Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction PDF
Preview Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction
Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction Revised Edition Volume 1 Anthony Abbott – L. P. Davies Editor, Revised Edition Carl Rollyson Baruch College, City University of New York Editor, First Edition Frank N. Magill SALEM PRESS, INC. Pasadena, California Hackensack, New Jersey EditorinChief:DawnP.Dawson EditorialDirector:ChristinaJ.Moose ResearchAssistant:KeliTrousdale DevelopmentalEditor:R.KentRasmussen AcquisitionsEditor:MarkRehn ProjectEditor:RowenaWildinDehanke PhotoEditor:CynthiaBreslinBeres EditorialAssistant:DanaGarey ProductionEditor:JoyceI.Buchea ResearchSupervisor:JeffryJensen DesignandGraphics:JamesHutson Copyright©1988,2001,2008,bySalemPress,Inc. Allrightsinthisbookarereserved.Nopartofthisworkmaybeusedorreproducedinanymannerwhatsoever ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopy,recording,oranyin- formationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutwrittenpermissionfromthecopyrightownersexceptinthecase ofbriefquotationsembodiedincriticalarticlesandreviewsorinthecopyingofimagesdeemedtobefreelyli- censedorinthepublicdomain.Forinformation,addressthepublisher,SalemPress,Inc.,P.O.Box50062,Pasa- dena,California91115. Someoftheessaysinthiswork,whichhavebeenupdated,originallyappearedinthefollowingSalemPress sets:CriticalSurveyofMysteryandDetectiveFiction(1988,editedbyFrankN.Magill)andOneHundredMas- tersofMysteryandDetectiveFiction(2001,editedbyFionaKelleghan).Newmaterialhasbeenadded. ∞ThepaperusedinthesevolumesconformstotheAmericanNationalStandardforPermanenceofPaperfor PrintedLibraryMaterials,Z39.48-1992(R1997). LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Criticalsurveyofmysteryanddetectivefiction.—Rev.ed./editor,CarlRollyson. p.cm. ISBN978-1-58765-397-1 (set:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-58765-398-8 (vol.1:alk.paper)— ISBN978-1-58765-399-5 (vol.2:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-58765-400-8 (vol.3:alk.paper)— ISBN978-1-58765-401-5 (vol.4:alk.paper)—ISBN978-1-58765-402-2 (vol.5:alk.paper) 1. Detectiveandmysterystories—Historyandcriticism.2. Detectiveandmysterystories—Bio-bibliography. 3. Detectiveandmysterystories—Stories,plots,etc. I.Rollyson,CarlE.(CarlEdmund) PN3448.D4C752008 809.3’872—dc22 2007040208 FirstPrinting PRINTEDINTHEUNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA PUBLISHER’S NOTE ContinuingtheSalemPresstraditionoftheCritical addedauthorsaretheAfricanAmericanwritersElea- Survey series, Critical Survey of Mystery and Detec- nor Taylor Bland, Walter Mosley, and Barbara Neely tive Fiction, Revised Edition provides detailed analy- and the Chicano writer Rolando Hinojosa. Authors ses of the lives and writings of major contributors to added from other Western Hemispheric countries in- thefascinatingliterarysubgenreofmysteryanddetec- clude the Mexican writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Bra- tive fiction. This greatly expanded five-volume set is zilianLuizAlfredoGarcia-Roza,andthreeCanadians: thefirstfullrevisionofaworkthatoriginallyappeared WilliamDeverell,DavidMorrell,andPeterRobinson. in 1988. Published in four smaller, unillustrated vol- NewAsianauthorsincludeChina’sQiuXiaolongand umes,theoriginalCriticalSurveyofMysteryandDe- five writers from Japan: Natsuo Kirino, Seichf Ma- tectiveFictioncontained275articlesaboutindividual tsumoto, Shizuko Natsuki, Akimitsu Takagi, and authorsofmysteryanddetectivefictionandaglossary Miyuki Miyabe. Africa is represented by the South of terms. Thisnew edition updates or replacesallthe African author Gillian Slovo; Zimbabwe-born Alex- originalarticlesandaddsentirelynewarticleson118 ander McCall Smith, who writes about a woman de- more authors, raising the total to 393 articles, an in- tectiveinBotswana;andElspethHuxley,whosetsev- crease of 43 percent. The original glossary has been eral traditional murder mysteries in fictional East expanded and divided into two parts. Moreover, this Africancountries. neweditionadds37entirelynewoverviewessaysand Geographically, the largest number of writers are 5 new appendixes, raising to 7 the total number of fromNorthAmerica,with204fromtheUnitedStates, itemsintheResourcessectionofvolume5. 10fromCanada,and1fromMexico.Thenextlargest To such well-known mystery writers as Raymond group of writers are associated with the British Isles: Chandler, Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 149fromEngland,12fromScotland,8fromIreland, ErleStanleyGardner,DashiellHammett,EdgarAllan 5 from Wales, and 1 from Northern Ireland. The rest Poe,andDorothyL.Sayers,thisrevisededitionadds of Europe is represented by 12 writers from France, such venerable writers’names as Louisa May Alcott, 3 from Switzerland, 3 from the Netherlands, 3 from Edward Stratemeyer, and Margaret Truman. Most of Russia, 2 from Spain, 2 from Sweden, 2 from Ger- thenewauthor articles,however,areon popular con- many, and 1 each from Austria, Belgium, Italy, and temporarywriters,suchasMaryHigginsClark,Patri- Georgia. One writer is from Israel. Africa is repre- cia Cornwell, John Dunning, John Grisham, Thomas sentedby4writersfromSouthAfrica,1fromZimba- Harris,CarolynHart,RolandoHinojosa,ScottTurow, bwe,and1fromZambia.Asianwritersinclude5from andStuartWoods.Aparticularlynoteworthyaddition Japan,1fromChina,and1fromIndia.SouthAmerica isJ.K.Rowling,theauthorofthesensationallypopu- isrepresentedby2writersfromArgentinaand1from lar Harry Potter series, whose seventh and final Brazil. Three Australians are joined by 1 New Zea- volumewaspublishedin2007. lander. Mystery and detective fiction is essentially a Brit- With the addition of more than three dozen over- ish and American creation that has long been domi- view essays and new appendixes, Critical Survey of nated by British, American, and European writers. MysteryandDetectiveFictionnowjoinsSalem’sfam- One of the most exciting developments in the field, ily of fully revised and expanded Critical Surveys of therefore,hasbeenthegrowingnumberofnewwriters poetry,drama,shortfiction,andlongfiction.Someau- ofvariousethnicitiesandnationalities.Inselectingau- thorscoveredherearealsocoveredinoneormoreof thorstoaddtoCriticalSurveyofMysteryand Detec- theothersets,butitshouldbeunderstoodthatarticles tive Fiction, a particular effort was made to achieve in each set are unique. For example, the article on greater ethnic and international diversity. Among the MarkTwaininCriticalSurveyofLongFictionfocuses v CriticalSurveyofMysteryandDetectiveFiction on his novels, that in CriticalSurvey of Short Fiction hard-boiledpolicedetectivesandprivateinvestigators, focusesonhisshortstoriesandsketches,andtheone suchasDashiellHammett’sSamSpade,tobrilliantly inthepresentsetfocusesonhismysteryanddetective intuitive amateurs, such as Agatha Christie’s Miss writings—whichareconsiderablymoreextensivethan Jane Marple. Such stories are still written, but the manypeoplemayrealize.Readerswillfindlittleover- modern mystery genre encompasses a vast variety of lapinthetextofthesethreearticles. subgenres thatareknownbysuchtermsascomicca- The need for a new edition of Critical Survey of pers, courtroom dramas, cozies, historical mysteries, MysteryandDetectiveFictionisevidentinthegrow- invertedmysteries(whichrevealtheculpritsimmedi- ing recognition of the genre’s importance in modern ately), police procedurals, psychological mysteries, literatureandintheincreasedattentionthegenreisre- and thrillers of various stripes. These subgenres and ceiving in classrooms. The gap between what is per- othersareallwellrepresented here,andCriticalSur- ceivedasmainstreamfictionandmysterygenrefiction veyofMysteryandDetectiveFictioncastsitsneteven has narrowed, and mystery fiction is now seen as wider to take in authors of espionage and horror somethingfarmorethanmereentertainment,asitof- stories. tenoffersspecialinsightsintohumannatureandinsti- Judgingbythedistributionofnamesinvolume5’s tutions. Indeed, the syllabus of one college course Categorized Index of Authors, the most popular sub- statesthatmysteryfiction“exploreshowhumancon- genre among writers in this set is that of the amateur sciousness makes sense out of what might otherwise sleuth, represented by 139 writers. That category is beviewedasrandomexperienceandmeaninglessvio- closelyfollowedbytherapidlyexpandingsubgenreof lence.”This, incidentally,isathemethatisdiscussed policeprocedurals, with135 writers, and by thrillers, atlengthinmanyoftheoverviewessaysinvolume5. with120writers.Theothersubgenresinorderofrep- Another aspect of mystery fiction’s receiving in- resentationareprivateinvestigator,92;psychological, creased recognition is what it reveals about different 86; hard-boiled, 67; cozies, 65; espionage, 54; in- social classes, societies, cultures, and, indeed, entire verted, 53; historical, 51; master sleuth, 19; comedy nations. Mystery fiction probes deeply into the inner caper,17;horror,14;courtroomdramas,9;andmeta- workings of every level of society and exposes the physicalandmetafictionalparodies,7. strengths and weaknesses of economic, political, and legal institutions. During the days of South Africa’s Overviews raciallyoppressiveapartheidsystem,itwasoftensaid Inadditiontothisedition’slargeexpansionofarti- that one of the best ways to understand the complex cles on individual authors, the other major change in problemsofthatcountrywastoreadthemysteriesof this revised edition is the inclusion of 37 completely James McClure, a South African mystery writer originaloverviewessays,mostofwhichareaslongas whosenovelsprobeddeeplyintobothblackandwhite 6,000words.Theseessaysexplorethehistoryandna- communities and vividly revealed human dimensions ture of the mystery and detective genre and examine oftheday-to-dayeffectsofracialsegregation.Similar the fiction of ethnic writers and writers from other observationsmightbemadeaboutthemysteryandde- partsoftheworld.Theoverviewsbeginwith“Pastand tectivefictionofothercountries,suchasJapan,which PresentMysteryandDetectiveFiction,”asectioncon- isrichlyrepresentedinCriticalSurveyofMysteryand tainingessayson theroots of thegenre, theso-called DetectiveFiction. Golden Age of mystery fiction, innovations in the There was a timewhen mystery and detective fic- field, literary aspects of mystery fiction, connections tion seemed virtually synonymous with the classic betweenso-calledmainstreamfictionandthemystery “whodunits,” in which murders are committed, and genre,andpulpmagazinefiction. thenbothdetectivesandreaderssettledowntosortout Anothergroupofessays,“MysteryFictionAround cluesuntiltheguiltypartiesareidentifiedandorderis the World,” explores mystery fiction in Africa, Asia, restored. The fictional investigators may range from Britain,France,LatinAmerica,andtheUnitedStates vi Publisher’sNote aswellasmysteriessetinexoticlocations.Thesection typesofplots.Becauseofthelargenumbersofbooks labeled“MysteryFictionSubgenres”explores14dif- thatmany mystery writers publish, CriticalSurvey of ferentvarietiesofmysteryfiction,includingacademic Mystery and Detective Fiction differs slightly from mysteries,cozies,ethnicAmericanmysteries,feminist otherCriticalSurveysetsinlistingeachauthor’sprin- and lesbian mysteries, forensic mysteries, historical cipal works at the end of the article, instead of at the mysteries, horror stories, juvenile and young-adult beginning.Articlesonauthorsofseriesfiction—such mysteries, parodies, police procedurals, science fic- as Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories and John Ball’s tion and mystery blends, spy novels, thrillers, and VirgilTibbsseries—completethetopmatterbylisting true-crime stories. “The Detectives” section contains theauthors’principalseriesandofferingbriefdescrip- essays on amateur sleuths, armchair detectives, hard- tionsoftheprincipalseriescharacters. boiled detectives, and women detectives as well as The main text of all author articles begins with a SherlockHolmespastiches.Afinalgroupofessays,in paragraphortwoheaded“Contribution”thatsumsup “Other Media,” examine nonliterary adaptations and theauthor’splaceinthemysteryanddetectivefiction other writing genres, such as films, drama, radio genre and discusses what sets the author apart from dramas,televisionseries,andgraphicmysterynovels. others in the field. This section is followed by one headed“Biography,”whichprovidesabriefsummary ResourcesandIndexes of the author’s life, paying particular attention to Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction, events relating to the author’s mystery and detective Revised Edition adds 5 new appendixes and greatly fiction. expands and divides the original edition’s glossary Theheartofeveryauthorarticleisthelong“Analy- into “Genre Terms and Techniques” and “Crime Fic- sis”section.Itbeginswithanoverviewoftheauthor’s tion Jargon.” Added appendixes in the “Resources” writing that discusses themes, motifs, and writing section include an annotated bibliography of general style. This section is further broken down into sub- works, a guide to Web and electronic resources, lists headed sections on individual works—usually nov- ofmajorwritingawards,adetailedtimelineofhigh- els—orgroupsofworks.Withanaverageofthreesub- lightsinthehistoryofcrimeanddetectivefiction,and sections per article, Critical Survey of Mystery and a chronological listing of authors. Indexes in this set Detective Fiction contains focused discussions on are geographical and categorized indexes of writers morethan1,300individualworks. covered in author articles, an index of the principal Immediately following the byline of each article’s seriescharacters,andageneralsubjectindex. contributorarelistsoftheauthor’sprincipalworks,ar- ranged by genres, beginning with principal works of OrganizationandFormat mystery and detective fiction. Individual titlesare ar- AswithSalem’sotherCriticalSurveysets,Critical ranged chronologically and subdivided by series, as SurveyofMysteryandDetectiveFictionisdesignedto appropriate. Finally, each article ends with an anno- meettheneedsofsecondaryschoolandcollegeunder- tatedbibliographylistingworks on theauthor andon graduatestudents.Articlesonauthorsarearrangedal- thesubgenresinwhichtheauthorwrites. phabetically,bythenamesorpennamesunderwhich the authors publish their mystery fiction. In some Acknowledgments cases,thesenamesdifferfromthosebywhichtheau- SalemPresswouldliketothankthemanyacademi- thorsarebestknown.Anexampleis“EdgarBox,”the cians and area experts who contributed to both the pen name that Gore Vidal used to write several mys- original editions and this revised edition. The names terynovels. andaffiliationsofallcontributorsarelistedinthefirst Each author article is formatted identically, open- volumeofthisset.Thiseditionalsoowesmuchtoits ing with ready-reference data on the author’s name, editor,CarlRollyson,BaruchCollege,CityUniversity pseudonyms, birth and death dates and places, and ofNewYork. vii CONTRIBUTORS RandyL.Abbott TarynBenbow-Pfalzgraf MarieJ.K.Brenner UniversityofEvansville Wheaton,Illinois BethelCollege MichaelAdams RichardP.Benton JeanR.Brink GraduateCenter,CityUniversityof TrinityCollege,Connecticut HenryE.HuntingtonLibrary NewYork RobertL.Berner J.R.Broadus PatrickAdcock UniversityofWisconsinatOshkosh UniversityofNorthCarolinaat HendersonStateUniversity ChapelHill CynthiaA.Bily LindaK.Adkins AdrianCollege WilliamS.Brockington,Jr. UniversityofNorthernIowa UniversityofSouthCarolinaat BeatriceChristianaBirchak Aiken StanleyArcher UniversityofHoustonatDowntown TexasA&MUniversity WilliamS.Brooks MargaretBoeBirns UniversityofBath AmyJ.Arnold NewYorkUniversity TexasA&MUniversity JamesS.Brown NicholasBirns BloomsburgUniversity DorothyB.Aspinwall TheNewSchool UniversityofHawaiiatManoa BillBrubaker FranzG.Blaha FloridaStateUniversity BryanAubrey UniversityofNebraska,Lincoln Fairfield,Iowa StefanBuchenberger HarrietBlodgett NaraWomen’sUniversity MaxL.Autrey StanfordUniversity DrakeUniversity RolandE.Bush PeggeA.Bochynski CaliforniaStateUniversity,Long PhilipBader SalemStateCollege Beach ChiangMai,Thailand RochelleBogartz RebeccaR.Butler EhrhardBahr IndependentScholar DaltonJuniorCollege UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles BernadetteLynnBosky SusanButterworth JamesBaird Yonkers,NewYork SalemStateCollege UniversityofNorthTexas ZoharaBoyd EdmundJ.Campion DavidBarratt AppalachianStateUniversity UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville Farnsfield,England WilliamBoyle HalCharles ThomasF.Barry Brooklyn,NewYork EasternKentuckyUniversity UniversityofSouthernCalifornia H.EricBranscomb JohnJ.Conlon ThomasBeebee SalemStateCollege UniversityofMassachusettsat PennsylvaniaStateUniversityat PhilipM.Brantingham Boston UniversityPark LoyolaUniversity,Chicago DeborahCore SamuelI.Bellman FrancisJ.Bremer EasternKentuckyUniversity CaliforniaStatePolytechnic MillersvilleUniversityof University,Pomona J.RandolphCox Pennsylvania SaintOlafCollege ix
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