Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story

by Howard Haycraft

Paperback, 1984

Publication

Carroll & Graf Pub (1984), 410 p.

Collections

Your library, Own, Golden Age Mysteries, To read

Tags

20th Century & Contemporary American, American Mysteries and Crime Fiction, British Mysteries and Crime Fiction, History, Nonfiction, American History, British History, History of Literature

Genres

Subjects

Detective and mystery stories Bibliography
Detective and mystery stories History and criticism

Description

"Genuinely fascinating reading."--The New York Times Book Review "Diverting and patently authoritative."--The New Yorker "Grand and fascinating ... a history, a compendium and a critical study all in one, and all first rate."--Rex Stout "A landmark ... a brilliant study written with charm and authority."--Ellery Queen "This book is of permanent value. It should be on the shelf of every reader of detective stories."--Erle Stanley Gardner Author Howard Haycraft, an expert in detective fiction, traces the genre's development from the 1840s through the 1940s. Along the way, he charts the innovations of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the modern influence of George Simenon, Josephine Tey, and others. Additional topics include a survey of the critical literature, a detective story quiz, and a Who's Who in Detection.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member datrappert
First, know that this book was published in 1941, and except for a 10-year anniversary update at the end that adds a few more books recommended by Haycraft and by Ellery Queen, that is where it ends. If, however, you're interested in being pointed to the most worthwhile early stories of detection,
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 you'll find much rewarding here. The author is a bit annoying in trying to narrowly define the detective story, however. Nowadays, when genres and sub-genres tend to be blended together for good or ill, this sort of distinction seems unnecessary. It reminds me of the used book store I visited where mystery was in one section and crime in another. (And thrillers in yet another.) Haycraft tells the usual story of the origin of the detective story with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and proceeds through early writers such as Anna Katherine Green to the successes of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes up to the "present day" of 1941 or so. This means that the first part of the careers of some well known writers such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, John Dickson Carr, and Michael Innes are included. Also, unfortunately, the entire career of Dashiell Hammett, who even at that early date had already stopped writing. The main part of the book mentions Raymond Chandler only very briefly, but the 10-years-after update does give him credit and add some of his works to the recommended list. Haycraft, to his credit, doesn't disparage the hard-boiled genre, and is lavish in his praise of Hammett.

More interesting, perhaps, are the writers that have been largely forgotten that Haycraft extolls, such as Mabel Sealey, who is pretty forgotten today. His concise descriptions of his subjects' works, without any plot spoilers to speak of, will whet your appetite to try out some of these books, many of which are now in the public domain. Given his chosen framework, Haycraft only really errs when he states decisively that women do not make good fictional detectives. It is a bit jarring to read such a blatantly sexist statement in a book that is otherwise a model of balance. Haycraft, for instance, points out not just the strengths of each writer, but also their weaknesses.

In any case, there's probably no good substitute for this book if it's the book your're looking for, so have at it.
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Language

English

Original language

English

ISBN

9780881840711

Physical description

410 p.; 8.5 inches

Pages

410

Rating

(12 ratings; 4)

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