Talking about Detective Fiction

The name P. D. James always conjures up for me a good story and excellent writing. This survey of the mystery story does not in the least disappoint. I am old enough to hve fond memories of Agatha, Ngaio, Marjorie, Dorothy and other story tellers of the 20s and 30s and since. But she introduces a group I don't know very well, if at all, and offers me scope for new delights. Although this survey may be called scholarly, it is a readable and pleasamt opus! Well done.

Whether a budding author of the detective genre or if one just loves to read them, this book is a must. P.D.James does an in-depth anaylsis of the greatest detective authors from the Golden Age to the present. She gives us insight into how these novels are written, how the characters are developed, how the lives of the authors are intertwined in their work. The secrets of the genre are divulged. An analysis of their individual styles as well as a debunking of the "rules" about what works and doesn't work are included. P.D. James also makes interesting comparisons between the British detective ficton and American. These are most obvious in the English Victorian style of Dorothy Sayers and say the American hard-boiled style of Dashiell Hammett. And most timely, the works of Arthur Conan Doyle are omnipresent along with Agatha Christie. A compact book, this book will not only delight but can be a useful reference if one is trying to decide which author to read next.

PD James provides readers with a beautiful survey of significant detective fiction from its beginnings up through contemporary times. Her analysis of the four "grande dames" of the "Golden Age"--Christie, Allingham, Sayers, and Marsh--is deeply intelligent and insightful. Nor does she neglect the hard-boiled American genre or the Oxford dons. While I understand that the intended audience may perhaps be other writers, as a devout reader of detective fiction I was mesmerized by every page. Providing both perceptions about writers I have read and names of new writers for me to try out, this book makes me want to revisit and reread many of the books I've read before. Brava, Dame James!

Imagine Copernicus explaining astronomy to you, or Einstein teaching you physics, or Moses clarifying difficult biblical passages that confused clergy and prompted discord and even wars. Imagine also that the expert could write clearly, interestingly and with wit, such as Sigmund Freud explaining the principles of psychology with examples from fascinating case studies. This is what happens with P.D. James marvelous book. James is the queen of modern detective fiction, certainly, without any doubt, one of the royal family. James states that mystery novels are composed of several basic elements: a crime, usually murder; a small circle of suspects, each having a motive to commit the crime; opportunity; a detective; and a solution that is inserted into the novel with deceptive cunning, but with fairness. The last point means that readers will realize when they hear the detective's solution that the solution fits what was disclosed previously in the novel. James describes the differences between detective stories, thrillers and horror tales. Each genre has its own elements and its own purposes. A reader who knows the elements and purposes can appreciate the tale better. Detective stories, she writes, do not, or at least should not, investigate a murder or another crime; nor should they dwell on the bizarre happenings; they should focus on the tragic fate of the people involved. James describes the history of detective fiction and introduces her readers to over a dozen of the best writers, generally focusing on British women. She gives special attention to Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. She discusses the strength and weaknesses of these stories, their history, psychology and sociology. James is not reluctant to reveal her opinions on the authors she dislikes. She describes Agatha Christie disparagingly. She states that her style is neither original nor elegant and she is not a very good writer. Her characters are pasteboards. James writes cleverly: "Perhaps her greatest strength was that she never overstepped the limits of her talent." Scholars, she reveals, differ as to who wrote the first detective story. Some say it was Caleb Williams in 1784. Some insist it was Edgar Allan Poe who invented the genre in1841 with The Murder in Rue Morgue. Others vote for Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone in 1860. James prefers the latter. She tells the fascinating true story that prompted The Moonstone. James identifies the first great detective as the iconic Sherlock Holmes who Conan Doyle introduced in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet. Doyle was so enthralled and naïve that he sold his rights to this masterpiece for twenty five pounds. James awards second place to G. K. Chesterton who began his Father Brown series in 1911. The tales were so delightful that few readers realized that they were never told the priest's first name. James' book addresses many interesting questions. Why do some critics disparage some or all detec

My best birthday present this year is this well written little book by a master [mistress?] of detective fiction. James argues that detective fiction is most popular during difficult times -- reason and ingenuity may again prevail. "Whether we live in a more violent age than did, for example, the Victorians is a question for statisticians and sociologists, but we certainly feel more threatened by crime and disorder than at any other time I remember in my long life. The detective story deals with the most dramatic and tragic manifestations of man's nature and the ultimate disruption of murder, yet the form itself is orderly, controlled, formulaic, providing a secure structure within which the imaginations of writer and reader alike can confront the unthinkable." It is great fun to read James's views on her predecessors in the detection writing trade; although most of her subjects were British, she admires Edgar Allan Poe for four great contributions to the form: the locked-room, armchair detection, cryptography and the unlikely perp. (For Kindle owners, Classic American Literature: The Works of Poe, Raven Edition, all 5 volumes in a single file, with active table of contents is a marvelous bargain at only $.99.) James is troubled that Agatha Christie has eclipsed so many of her contemporaries. "Agatha Christie hasn't in my view had a profound influence on the later development of the detective story.... She wasn't an innovative writer and had no interest in exploring the possibilities of the genre." She goes on: Christie "is a literary conjuror who places her pasteboard characters face downwards and shuffles them with practiced cunning." Nonetheless, James especially likes female detective writers, especially Margery Allingham, Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers and Sara Paretsky. James finds Dr. Watson a much more honorable and realistic figure than Sherlock Holmes; she bangs away at many of the weaknesses of the series with all the fervor of the most committed Baker Street Irregular. (Sherlock Holmes By Gas Lamp: Highlights from the First Four Decades of the Baker Street Journal contains a number of similar analyses. The first Comment contains a detailed discussion of what troubles James.) James praises The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins because it introduced elements of everyday life into detective stories. She discusses the influence of real crime stories on the genre (including details about the unsolved murder and investigator that inspired Collins), the popularity of books sold in train stations (quoting the "Times" of London "on the assumption that persons of the better class who constitute the larger portion of railway readers lose their accustomed taste the moment they enter the station,") and the importance of magazines. She particularly praises the the demise of "the omni-talented amateur with apparently nothing to do with his time but solve murders which interest him." She believes this has occurred "partly because