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The Origins of the
American Detective Story (2006).
By LeRoy Lad Panek.
Published by McFarland.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0786427760
ISBN-13: 978-0786427765
Description:
Edgar Allan Poe
essentially invented the detective story in 1841 with Murders in the Rue
Morgue. In the years that followed, however, detective fiction in America
saw no significant progress as a literary genre. Much to the dismay of moral
crusaders like Anthony Comstock, dime novels and other sensationalist
publications satisfied the public's hunger for a yarn. Things changed as the
century waned, and eventually the detective was reborn as a figure of American
literature. In part these changes were due to a combination of social
conditions, including the rise and decline of the police as an institution; the
parallel development of private detectives; the birth of the crusading
newspaper reporter; and the beginnings of forensic science. Influential, too,
was the new role model offered by a wildly popular British import named
Sherlock Holmes.
Focusing
on the late 19th century and early 20th, this volume covers the formative years
of American detective fiction.
