classic rules of detective fiction and the use of more self-reflective elements. Famous authors of this movement include Soji Shimada, Yukito Ayatsuji, Rintaro Norizuki, Alice Arisugawa, Kaoru Kitamura and Taku Ashibe.
India
Byomkesh Bakshi (Character)
Created by famous Bengali language, Bengali novelist Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Byomkesh is one of the most iconic characters in Indian detective fiction. First appearing in the story Pother Kanta in 1932, Byomkesh, who refers to himself as a "truth-seeker" or Satyanweshi, is known for his acute observational skills and logical reasoning abilities. His adventures typically unfold against the backdrop of Calcutta, tackling a range of crimes, from intricate murder mysteries to drug trafficking, reflecting societal issues of the time. Accompanied by his loyal friend and chronicler, Ajit Kumar Banerjee, the stories are written in a blend of formal and colloquial Bengali, making them accessible to a wide audience. The character's legacy continues to influence contemporary detective fiction in India, highlighting the genre's evolution and its cultural significance.
Feluda (Character)
Feluda, created by renowned filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray, is a celebrated Bengali detective character who first appeared in the 1965 story ''Feludar Goyendagiri''. His full name is Pradosh Chandra Mitra, and he is often referred to affectionately as ''Feluda''. Feluda is characterized by his keen observational skills, sharp intellect, and a flair for deduction, which he employs to solve intricate mysteries. Feluda is often accompanied by his cousin, who is also his assistant, Tapesh Ranjan Mitter (affectionately called Topshe), who serves as the narrator of the stories and his friend ''Jatayu''. , The trio embarks on various adventures that blend mystery with elements of Bengali culture and tradition. The stories often include a touch of humor, engaging dialogues, and philosophical musings, making them appealing to a wide audience. Ray's Feluda series not only captivated readers in literary form but also inspired numerous adaptations in film and television, showcasing Ray's cinematic genius. Feluda's impact on the genre is significant, as he represents a sophisticated blend of intellect and charm, setting a high standard for detective fiction in India.
Other Bengali detectives
Hemendra Kumar Roy was an Indian Bengali language, Bengali writer noted for his contribution to the early development of the genre with his 'Jayanta-Manik' and adventurist 'Bimal-Kumar' stories, dealing with the exploits of Jayanta, his assistant Manik, and police inspector Sunderbabu.
Mitin Masi is a fictional Bengali female detective character created by Suchitra Bhattacharya.
Colonel Niladri Sarkar is a Fictional detectives, fictional detective character created by Bengali language, Bengali novelist Syed Mustafa Siraj.
Malayalam
Kottayam Pushpanath, a prolific writer, brought to life a vivid array of characters and mysteries. Pushpanath practiced teaching history for several years before becoming a full time writer. It was in the last 1960s that he made his literary debut with ''Chuvanna Manushyan''. Pushpanath authored more than 350 detective novels.
Pakistan
Ibn-e-Safi is the most popular Urdu, Urdo detective fiction writer. He started writing his famous Jasoosi Dunya Series Spy fiction, spy stories in 1952 with Col. Fareedi & Captain. Hameed as main characters.
In 1955 he started writing Imran series, Imran Series spy novels with Ali Imran as X2 the chief of secret service and his companions.
After his death many other writers accepted Ali Imran character and wrote spy novels.
Another popular spy novel writer was Ishtiaq Ahmad (fiction writer), Ishtiaq Ahmad who wrote Inspector Jamsheed, Inspector Kamran Mirza and Shooki brother's series of spy novels.
Russia
Stories about robbers and detectives were very popular in Russia since old times. A famous hero in the eighteenth century was Ivan Osipov (1718–after 1756), nicknamed Ivan Kain. Other examples of early Russian detective stories include: "Bitter Fate" (1789) by M. D. Chulkov (1743–1792), "The Finger Ring" (1831) by Yevgeny Baratynsky, "The White Ghost" (1834) by Mikhail Zagoskin, ''Crime and Punishment'' (1866) and ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (1880) by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Detective fiction in modern Russian literature with clear detective plots started with ''The Garin Death Ray'' (1926–1927) and ''The Black Gold'' (1931) by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, ''Mess-Mend'' by Marietta Shaginyan, ''The Investigator's Notes'' by Lev Sheinin. Boris Akunin is a famous Russian writer of historical detective fiction in modern-day Russia.
United States
In the United States, detective fiction emerged in the 1920s, and flourished with stories in pulp magazines. The genre gained prominence in later decades, as the detective character was refined, and became familiar through movies. Detective fiction was also a way for authors to bring stories about various subcultures to mainstream audiences. One scholar wrote about the detective novels of Tony Hillerman, set among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American population around New Mexico, "many American readers have probably gotten more insight into traditional Navajo people, Navajo culture from his detective stories than from any other recent books." Other notable writers who have explored regional and ethnic communities in their detective novels are Harry Kemelman, whose Rabbi Small series were set in the Conservative Jewish community of Massachusetts; Walter Mosley, whose Easy Rawlins books are set in the African American community of 1950s Los Angeles; and Sara Paretsky, whose V. I. Warshawski books have explored the various subcultures of Chicago.
Subgenres
Hardboiled
Martin Hewitt, created by British author Arthur Morrison in 1894, is one of the first examples of the modern style of fictional private detective. This character is described as an "'Everyman' detective meant to challenge the detective-as-superman that Holmes represented."[Rzepka, Charles J. (2005)]
''Detective Fiction''
Polity. .
By the late 1920s, Al Capone and the American Mafia, American mafia inspired not only fear, but piqued mainstream curiosity about the American Organized crime, criminal underworld. Popular pulp fiction magazines like ''Black Mask (magazine), Black Mask'' capitalized on this, as authors such as Carroll John Daly, Carrol John Daly published violent stories that focused on the mayhem and injustice surrounding the criminals, not the circumstances behind the crime. Very often, no actual mystery even existed: the books simply revolved around justice being served to those who deserved harsh treatment, which was described in explicit detail." The overall theme these writers portrayed reflected "the changing face of America itself."
In the 1930s, the private eye genre was adopted wholeheartedly by American writers. One of the primary contributors to this style was Dashiell Hammett with his famous private investigator character, Sam Spade.[Messent, P. (2006). ''Introduction: From private eye to police procedural – the logic of contemporary crime fiction''] His style of crime fiction came to be known as "hardboiled", a genre that "usually deals with criminal activity in a modern urban environment, a world of disconnected signs and anonymous strangers." "Told in stark and sometimes elegant language through the unemotional eyes of new hero-detectives, these stories were an American phenomenon."
In the late 1930s, Raymond Chandler updated the form with his private detective Philip Marlowe, who brought a more intimate voice to the detective than the more distanced "operative's report" style of Hammett's The Continental Op, Continental Op stories. Chandler's stories were noted for their evokations of the American criminal underworld, including dark alleys and tough thugs, rich women and powerful men. Several feature and television movies have been made about the Philip Marlowe character. James Hadley Chase wrote a few novels with private eyes as the main heroes, including ''Blonde's Requiem'' (1945), ''Lay Her Among the Lilies'' (1950), and ''Figure It Out for Yourself'' (1950). The heroes of these novels are typical private eyes, very similar to or Plagiarism, plagiarizing Raymond Chandler's work.
Ross Macdonald, pseudonym of Kenneth Millar, updated the form again with his detective Lew Archer. Archer, like Hammett's fictional heroes, was a camera eye, with hardly any known past. "Turn Archer sideways, and he disappears," one reviewer wrote. Critics praised Macdonald's use of psychology and his prose, which was full of imagery. Like other 'hardboiled' writers, Macdonald aimed to give an impression of Literary realism, realism in his work through violence, sex and confrontation. The 1966 movie ''Harper (film), Harper'' starring Paul Newman was based on the first Lew Archer story ''The Moving Target'' (1949). Newman reprised the role in ''The Drowning Pool'' in 1976.
Michael Collins (American author), Michael Collins, pseudonym of Dennis Lynds, is generally considered the author who led the form into the Modern Age. Like Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald, Collins' protagonist was a private investigator, Dan Fortune. However, Collins stories also involved an element of Sociology, sociological reflection, exploring the meaning of his characters' places in society and the impact society had on people. Full of commentary and clipped prose, his books were more intimate than those of his predecessors, dramatizing that crime can happen in one's own living room.
The "hardboiled" novel was a male-dominated field in which female authors seldom found publication until Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, and Sue Grafton were finally published in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each author's detective, also female, was brainy and physical and could hold her own. Their acceptance, and success, caused publishers to seek out other female authors.
Inverted
An inverted detective story
An inverted detective story, occasionally known as a "howcatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then ...
, also known as a "howcatchem", is a murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
mystery fiction
Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...
structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery. There may also be subsidiary puzzles, such as why the crime was committed, and they are explained or resolved during the story. This format is the inversion of the more typical "whodunit
A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal ...
", in which the perpetrator of the crime is not revealed until the story's climax.
Police procedural
Many detective stories have police officers as the main characters. These stories may take a variety of forms, but many authors try to realistically depict the routine activities of a group of police officers who are frequently working on more than one case simultaneously. Some of these stories are whodunits; in others, the criminal is well known, and the detective must gather enough evidence to charge them with the crime.
In the 1940s the police procedural evolved as a new style of detective fiction. Unlike the heroes of Christie, Chandler, and Spillane, the police detective was subject to error and was constrained by rules and regulations. As Gary Huasladen writes in ''Places for Dead Bodies'', "not all the clients were insatiable Bombshell (slang), bombshells, and invariably there was life outside the job." The detective in the police procedural does the things police officers do to catch a criminal. Prominent writers in the genre include Ed McBain, P. D. James, and Bartholomew Gill.
Historical mystery
Historical mystery is set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder). Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 20th century, many credit Ellis Peters's ''The Cadfael Chronicles, Cadfael Chronicles'' (1977–1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery.
A variation on this is Josephine Tey's ''The Daughter of Time''. In it, Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant—who considers himself a good judge of faces—is surprised to find that what he considers to be the portrait of a sensitive man is in reality a portrait of Richard III of England, Richard III, who murdered his brother's children in order to become king. The story details his attempt to get to the historical truth of whether Richard III is the villain he has been made out to be by history. The novel was awarded the top spot in the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time by the UK Crime Writers' Association and the number 4 spot in The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time Mystery Writers of America
Cozy mystery
Cozy mystery began in the late 20th century as a reinvention of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Golden Age whodunit; these novels generally shy away from violence and suspense and frequently feature female amateur detectives. Modern cozy mysteries are frequently, though not necessarily, humorous and thematic . Variations of the subgenre include culinary mystery, animal mystery, and quilting mystery, among others.
Cozy mysteries feature minimal violence, sex, and social relevance; a solution achieved by intellect or intuition rather than police procedure, with order restored in the end; honorable characters; and a setting in a closed community. Writers include Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Elizabeth Daly.
Serial killer mystery
Serial killer mystery might be thought of as a variation of the police procedural. There are early mystery novels in which a police force attempts to contend with the type of criminal known in the 1920s as a homicidal maniac, such as a few of the early novels of Philip Macdonald and Ellery Queen's ''Cat of Many Tails''. However, this sort of story became much more popular after the coining of the phrase "serial killer" in the 1970s and the publication of ''The Silence of the Lambs (novel), The Silence of the Lambs'' in 1988. These stories frequently show the activities of many members of a police force or government agency in their efforts to apprehend a killer who is selecting victims on some obscure basis. They are also often much more violent and suspenseful than other mysteries.
Legal thriller
The legal thriller, or courtroom novel, is also related to detective fiction. The system of justice itself is always a major part of these works, at times almost functioning as one of the characters. In this way, the legal system provides the framework for the legal thriller as much as the system of modern police work does for the police procedural. The legal thriller usually begins with the court proceedings following the closure of an investigation, often resulting in a new angle on the investigation, so as to bring about an outcome different from the one originally devised by the investigators. In the legal thriller, court proceedings play a very active, if not to say decisive part in a case reaching its ultimate solution. Erle Stanley Gardner popularized the courtroom novel in the 20th century with his Perry Mason series. Contemporary authors of legal thrillers include Michael Connelly, Linda Fairstein, John Grisham, John Lescroart, Paul Levine, Lisa Scottoline, and Scott Turow.
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a subgenre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
—is committed under circumstances which it was seemingly impossible for the perpetrator to commit the crime and/or evade detection in the course of getting in and out of the crime scene. The genre was established in the 19th century. 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 Murders in the Rue Morgue
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective fiction, detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of wikt:ratio ...
" (1841) is considered the first locked-room mystery; since then, other authors have used the scheme. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene with no indication as to how the intruder could have entered or left, i.e., a locked room. Following other conventions of classic detective fiction, the reader is normally presented with the puzzle and all of the Evidence, clues, and is encouraged to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed in a dramatic climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
.
Occult
Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of detective fiction that combines the trope (literature), tropes of detective fiction with those of supernatural fiction, supernatural horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
, the occult detective is employed in cases involving ghosts, demons, curses, Magic in fiction, magic, monsters and other supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
elements. Some occult detectives are portrayed as knowing magic or being themselves psychic or in possession of other paranormal powers.
'Whodunit'
A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who [has] done it?" or "Who did it?") is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the audience is given the opportunity to engage in the same process of deduction as the protagonist throughout the investigation of a crime. The reader or viewer is provided with the clues from which the identity of the perpetrator may be deduced before the story provides the revelation itself at its climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
. The "whodunit" flourished during the so-called "Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Golden Age" of detective fiction, between 1920 and 1950, when it was the predominant mode of crime writing.
Modern criticism
Preserving story secrets
Even if they do not mean to, advertisers, reviewers, scholars and aficionados sometimes give away details or parts of the plot, and sometimes—for example in the case of Mickey Spillane's novel ''I, the Jury''—even the solution. After the credits of Billy Wilder's film ''Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film), Witness for the Prosecution'', the cinemagoers are asked not to talk to anyone about the plot so that future viewers will also be able to fully enjoy the unravelling of the mystery. At the end of each performance of the play ''The Mousetrap'' by Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
, audiences are asked not to reveal the identity of the murderer to anyone outside the theatre, so that the end of the play is not Spoiler (media), spoiled for future audiences.
Plausibility and coincidence
For series involving amateur detectives, their frequent encounters with crime often test the limits of plausibility. The character Miss Marple
Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...
appears in twelve novels and twenty short stories, William L. DeAndrea, William L. De Andrea has described Marple's home town, the quiet little village of St. Mary Mead, as having "put on a pageant of human depravity rivaled only by that of Sodom and Gomorrah". Similarly, TV heroine Jessica Fletcher of ''Murder, She Wrote'' was confronted with bodies wherever she went, but most notably in her small hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine; ''The New York Times'' estimated that, by the end of the series' 12-year run, nearly 2% of the town's residents had been killed. It is arguably more convincing if police, forensics, forensic experts or similar professionals are made the protagonist of a series of crime novels.
The television series ''Monk (TV series), Monk'' has often made fun of this implausible frequency. The main character, Adrian Monk, is frequently accused of being a "bad luck charm" and a "murder magnet" as the result of the frequency with which murder happens in his vicinity.
Likewise Kogoro Mori of the manga series ''Detective Conan'' earned a similar reputation. Although Mori is actually a private investigator with his own agency, the police never intentionally consult him as he stumbles from one crime scene to another.
The role and legitimacy of coincidence has frequently been the topic of heated arguments ever since Ronald A. Knox categorically stated that "no accident must ever help the detective" (Commandment No. 6 in his "Decalogue").
Effects of technology
Technological progress has also rendered many plots implausible and antiquated. For example, the predominance of mobile phones, pagers, and Personal digital assistant, PDAs has significantly altered the previously dangerous situations in which investigators traditionally might have found themselves.
One tactic that avoids the issue of technology altogether is the Historical whodunnit, historical detective genre. As global interconnectedness makes legitimate suspense more difficult to achieve, several writers—including Elizabeth Peters, P. C. Doherty, Steven Saylor, and Lindsey Davis—have eschewed fabricating convoluted plots in order to manufacture tension, instead opting to set their characters in some former period. Such a strategy forces the protagonist to rely on more inventive means of investigation, lacking as they do the technological tools available to modern detectives.
Conversely, some detective fiction embraces networked computer technology and deals in cybercrime, like the ''Daemon (novel series), Daemon'' novel series by Daniel Suarez (author), Daniel Suarez.
Detective Commandments
Several authors have attempted to set forth a sort of list of “Detective Commandments” for prospective authors of the genre.
According to "Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories," by Van Dine's Commandments, Van Dine in 1928: "The detective story is a kind of intellectual game. It is more—it is a sporting event. And for the writing of detective stories there are very definite laws—unwritten, perhaps, but nonetheless binding; and every respectable and self-respecting concocter of literary mysteries lives up to them. Herewith, then, is a sort of credo, based partly on the practice of all the great writers of detective stories, and partly on the promptings of the honest author's inner conscience." Ronald Knox
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an ...
wrote a set of ''Ten Commandments'' or ''Decalogue'' in 1929, see article on the Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. While the Golden Age proper is usually taken to refer to works from that period, this type of f ...
.
A general consensus among crime fiction authors is there is a specific set of rules that must be applied for a novel to truly be considered part of the detective fiction genre. As noted in "Introduction to the Analysis of Crime Fiction", crime fiction from the past 100 years has generally contained the following key rules to be a detective novel:
* A crime, most often murder, is committed early in the narrative
* There are a variety of suspects with different motives
* A central character formally or informally acts as a detective
* The detective collects evidence about the crimes and its victim
* Usually the detective interviews the suspects, as well as the witnesses
* The detective solves the mystery and indicates the real criminal
* Usually this criminal is now arrested or otherwise punished
Influential fictional detectives
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is an English fictional detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. After first appearing in ''A Study in Scarlet'', the Canon of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes stories were not an immediate success. However, after being published in the The Strand Magazine, Strand Magazine in 1891, the detective became unquestionably popular. Following the success of Sherlock Holmes, many mystery writers imitated Conan Doyle's structure in their own detective stories and included aspects of Sherlock Holmes's personalities in their own detectives.
Sherlock Holmes as a series is perhaps the most popular form of detective fiction. Conan Doyle attempted to kill the character off after twenty-three stories, but after popular request, he continued to write stories featuring the character. The popularity of Sherlock Holmes extends beyond the written medium. For example, the BBC-produced TV series Sherlock (TV series), ''Sherlock'' gained a very large following after first airing in 2010, imbuing a renewed interest in the character in the general public. Because of the popularity of Holmes, Conan Doyle was often regarded as being “as well known as Queen Victoria”.
Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake is a fictional British detective, whose adventures captivated readers for over eight decades from 1893 to 1978. Blake featured in more than 4,000 stories by approximately 200 different authors, making him one of the most prolifically chronicled characters in English literature. The detective's adventures spanned multiple formats including comic strips, novels, radio serials, silent films, and a Sexton Blake (TV series), 1960s ITV television series, reaching audiences across Britain and internationally in various languages.
Initially conceived as a Victorian gentleman detective, Blake evolved significantly over time, acquiring now-iconic elements like his Baker Street residence, his young assistant Tinker, his bloodhound Pedro, and his housekeeper Mrs. Bardell. While often compared to Sherlock Holmes, Blake's adventures typically featured more action-oriented plots and coloruful adversaries, many of whom were recurring master criminals. Blake had many rivals and imitators: Nelson Lee
Nelson Lee (born October 16, 1975; Chinese name: 李志傑) is a Taiwanese-Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Senator Hamato Xiono in ''Ahsoka'', and Dragon King in '' Stargirl''.
Life and career
Lee was born in Taipei, Taiwan on O ...
, Dixon Hawke, Carfax Baines, Kenyon Ford, Stanley Dare, Ferrers Locke, and many others now long forgotten. Blake reached his peak popularity during the 1920s and early 1930s, particularly through publications like Union Jack (magazine), The Union Jack and The Sexton Blake Library, which at its height published five times monthly.
Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian private detective, created by Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
. As one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters, Poirot appeared in 33 novels, one play (Black Coffee (play), ''Black Coffee''), and more than 50 short stories, published between 1920 and 1975. Hercule Poirot first appeared in ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles,'' published in 1920, and died in Curtain (novel), ''Curtain'', published in 1975, which is Agatha Christie's last work. On August 6, 1975, ''The New York Times'' published the obituary of Poirot's death with the cover of the newly published novel on their front page.
C. Auguste Dupin
Le Knight, Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional character created by 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 ...
. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective fiction, detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of wikt:ratio ...
" (1841), widely considered the first detective fiction story. He reappears in " The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" (1842) and " The Purloined Letter" (1844).
C. Auguste Dupin is generally acknowledged as the prototype for many fictional detectives that were created later, including 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 ...
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
and Hercule Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...
by Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
. Conan Doyle once wrote, "Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?"
Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is a fictional detective created by American writers Manfred Bennington Lee and Frederic Dannay, as well as the joint pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
for the cousins Dannay and Lee. He first appeared in ''The Roman Hat Mystery'' (1929), and starred in more than 30 novels and several short story collections. During the 1930s and much of the 1940s, Ellery Queen was possibly the best known American fictional detective.
Detective debuts and swan songs
Many detectives appear in more than one novel or story. Here is a list of a few wikt:debut, debut stories and final appearances.
Books
*''Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel – A History'' by Julian Symons
*Stacy Gillis and Philippa Gates (Editors), ''The Devil Himself: Villainy in Detective Fiction and Film,'' Greenwood, 2001.
*''The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of the Sherlock Holmes and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories'' by Pinaki Roy, New Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2008,
*''Killer Books'' by Jean Swanson & Dean James, Berkley Prime Crime edition 1998, Penguin Putnam Inc. New York
*''Delightful Murder: A Social History of the Crime Story'' by Ernest Mandel, 1985. Univ. of Minnesota Press.
*''Clifford's War: The Bluegrass Battleground'' by J. Denison Reed
See also
*Closed circle of suspects
*List of Ace mystery double titles
*List of Ace mystery letter-series single titles
*List of Ace mystery numeric-series single titles
*List of crime writers
*List of detective fiction authors
*List of female detective characters
*Mafia (party game), Mafia
*Mystery film
*Metaphysical detective story
References
Further reading
*
An exhibition of detective fiction
, Monash University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Detective Fiction
Detective fiction,
Crime fiction
Literary genres
Works about law enforcement, Detective fiction
Film genres