 Father of the Mystery/Crime story: › Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote “ The Murders of the Rue Morgue” in 1841 › First Detective: Auguste C. Dupin

 "a murder victim is found inside an apparently sealed enclosure and the detective's challenge is to discover the murderer's modus operandi”  Most famous example: › The Murders in the Rue Morgue"

 from the aesthetics of the situation to a more intellectual reality, moving the story from "a focus on the superficial trappings of eerie setting and shocking event to a study of the criminal's mind." (Crime Classics)

 Charles Dickens - "Bleak House" (1853). "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (1870).  Wilkie Collins - "The Woman in White" (1860). "The Moonstone" (1868).  Anna Katherine Green (became first woman to write a detective novel) "The Leavenworth Case" (1878).

 Must have a detective (usually eccentric)  The official police must be bumblers  Clues must be presented to the reader  The author must not tell a lie  Many writers begin their stories with the impact of the crime, then work backwards to reconstruct the incomplete fragments of what is known into a more intelligible whole  crime of choice in detective fiction is murder

 born May 22, 1859, Edinburgh, Scotland -died July 7, 1930, Crowborough, Sussex, England  Known as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories  Went to medical school - knighted (1902) for his work with a field hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and other services during the South African (Boer) War.  Published his stories in The Strand Magazine

 Sherlock Holmes › is a “character whose intelligence was formidable, turning the solving of crimes into a science” › A rational thinker, who pieces information together to draw an inescapable conclusion, one that was not evident to the others in the story.

 Similar Plot Line › Introduce the crime › Presentation of the case as “unique” or “singular” › Adding odd characters › Watson’s ignorance or lack of understanding of the case and his use as Holmes’ foil › The setting out of clues/introduction of false clues › Adding complications to the case › The resolution and explanation of the crime by Holmes

 Key Vocab:  Foil - A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another perhaps more primary character, so as to point out specific traits of the primary character. (Dr. Watson - narrator)  Verisimilitude: The sense that what one reads is "real," or at least realistic and believable.

 Key Vocab:  Red Herring - An action, theme, or piece of information meant to lead a character or the reader astray. Mysteries often employ red herrings to complicate the plot and draw the reader’s attention away from the real solution, thus prolonging the pleasure of reading.

 Devon, England  Married Archie Christie, a WWI fighter pilot in 1914  She worked as a nurse, wrote on the side

 1st novel: The Mystery Affair at Styles - introduces detective - Hercule Poirot › Wrote 30 novels featuring Poirot  troubled marriage - divorce - remarriage to Max Mallowan (archeologist)  In 1971 she was awarded the high honor of becoming a Dame of the British Empire.

 Her play, The Mousetrap, continues to run at St Martin’s Theatre in London. It is the longest running stage play in the world.  Agatha Christie wrote more than 80 novels in her lifetime, earning her the title of “The Queen of Crime”

 Gardner - author of novels featuring Perry Mason (later turned into a tv show)  Other famous TV detectives/shows - Columbo, Murder She Wrote, Dragnet, Hawaii 5-0, Kojak,  Other Novels - Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys