Their appeal basically lay in the spectacular representation of “socially transgressive behavior and the violent and public manner of punishment” (Pykett 20) In her article The Newgate novel and sensation fiction, 1830-1868 Pykett argues that they “invited sympathy with criminals rather than with the victims of crime by making their criminal subjects the hunted object of a chase, by focusing on their motivation or psychology, and by representing them as the victims of circumstance or society” (20). Readers favored the sensational and adventurous style of these chronicles of “romanticized and glamorized crime” (Pykett 19). They were extremely popular during the 1830-1860s and “chronicled the ‘adventures and escapes of independent, courageous criminals, often legendary eighteenth-century robbers and highwaymen’” (Pykett 19). The Newgate Calendar and the ensuing Newgate novels were a collection of criminal biographies form London’s Newgate Prison inmates and the stories written about or around them (cf. Before that, law was “arbitrary, oppressive, and brutally administered” (Sayers 11) and therefore the sympathies of the reader were rather with the “cunning and astuteness of the criminal” (Sayers 11). During the 18th and 19th century the structure of most countries changed: events like the Independency of the USA and the French Revolution lead to substantial changes, especially regarding society and law, the first efficient police forces such as the Bow Street Runners, the Sûreté and the Metropolitan Police were formed in answer to rising crime rates, accounts of criminal behavior and its subsequent punishment like the Newgate Calendar were published, and detective agencies like those of Vidocq and Allan Pinkerton emerged. When it comes to the evolution of Crime Fiction it is absolutely necessary to take into account the historical and socio-cultural ‘background’ responsible for its increasing popularity. 2 History of Crime Fiction Early History of Crime Fiction The third chapter will take a closer look at each detective individually and analyze their character and method.Īnd finally I want to present a few of the most famous plot elements used in the analyzed works: murder in the locked room, the unjustly accused suspect, the least-likely person, and the last link. Secondly I will analyze the way of storytelling of each author in their debut novel and also comment on some further development. In the first chapter I want to give a short historical overview about the beginnings of crime fiction, the classical age and the golden age. This paper is aimed at showing why it is nevertheless correct, to call Edgar Allan Poe and his Dupin the godfather of crime fiction and how much of an influence he actually was. And even though they were met with critical acclaim at the time of their publication, Dupin has been upstaged and pushed to the background by bigger, more dazzling detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. His first short story The Murders in The Rue Morgue was published in 1841, followed by The Mystery of Marie Rogêt in 1842 and The Purloined Letter in 1845. Auguste Dupin with the intent to show, that every mystery, every puzzle, however complicated and intriguing, may be solved by the application of logical reasoning. Yet, in literary circles „ he general critical consensus is that the detective story begins with Edgar Allan Poe, the ‘father’ of the detective genre” (Scaggs 7).Įdgar Allan Poe, the famous poet and author of gothic novels, had published three short stories featuring C. Auguste Dupin on the other hand is – at least today – relatively unknown, familiar probably only to the ardent crime fiction enthusiast. It is safe to say their names have become household words for detective fiction. Although the first Sherlock Holmes case was published 120 years ago and Agatha Christie’s Poirot had his first appearance in 1914, their popularity remains unbroken until today.Īgatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap is “celebrating the 64th year of a record breaking run during which over 26,000 performances have been given” and until today holds the “world record for the longest continuous run at one theatre” ("The Mousetrap") And the latest Sherlock Holmes series Sherlock and Elementary have been renewed for their fifth and sixth season respectively. Their cases have been published all over the world, were an immediate success and have since been adapted countless times for theater, radio, cinema and TV. When we think of crime fiction two names immediately come to mind: Sherlock Holmes and, although maybe to a slightly lesser extent, Hercule Poirot.
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