Bloody Murder From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel

by Symons, Julian

• ISBN13: 9780892964963
• ISBN10: 0892964960
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-02-01
• Publisher: Mysterious Press

Summary

In celebration of distinguished author/critic Julian Symons' 80th year, here is the third and final revised edition of his classic history of mystery fiction. The views expressed here are as candid as ever. One bestselling writer is called unreadable, another compared to writers of "strip cartoon stories". But the general tone is warmly appreciative of every sort of book within the genre.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	p. ix
Prologue: The Guilty Party	p. xi
What They Are and Why We Read Them	p. 1
The Two Strands: Godwin, Vidocq, Poe	p. 19
Dickens, Collins, Gaboriau: The Pattern Forms	p. 38
Interregnum	p. 57
The Case of Sherlock Holmes	p. 66
The Short Story: The First Golden Age	p. 79
The Rise of the Novel	p. 95
The Golden Age: The Twenties	p. 104
The Golden Age: The Thirties	p. 123
The American Revolution	p. 143
Simenon and Maigret	p. 155
"Mr. Queen, will you be good enough to explain your famous character's sex life, if any?"	p. 161
The Short Story's Mutations	p. 179
Crime Novel and Police Novel	p. 191
Big Producers and Big Sellers, Curiosities and Singletons	p. 238
A Short History of the Spy Story	p. 258
The Crystal Ball Revisited	p. 282
A Postscript for the Nineties	p. 291
Index	p. 327
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