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...
List of Illustrations Foreword by Val McDermid Acknowledgements Introduction: Look for the Women 'Origins are Multifarious and Unclean!': the Beginnings of Crime Fiction Mrs Radcliffe as Conan Doyle? 'A Most Preposterous Organ of Wonder': Catherine Crowe 'I'm a Thief-taker, Young...