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Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). It is similar to the whodunit in that the clues may often be given to the reader by subtle means. Though it is often confused with detective fiction, it does not require a crime to have occurred or the involvement of law enforcement. Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ...
The protagonist is the central figure of a story, and is often referred to as a storys main character. ...
A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ...
Early beginnings
The genre has its beginning in the riddles told in Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Similar stories were told in the middle ages, but the genre didn't really begin to develop until the detective stories of Edgar Allan Poe. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...
This daguerreotype of Poe was taken less than a year before his death at the age of 40. ...
The first true mystery novel is considered to be The Woman in White (1860) by Wilkie Collins. Collins wrote several more in this genre, including The Moonstone (1868) which is thought to be his masterpiece. The genre began to expand near the turn of century with the development of dime novels and pulp magazines. Pulp magazines were especially helpful to the genre with many authors writing in the genre in the 1920s. An important contribution to mystery fiction in the 1920s was the development of the juvenile mystery by Edward Stratemeyer. Stratemeyer originally developed and wrote the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries written under the Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene pseudonyms, respectively (and later written by his daughter, Harriet S. Adams, and other authors). The 1920s also gave rise to the most popular mystery author of all time, Agatha Christie. Christie's books are numerous, though her literary reputation has suffered. The Woman in White is a novel written by Wilkie Collins and published in 1860. ...
1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...
Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and writer of short stories. ...
The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century sensation novel, generally considered the first detective novel in the English language. ...
1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...
In the United States is the 19th century, a dime novel was a low-priced novel that could be purchased for a dime. ...
Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ...
Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ...
Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) Edward Stratemeyer (October 4, 1862 - May 10, 1930). ...
The Hardy Boys is a popular series of detective/adventure books for boys chronicling the fictional adventures of teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy. ...
The Secret of the Old Clock, the first Nancy Drew mystery Nancy Drew is a fictional character, the heroine detective of a popular mystery series for girls. ...
Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who wrote the Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ...
Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery series, published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ...
Agatha Christie Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, DBE (September 15, 1890 – January 12, 1976), was a British crime fiction writer. ...
The massive popularity of pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s only increased the interest in mystery fiction. Pulp magazines decreased in popularity in the 1950s with the rise of television so much, that the numerous titles available then are reduced to two today (and those are Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine). The Detective fiction author Ellery Queen (pseudonym of authors Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee) is also credited with the continued interest in mystery fiction thanks to the namesake magazine which began in 1941. Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ...
// Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ...
// Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ...
Pulp magazines, often called simply the pulps, were inexpensive text fiction magazines widely published in the 1920s through the 1950s. ...
// Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ...
Alfred Hitchcocks Mystery Magazine is a monthly fiction digest magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. ...
Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine is a monthly fiction digest magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction. ...
Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ...
Ellery Queen stamp issued by San Marino. ...
Interest in mystery fiction continues to this day thanks to various television shows which have used mystery themes over the years and the many juvenile and adult novels which continue to be published and frequent the best seller lists. Also, there is some overlap with "thriller" or "suspense" novels and authors in those genres may consider themselves mystery novelists.
An organization for the authors of mystery, detective, and crime fiction was begun in 1945, called the Mystery Writers of America. This popular genre has naturally made the leap into the online world, spawning countless websites devoted to every aspect of the genre, with even a few supposedly written by real detectives. The Mystery Writers of America are an organization for mystery writers. ...
See also Crime Fiction, a feature-length independent film slated for release in 2006, tracks the rise and fall of struggling crime novelist James Cooper. ...
Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ...
A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ...
Crime writers may include the authors of any sub-genre of crime fiction, including Detective fiction, Mystery fiction, or hard-boiled fiction. ...
This is a list of mystery writers: Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z —See also—External links A Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, (pseudonyms Carolyn Keene, Franklin W...
This is a list of thriller or suspense novelists. ...
Mystery film is a film genre which uses mystery as an element to the plot. ...
External links - Delaware St. John Mystery website: http://www.delawarestjohn.com/
- Mystery Writers of America website: http://www.mysterywriters.org/
- Mystery Guild Book Club, Murder Mystery Books, Detective Fiction, Thriller Books, True Crime Novels Mystery Guild Book Club offers discount mystery books including murder mysteries, detective fiction, thriller books, crime novels and true crime books from best selling mystery authors.
- Crime Fiction research site for mystery collectors
- Most Honored Mystery Books
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