John Scaggs - Crime Fiction (The New Critical Idiom)

Cover

Page i

CRIME FICTION

Crime Fiction provides a lively introduction to what is both a wideranging and a hugely popular literary genre. Using examples from a variety of novels, short stories, films and television series, John Scaggs:

presents a concise history of crime fiction from biblical narratives to James Ellroy broadening the genre to include revenge tragedy and the gothic novel

explores the key sub-genres of crime fiction, such as Mystery and Detective Fiction, The Hard-Boiled Mode, The Police Procedural and Historical Crime Fiction

locates texts and their recurring themes and motifs in a wider social and historical context

outlines the various critical concepts that are central to the study of crime fiction, including gender studies, narrative theory and film theory

considers contemporary television series such as C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation alongside the classic whodunnits of Agatha Christie

Accessible and clear, this comprehensive overview is the essential guide for all those studying crime fiction and concludes with a look at future directions for the genre in the twenty-first century.

John Scaggs is a Lecturer in the Department of English at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland.

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THE NEW CRITICAL IDIOM

SERIES EDITOR: JOHN DRAKAKIS, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING

The New Critical Idiom is an invaluable series of introductory guides to todays critical terminology. Each book:

provides a handy, explanatory guide to the use (and abuse) of the term

offers an original and distinctive overview by a leading literary and cultural critic

relates the term to the larger field of cultural representation

With a strong emphasis on clarity, lively debate and the widest possible breadth of examples, The New Critical Idiom is an indispensable approach to key topics in literary studies.

Also available in this series:

The Author by Andrew Bennett

Autobiography by Linda Anderson

Class by Gary Day

Colonialism/Postcolonialism by Ania Loomba

Comedy by Andrew Stott

Culture/Metaculture by Francis Mulhern

Difference by Mark Currie

Discourse by Sara Mills

Drama/Theatre/Performance by Simon Shepherd and Mick Wallis

Dramatic Monologue by Glennis Byron

Ecocriticism by Greg Garrard

Genders by David Glover and Cora Kaplan

Gothic by Fred Botting

Historicism by Paul Hamilton

Humanism by Tony Davies

Ideology by David Hawkes

Interdisciplinarity by Joe Moran

Intertextuality by Graham Allen

Irony by Claire Colebrook

Literature by Peter Widdowson

Magic(al) Realism by Maggie Ann Bowers

Metre, Rhythm and Verse Form by Philip Hobsbaum

Modernism by Peter Childs

Myth by Laurence Coupe

Narrative by Paul Cobley

Parody by Simon Dentith

Pastoral by Terry Gifford

The Postmodern by Simon Malpas

Realism by Pam Morris

Romance by Barbara Fuchs

Romanticism by Aidan Day

Science Fiction by Adam Roberts

Sexuality by Joseph Bristow

Stylistics by Richard Bradford

Subjectivity by Donald E. Hall

The Unconscious by Antony Easthope

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John Scaggs

LONDON AND NEW YORK

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First published 2005
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.

To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledges collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.

2005 John Scaggs

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Scaggs, John, 1970
Crime fiction / John Scaggs.
p. cm. (The new critical idiom)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Detective and mystery stories, EnglishHistory and criticism.
2. Detective and mystery stories, AmericanHistory and criticism.
3. Crime in literature. I. Title. II. Series.
PR830.C74S28 2005
823.087209dc22 2004016596

ISBN 0-203-59853-9 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN - (OEB Format)

ISBN 0-415-31825-4 (hbk)

ISBN 0-415-31824-6 (pbk)

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To My Grandmother
Margaret Carter

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