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In VOX LIT September 2018 :
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IN THE FREE BOOK LOVERS' MAG VOXLIT ON-LINE THIS MONTH:
***A LOOK AT DETECTIVE AND OTHER STORIES*** This month’s edition is devoted mainly, but not exclusively, to detective thrillers. James Gault and Ted Bun review a few of them, while James writes on the history and popularity of this genre. Our Writers Notes section concentrates on a key aspect of this type of novel, the plot. Book marketing takes a prominent position as well, with an article on Pre-selling by business writer Cherise Castle-Bugh and a review of a book on ‘authority marketing’ by Darlene Raminez. We also have an interview with Sci-Fi writer John Dill and Keith Guernsey is back after a short break with a feel-good story in our features section. And as usual,we make fun of the world of politics in our regular satirical piece. There are no new poems this month but we would welcome any contributions for next time. We hope there’s something here for both readers and authors. Enjoy and share with your friends. |
Click for these other ARTICLES .... James Gault interviews Sci-Fi novelist John Dill Business writer Cherise Castle-Blugh has some advice about selling books |
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HISTORY OF THE GENRE
The detective thriller – a history and analysis
According to the BOOKSTR site, crime and mystery are the second most lucrative topics to choose if you want to make money from writing. This genre accounts for just about half of the sales of novels about romance and sex. This kind of survey is always controversial; doesn’t every book have some love, sex and mystery in it? Nevertheless, there can be little argument that the detective story has a major following among readers. How and why did such a following arise?
Its origins are very old, and early influences can be found in the celebrated Arabian Nights (The Three Apples), in Greek drama (Oedipus Rex) and there are even those who claim examples can be found in the Bible and other religious works. But the honour of having founded the genre is usually attributed to the great American writer mystery writer Edgar Allan Poe (The Murders in the Rue Morgue ) in 1841. Poe can also claim the credit for the ubiquitous habit of producing sequels, for he followed up his initial success with a series of novels featuring his detective, Auguste Dupin. What impresses me about Poe is that his detective stories are not just the result of free imagination, but that he had devised a structure to the genre based on acute observation and the use of deductive logic, an approach which survives to this day.
Despite the pioneering work of this American writer, the focus of detective fiction moved to Europe for the rest of the 19th century, with Émile Gaboriau (Monsieur Lecoq)in France and, in England, Wilkie Colins (The Mooonstone, reviewed in this issue of the Voice of Literature) and of course, the great Sherlock Holmes novels of Arthur Conan Doyle.
English dominance of the genre persisted in the first half of the 20th century, with the works of Agatha Christie and her great characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Although these are great examples, it could be argued that they are very derivative in their structures and lack innovation. We have to turn to the USA for the next development., where Raymond Chandler introduced the cynical and not to honourable detective(Phillip Marlowe) who has become the role model for the modern detective. And from there we arrive in the present day, where we find detective mysteries generously scattered throughout the best-seller charts.
So what is the appeal of this genre? In my view, it is that it answers a fundamental and irresistible aspect of human nature: curiosity. If we don’t know something, we cannot rest until we find it out. That’s why people all love gossip, and it’s why they love the detective story. So go on, spoil yourself. Get a hold of one and begin to read.
Contributed by James Gault.
Its origins are very old, and early influences can be found in the celebrated Arabian Nights (The Three Apples), in Greek drama (Oedipus Rex) and there are even those who claim examples can be found in the Bible and other religious works. But the honour of having founded the genre is usually attributed to the great American writer mystery writer Edgar Allan Poe (The Murders in the Rue Morgue ) in 1841. Poe can also claim the credit for the ubiquitous habit of producing sequels, for he followed up his initial success with a series of novels featuring his detective, Auguste Dupin. What impresses me about Poe is that his detective stories are not just the result of free imagination, but that he had devised a structure to the genre based on acute observation and the use of deductive logic, an approach which survives to this day.
Despite the pioneering work of this American writer, the focus of detective fiction moved to Europe for the rest of the 19th century, with Émile Gaboriau (Monsieur Lecoq)in France and, in England, Wilkie Colins (The Mooonstone, reviewed in this issue of the Voice of Literature) and of course, the great Sherlock Holmes novels of Arthur Conan Doyle.
English dominance of the genre persisted in the first half of the 20th century, with the works of Agatha Christie and her great characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Although these are great examples, it could be argued that they are very derivative in their structures and lack innovation. We have to turn to the USA for the next development., where Raymond Chandler introduced the cynical and not to honourable detective(Phillip Marlowe) who has become the role model for the modern detective. And from there we arrive in the present day, where we find detective mysteries generously scattered throughout the best-seller charts.
So what is the appeal of this genre? In my view, it is that it answers a fundamental and irresistible aspect of human nature: curiosity. If we don’t know something, we cannot rest until we find it out. That’s why people all love gossip, and it’s why they love the detective story. So go on, spoil yourself. Get a hold of one and begin to read.
Contributed by James Gault.
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