Books are a unique world filled with mystery and magic that attracts each of us. We all prefer different genres: historical novels, fantasy, mysticism.
In a good detective, a man holds a severed head in his hand ...
However, one of the most revered and undoubtedly interesting genres is the detective story. A talentedly written work in the detective genre allows the reader to independently add the logical chain of events and figure out the criminal. Which undoubtedly requires mental effort. Incredibly interesting and fascinating reading!
So, what is a detective story in literature and how does it differ from other genres?
Writing a book in the detective genre requires a lot of effort from the author. The plot requires careful consideration and does not tolerate inconsistencies in the narrative. A logically constructed chain of events and hints, a violent confrontation between positive and negative heroes, the tension with which the book is saturated ... These factors make the detective one of the most beloved genres of many book lovers.
What is a detective?
A detective story is a literary work or a movie narrating about the adventures of a detective. At the heart of the detective is always a secret that is revealed at the end of the story.
Origin of the term
What is a detective? The definition appeared along with the first detective stories published in the 19th century. The term comes from the Latin word detectio - "to reveal", "to discover." It has two meanings: the first means the detective as a genre, the second - the person who is engaged in the investigation, the detective.
The term was borrowed from English in the 19th century.
The first detective story
Agatha Christie with her Miss Marple is considered the ancestor of the classic detective, but in reality this is not so. The first classic detective story was written in the 40s of the XIX century by the popular writer Edgar Allan Poe. All three of his stories - "Murders on Morgue Street", "The Secret of Marie Roger" and "The Stolen Letter" - are still considered classics, the motives of which are followed by the authors to this day.
There is a crime - there is a detective story
No less than Edgar Anna Katherine Green became famous for stories in the detective genre. Being the daughter of a lawyer, she was able not only to invent fascinating stories, but also described the investigation process as accurately as possible. Her first work, entitled The Leavenworth Affair, became a bestseller. In the Pennsylvania Senate, Anna’s authorship was called into question: can a woman write such a realistic detective story?
However, until the 19th century, certain motives of the detective genre were found in literature. Probably, the detective element arose simultaneously with the advent of the first laws and their violations. It can be found even in ancient literature. But for the first time, an attempt to write a full-fledged detective story was undertaken by William Godwin in the 15th century, who described the adventures of a passionate lover of secrets.
Later, the anarchist philosopher W. Godwin in his novel "Caleb Williams" (1974) described an amateur detective. A considerable share in the development of the detective genre was made by the memoirs of E. Vidoka. We will examine his fascinating biography in more detail below.
Famous Sam Spade Dashil Hammett is a typical representative of a noir detective. It was he who became one of the founders of this direction, which later gave the audience a series of series about Colombo. What is a noir detective? This is an inhabitant of a narrow detective genre, which has its own distinctive features. Usually this is an ironic, middle-aged detective who has become disillusioned with everything in the world. Often wears a cloak and hat, like the famous Colombo.
When discussing what a detective story is in literature, one cannot fail to mention the famous detective in literature - Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Until now, the authors of detective stories are trying to maximally alienate their characters from the ideal image of Holmes.
Features of the detective genre
What is a detective story as an art genre and what features does it differ? Its elements are recognizable immediately, from the first pages of the story.
- The author expresses his thoughts clearly and pays more attention to the environment than to the heroes themselves. Detectives are sometimes written somewhat dryly and restrainedly, which is not observed in the works of other literary genres. Exceptions are female detective novels, in which there are a lot of emotions and humor. This is because the detective’s main task is to investigate the main secret, the logical comparison of facts.
- The author describes the everyday environment. The reader is confidently guided in the events of the story and knows all the characters that appear in the story. However, there are exceptions when the only character not mentioned is a criminal. He appears at the end of the story, during the disclosure of the crime committed by him.
- There is almost always a crime in a detective. The author actively involves the reader in the process of his investigation. He knows all the facts that allow you to independently add a puzzle of events. Of course, not all authors provide this opportunity, sometimes it is impossible to guess the identity of the criminal to the last pages of the book.
- Logicality. The logical chain that the author built does not break any extraneous events. All the points described in the book are relevant to the investigation and are not just mentioned.
In addition, the detective has a certain "set" of characters.
Typical Characters in a Literary Detective
The author writes a detective story for the detective. In other words, the criminal adjusts his bloody activities to the detective who is investigating the crime. However, it should be noted that not all subgenres of a detective novel have a crime. For example, in five of the eighteen stories about Sherlock Holmes written by Arthur Conan Doyle, there were no crimes. However, the fact of the investigation of the riddle remained.
A detective is often a police officer, private investigator or amateur. The latter is especially loved by readers, since his image is close and understandable to them. Reading a similar detective story, the reader is sure: if he were in the place of a detective, he would have acted in exactly the same way. An amateur detective is often found in an adventurous detective story. What is an adventure genre detective? This is an adventure novel with a detective line in the spirit of Dashil Hammett. Such novels abound in events; this is a world of exoticism and heroism, secrets and adventures.
The offender often appears in the novel. He may be under the guise of a suspect, witness or even victim. He strongly opposes the investigation, sweeps traces. Often the author introduces the reader to the criminal, but in such a way that he does not guess about his identity. Indeed, it is the intrigue, who is actually the main villain, in 90% of cases makes the reader read the novel to the end.
And, of course, the victim, who often himself turns out to be a criminal in a classic detective story.
In addition, in the novel you can meet an assistant detective, a witness and other minor characters.
The most famous detective in history
In the literary genre, the most famous detectives are: Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Auguste Dupin. However, in real life there were famous detectives who left their mark on history. Among them are Alan Pinkerton and Eugene Francois Widoc.
The latter is famous for an incredibly stormy biography. At the age of 14, he killed his teacher in a fencing lesson, and although this was a fateful accident, Eugene decided to flee to America. However, he was drafted into the army. He soon defected and fell into bad company. Eugene robbed and killed as part of a gang, was repeatedly caught by the police, but every time he ran away, for which he was nicknamed in the underworld by the Risk King.
After a year, Eugene realized that this life was not for him, he went to the police and offered his services in catching criminals. He argued that only a criminal could understand a criminal. Eugene really managed to unravel even the most complex criminal cases. He became the prototype of many detectives of the literary genre.