Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes [2 volumes]

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Description

This book provides an introduction to 24 iconic figures, real and fictional, that have shaped the detective/mystery genre of popular literature. Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes is an insightful look at one of our most popular and diverse fictional genres, providing a guided tour of mystery and crime writing by focusing on two dozen of the field's most enduring creations and creators. Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection spans the history of the detective story with series of critical entries on the field's most evocative names, from the originator of the form, Edgar Allan Poe, to its first popular running character, Sherlock Holmes; from the Golden Age of Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and Charlie Chanin fiction and filmsto small screen heroes, such as Columbo and Jessica Fletcher. Also included are other accomplished practitioners of the craft of mystery/crime storytelling, including Agatha Christie, Tony Hillerman, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Reviews

As one of the few titles available organized by character with in-depth character analysis and some literary criticism, this is a nice addition to any reference collection supporting serious mystery, suspense, and detective fans at the college and high school levels. Recommended. * Library Journal *
The selection of entries from all types of crime and mystery media make this an intriguing work that will be useful for literary and cinematic research collections. Recommended for larger public libraries, crime collections, and academic libraries. * Booklist *
American academic Professor Mitzi Brunsdale does a magnificent job of illustrating how mystery fiction expanded from short story to novel to film, television and comic books and produced iconic hero figures from Holmes to Batman. The research for this book is exhaustive and the background to these iconic characters quite fascinating (I learned an awful lot about G. K. Chesterton for one) and the bibliographies for each of the 24 linked essays are a marvellous reference source in themselves. In short, this is a valuable work and will be an invaluable reference source for future generations of students of the genre * Getting Away With Murder *
It likely is best suited for public libraries with strong reader interest in mystery/detective fiction. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. * Choice *

Author Bio

Mitzi M. Brunsdale, PhD, is professor of English at Mayville State University, Mayville, ND.