Women Writers and Detectives in Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction: The Mothers of the Mystery Genre (Crime Files)

Since its invention in the nineteenth century, detective fi ction has never been more popular. In novels, short stories, fi lms, radio, television and now in computer games, private detectives and psychopaths, prim poisoners and overworked cops, tommy gun gangsters and cocaine criminals are the very stuff of modern imagination, and their creators one mainstay of popular consciousness. Crime Files is a ground-breaking series offering scholars, students and discerning readers a comprehensive set of guides to the world of crime and detective fi ction. Every aspect of crime writing, detective fi ction, gangster movie, true-crime exposé, police procedural and post-colonial investigation is explored through clear and informative texts offering comprehensive coverage and theoretical sophistication. This book is a study of the 'mothers' of the mystery genre. Traditionally the invention of crime writing has been ascribed to Poe, Wilkie Collins and Conan Doyle, but they had formidable women rivals, whose work has been until recently largely forgotten. The purpose of this book is to 'cherchez les femmes', in a project of rediscovery. Women Writers and Detectives in Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction is a study of the 'mothers' of the mystery genre, showing that early detective writing was as much a feminine as it was a masculine domain. Traditionally the nineteenth-century 'creation' of crime writing has been ascribed to Poe, Wilkie Collins and Conan Doyle, but they had formidable female rivals, competing with them commercially and for critical acclaim. Their work has been until recently largely forgotten, and a study of the precursors to Agatha Christie, Sara Paretsky and P.D. James has never been completed before. The purpose of this book is to 'cherchez les femmes', in a project of rediscovery Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: Look for the Women....Pages 1-5 ‘Origins are Multifarious and Unclean!’: The Beginnings of Crime Fiction....Pages 6-25 Mrs Radcliffe as Conan Doyle?....Pages 26-44 ‘A Most Preposterous Organ of Wonder’: Catherine Crowe....Pages 45-63 ‘I’m a Thief-Taker, Young Lady’....Pages 64-80 Getting Away with Murder: Mary Braddon....Pages 81-100 ‘Dead! And ... Never Called Me Mother’: Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood....Pages 101-119 The (Feminine) Eye of the Law: Mary Helena Fortune....Pages 120-141 A Jill-of-All-Writing-Trades: Metta Victoria Fuller Victor (‘Seeley Regester’)....Pages 142-163 The Art of Murder: Anna Katharine Green....Pages 164-182 Conclusion: ‘She Has Got a Murderess in Manuscript in her Bedroom’....Pages 183-185 Back Matter....Pages 186-216 "Lucy Sussex ... makes a persuasive case for many of the neglected female progenitors of the detective genre; the final effect of this concise but information-packed volume will be to send readers out to scour bookshop shelves for some neglected but intriguing women writers."--Barry Forshaw, Crime Time ' ... a wide-ranging excavation of the work of lesser-known authors such as Catherine Crowe and Metta Victoria Fuller as well as more famous figures, including Mary Braddon and Anna Katharine Green.' - Emelyne Godfrey, 'Top History Moments of 2010', History Today "This book is a study of the "mothers" of the mystery genre. Traditionally the invention of crime writing has been ascribed to Poe, Wilkie Collins and Conan Doyle, but they had formidable women rivals, whose work has been until recently largely forgotten. The purpose of this book is to "cherchez les femmes," in a project of rediscovery"--Provided by publisher