Context - AO3📖 Flashcards
What type of novels dominated during the 1850s-60s?
Sensation Novels
When was the Golden Age of crime fiction?
1914-1945
When was there a rise in detective fiction?
1891-94
What are the features of a sensation novel? (3)
- Characters from a moneyed, decent, upper class background
- Characters provide a backdrop for conspiracy, secrecy and scandal
- Investigators are mainly insiders of the world, not professional detectives
What were Penny Dreadfuls?
Short stories that contained socking and sensational content.
They were cheap and popular’
Sometimes they were based on true crime
Who were the 3 forerunners of detective fiction?
Edgar Allen Poe
Arthur Conan Doyle
Agatha Christie
What subgenre of crime writing emerged in America?
Hardboiled/Noir/Pulp Fiction
What are the features of Hardboiled Fiction?
Increased Realism and Violence
Inclusion of more credible murders
The features aim to reflect the concerns about our imperfect world
What is the Key Template for Golden Age Fiction?
1) Seemingly Perfect Crime
2) Wrongly accused suspect at whom circumstantial evidence points too
3) Bungiling of dim-witted police
4) Greater power of observation and superior mind of the detective
5) Denouement, in which the detective reveals how they identified the culprit
What are the “stock characters” of golden age fiction?
Professional investigators Interested and Talented Amateurs The Criminal The Sidekick The Victims
What are the 2 key features of contemporary crime novels?
- Reinforcement of legal elements and moral codes
- Continued preoccupation with class
Who came up with the ‘10 Commandments of Crime Writing’?
Ronald Knox
Briefly outline the 10 Commandments of Crime Fiction
1) The criminal must be mentioned early but can’t have access to their thoughts
2) No supernatural/prenatural agencies
3) No more than 1 secret room/passage
4) No undiscovered poison or appliance that needs a long explanation at the end
5) No Chinaman (reaction to racial cliches)
6) No accidents or ‘unaccountable intuition’ that helps the detective
7) Detective himself cannot commit the crime
8) Detective has to announce each clue they discover
9) Sidekick shouldn’t conceal their thoughts, their intelligence is slightly above the readers
10) Twins or doubles should not appear unless we have been prepared for them
Outline the Auden Formule
1) Peaceful State before the murder - false innocence
2) Murder - revelation of presence of guilt
3) False Clues, Secondary Murders - false location of guilt
4) Solution - location of real guilt
5) Arrest of Murderer - catharsis
6) Peaceful state after arrest (true innocence)
Why is the Plot Puzzle Formula important?
Creates the pleasure of being able to detect alongside the detective for the reader
