The History of the Mystery
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InSinC The Sisters in Crime Newsletter Volume XIX • Number 4 December 2006 The History of the Mystery By Carolyn Hart Mary Roberts Rinehart, at one time the high- the genre when he said that the private eye novel Elements of the mystery are present in much est paid writer in America, debuted in 1907 is about the protagonist, not the crime. literature, both ancient and modern, but the with the serialized publication of The Circular In 1939, Raymond Chandler’s first Philip world waited until Edgar Allan Poe for the Staircase. It appeared as a book in 1908. In that Marlowe novel, The Big Sleep, was published. first true mystery stories. Scholar Jon Breen first book, she set her standard of humor and a His has been the most profound influence on believes deductive mystery fiction became beleaguered heroine. private eye novels. Chandler wrote with elegance possible only after countries with a rule of law The watershed year in mystery fiction was and has never been surpassed as a stylist in this organized professional 1920. That year, The Mysterious Affair at Styles genre. That same year is also remarked for the police forces devoted to by Agatha Christie was published. Christie was publication of Erle Stanley Gardner and Brett solving crimes on the and is the most influential of all mystery writers Halliday. basis of fact. A detective with sales in the hundreds of millions. What The Golden Age between the world wars in- wasn’t necessary if crimes was her magic? cluded great practitioners of both the traditional were solved by guess, hap- Christie never forgot what she was about. She mystery and the private eye novel. penstance, black magic or created clever puzzles and wrote with charm Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer and Ross brute force. and grace about characters familiar to readers Macdonald’s Lew Archer appeared in print in Jon believes that Poe whether they spoke Finnish or Urdu or English. 1947. was familiar with the She was unpretentious, honest and clear-eyed. There are names to conjure with after WW II, rather self-serving auto- She never walked a mean street, but she under- authors of both the traditional mystery and the Carolyn Hart biography of the French stood human passions. She knew that life in a private eye novel: Rex Stout, Patricia Highsmith, detective Francois Vidocq humdrum English village was as subject to evil John D. McDonald, Margaret Millar, George and that Poe’s disdain for professional police as any Bristol slum. Harmon Cox, John Creasey, Dick Francis, Ross capabilities prompted him to create the world’s Christie equated the modern mystery with Thomas, Tony Hillerman, P.D. James, Emma first amateur detective, Auguste Dupin. What- the medieval morality play. In the morality play, Lathen, Ed McBain, Charlotte MacLeod, Eliza- ever Poe’s motive, we know that the modern trades fair audiences were offered a graphic repre- beth Peters, Ruth Rendell, Georges Simenon and mystery traces its beginning to the publication sentation of the seven deadly sins. In a more so- Donald E. Westlake. in1841 of the Murder in the Rue Morgue. All of phisticated guise, this is what Christie addressed The ’60s and the Cold War saw a diminution the elements necessary for a mystery novel were in her books. Do you want to understand the of interest in both the traditional mystery and first gathered together in fiction by Poe: pain and agony inflicted on the human spirit by the crime novel. This was the heyday of spy fic- • The amateur detective whose exploits are greed? Read the Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Would tion, which had its early incarnation with John chronicled by an admiring friend you like to contemplate self-righteous arrogance Buchan and the publication of The Thirty-Nine • The locked room mystery lifted to madness? Read Ten Little Indians. Steps in 1915. Eric Ambler and Graham Greene • An innocent suspect in jeopardy Some critics have dismissed Christie’s books were brilliant successors. Building on that tradi- • Careful detection through following clues as puzzles devoid of realistic characters. Death tion in the 1960s and ’70s were Len Deighton, fairly offered on the Nile, Murder is Easy and Five Little Pigs John Le Carre, Frederick Forsyth, George V. • A trap laid for the true villain are among many of her books that make that Higgins and Ken Follett. The 1960s also saw • The solution through the efforts of the detec- claim absurd. perhaps the zenith of romantic suspense. I tive Christie was the leading light of the Golden mentioned Mary Roberts Rinehart as a very • The first series character Age, that glorious period between the two world early and wonderful and enormously success- All of this was achieved by Poe in three stories, wars that saw the publication of Dorothy L. Say- ful American mystery author. She was also The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of ers, Philip MacDonald, H.C. Bailey, Earl Derr perhaps the earliest mystery author to combine Marie Roget and The Purloined Letter. Biggers, Ellery Queen, John Dickson Carr, Nich- romance and suspense. Perhaps the finest novels Early writers who contributed to the genre olas Blake, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, of romantic suspense were penned by Daphne include Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone 1868), Josephine Tey and Phoebe Atwood Taylor. DuMaurier with Rebecca in 1938 and My Cousin Charles Dickens (Bleak House 1853) and These writers excelled with the mystery as Rachel in 1952. Topping the charts in the 1960s Anna Katharine Green (The Leavenworth Case conceived by Poe. A different kind of mystery was the brilliant stylist Mary Stewart. Victoria 1878). springing from a different heritage made its Holt and Phyllis Whitney also captured readers Arthur Conan Doyle carried the idea of the debut in 1929 with the publication of The Red and hearts. Barbara Michaels debuted in 1967 amateur detective to great fame with his Sherlock Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. with The Master of Black Tower. Her first novel Holmes stories. The first, A Study in Scarlet, The private eye novel is rooted in the 19th as Elizabeth Peters, The Jackal’s Head, was pub- appeared in 1887. G.K. Chesterton’s Father century action-oriented dime novels with the lished in 1969. Brown, the first fictional clergyman sleuth, ap- hero prevailing against the forces of evil. Modern peared in 1908. day crime writer Robert B. Parker forever defined Continued on page 6 Get a Clue Sisters in Crime Newsletter Purpose: The purpose of Sisters in Crime shall be to: combat dis- crimination against women in the mystery field, educate publishers History of the Mystery . 1 and the general public as to the inequities in the treatment of female authors, raise the level of awareness of their contributions to the field, and promote the professional advancement of women who President’s Message . 3 write mysteries . Book Club Database . 3 Rochelle Krich, President S.J. Rozan, At Large Roberta Isleib, Vice President Donna Andrews, Chapter Liaison Marcia Talley, Secretary Judy Clemens, At Large New SinC Listserv . 3 Kathryn R. Wall, Treasurer Victoria K. Huston, Publicity Doris Ann Norris, Library Liaison Jim Huang, Bookstore Liaison Don’t Forget to Renew . 3 Vicki Cameron, Books in Print Editor Bonnie J. Cardone, InSinC Editor Peggy Moody, Web Maven Gavin Faulkner, Newsletter Graphic Designer Crossword Puzzle . 4 Beth Wasson, Executive Secretary; P.O. Box 442124; Lawrence KS 66044-8933; Phone: (785) 842-1325; Fax: (785) 856-6314; E-mail: <[email protected]> Crafting Richer Characters . 5 Presidents of Sisters in Crime 1987–88 Sara Paretsky; 1988 –89 Nancy Pickard; 1989–90 Margaret Maron; 1990–91 Clipping Service . 6 Susan Dunlap; 1991–92 Carolyn G. Hart; 1992–93 P.M. Carlson; 1993–94 Linda Grant; 1994–95 Barbara D’Amato; 1995–96 Elaine Raco Chase; 1996–97 Annette Meyers; 1997–98 Sue Henry; 1998–99 Medora Sale; 1999–2000 Barbara Burnett Smith; New England Calendar . 7 2000–2001 Claire Carmichael McNab; 2001–2002 Eve K. Sandstrom; 2002–2003 Kate Flora; 2003–2004 Kate Grilley; 2004–2005 Patricia Sprinkle; 2005–2006 Libby Hellmann; BIP . 7 2006–2007 Rochelle Krich. Anthony, Barry, Derringer, DEADLINES AND GUIDELINES The next InSinC Newsletter will be out in mail. Manuscripts that arrive by U.S. Mail will Dilys, Macavity and March. The deadline for all submissions is January also be accepted. 15. Please send mailing address, phone number, fax, Shamus Awards . 8 – 9 Members’ publications since the last edition of and e-mail with submissions. If you have an idea the newsletter will be listed in The Docket. Please for a story, please query the editor: include publication dates when submitting. Docket Authors of Color . 9 material will be due January 10 and should be sent Bonnie J. Cardone to: 3116 S. Trisha Court New SinC Listserv . 9 Santa Maria, CA 93455-7137 Patricia Gulley Phone: (805) 938-1156 1743 N. 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