Product Description

During the 100 years from the middle of the 19th century to the 1950s, every important element of crime fiction was created. From Sherlock Holmes to James Bond, and from Edgar Allan Poe to John le Carre, this book explores the exciting cultural history behind crime fiction. In this book, crime enthusiasts can see how the famous (and sometimes infamous!) works of crime fiction were originally published and how unknown writers and illustrators were responsible for a genre that was to become one of the conerstones of popular culture. Discover how Wilkie Collins; book "The Woman in White" was inspired by meeting his future wife running away from captors; why Arthur Conan Doyle was forced to bring Sherlock Holmes back from the dead; which pair of brothers became enemies in the fight for crime fiction supremacy; and how Charlie Chan, the first Chinese-American fictional detective, came into being.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #394063 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Review
This engaging history of crime fiction will appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed one of the great detective novels. Starting with the father of the modern detective story, Edgar Allan Poe, Haining moves through Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe and Miss Marple to James Bond, discussing hundreds of other writers on the way. Some of those he mentions will be instantly recognizable, whilst others may not be remembered today, but the legacy of their writing can still be seen in the modern crime books written by the likes of Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell. This is a perfect book to dip in and out of, with chapters based on the evolution of various genres within crime fiction and a wealth of fascinating illustrative material. Haining describes the circumstances behind the development of authors and their characters, telling the famous stories of Wilkie Collins's real-life encounter with the Woman in White and Sherlock Holmes's return from the dead, and a host of less well-known but equally interesting tales. In addition, he sets the books in the context of their time, demonstrating how authors drew from and contributed to social and cultural developments. This is a readable and thoroughly enjoyable survey of a classic genre. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author
Peter Haining wrote The Classic Era of Pulp Magazines for Prion. His life-long interest in crime fiction began as a child when he first read the Sherlock Holmes books and started to collect a wide-ranging and representative library of works in the genre. His book Agatha Christie: Murder in Four Acts was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1991.