From the massive archive….
Despite its title, The Murder
Book is not a primer full of methods about how to commit the ultimate
crime. Subtitled "An Illustrated History of the Detective Story," the
book uses photographs, paintings, movie stills, cartoons, sketches, book and
magazine cover art and interior illustrations, along with limited amounts of
text, to give the reader a broad overview of the genre's development rather
than an in-depth examination of the sort one finds in, for instance, Howard
Haycraft's classic Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the
Detective Story.
As the prolific mystery writer and
critic Julian Symons says of the authors in his brief forward, "Tage la
Cour is a bibliophile with a crime fiction library containing several thousand
volumes, most of them in English. He is famous in Denmark as a critic and
anthologist of crime fiction. Harald Mogensen, the literary editor of
'Politiken,' has an interest in the crime story which is both emotional and
analytical.
"The two of them are in the
forefront of an immensely well-informed Scandinavian group of writers and
critics who are interested not just in reading the latest books, but in
discussing the background and history of the crime story."
As one would expect, the book opens
with Poe, "the father of the detective story," and ends with Georges
Simenon and his Inspector Maigret. In between, also predictably, are pictorial
and textual discussions of such luminaries, among others, as Charles Dickens,
Wilkie Collins, Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Dashiell
Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Raymond Chandler.
Besides Simenon, other noteworthy
French authors such as Emile Gaboriau, Gaston Leroux, Honore de
Balzac, Eugène Sue and Maurice LeBlanc are given the attention they
deserve. Other countries' contributions are given space as well, so the reader
learns something about authors and, sometimes, characters, from Argentina,
Austria, Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand,
Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Lesser-known authors from the United States,
England and elsewhere also get their share of recognition.
One can argue that the book's subtitle
is a misnomer because not every book mentioned is, at its core, a detective
story. Various subgenres are given consideration, among them supernatural
tales, stories of terror, and spy stories.
There are a few typos here and there
throughout the book an editor should have caught, as well as a few spoilers. I
was amused by the authors' references to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels as
being set in the "87th District" and "Station 87."
An attractive volume that is fun to
browse through, The Murder Book is more suited to, and more
likely to be found in the library of, the hardcore aficionado/student of
mystery fiction than that of the casual reader.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4bZBgkz
Barry Ergang ©2012, 2024
Some of Derringer Award winner Barry Ergang’s work can be found at Amazon and Smashwords.
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