Elizabeth S. Celotto
Reference Books—Commentary and Criticism.
Ball, John, ed.
The Mystery Story
. New York: Penguin Books, 1976.
A good collection of essays based on classifications within the genre. “The Mystery Versus the Novel” by Waugh and the “Ethnic Detective” by Ball are most applicable for this unit.
Cawelti, John G.
Adventure, Mystery and Romance
. Chicago: University of Chicago. Press, 1976.
An excellent analysis of writing techniques, the anatomy of the mystery novel, a review of the formulae.
Cawelti, John G.
The Six-Gun Mystique
. Bowling Green Ohio: Bowling Green University, 1970.
Interesting implications for those fans of both the mystery genre and westerns; this work shows the clear overlap.
Lambert, Gavin.
The Dangerous Edge
. New York; Grossman Pub. 1976.
Very good analysis of the motivations that enabled certain famous mystery writers to produce classic books and films. Thorough biographical data.
Nevins, Francia M. Jr., ed.
The Mystery Writers Art
. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University, Popular press, 1970.
Analyses of popular writers and their works, and of detective heroes. “The Detective Story as an Historical Source” by Aydelotte is of interest because he attempts to present a case against the realism, challenge and worth of detective fiction.
Winks, Robin W. ed.
Detective Fiction: A Collection of Critical Essays
. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980.
Excellent essays on the mystery genre presenting negative as well as favorable views by outstanding writers, including authors of mystery novels. Essential background reading for this unit. Valuable bibliography.
Winks, Robin W., ed.
The Historian as Detective: Essays on Evidence
. New York: Harper & Row, Pub., 1968.
An excellent collection of essays showing that similar enthusiasms, interests, and techniques are shared by both history scholars and mystery writers, even though the forms may differ. In one essay, Erik H. Erikson cleverly matched the techniques of detection to a recorded event in the life of Martin Luther in “The Case of the Fit in the Choir: The Application of Psychoanalysis.”
Winks, Robin W. Modus Operandi:
An Excursion Into Detective Fiction
. Boston: David R. Godine, Pub., 1982.
A wonderful support for those teachers who need more background on the current state of mystery writing, and a strong justification for appreciation of the genre. Unusually informative while still allowing the reader the freedom to disagree or modify conclusions.
Additional Novels Recommended for Student Reading.
The following books, are suggested because of themes pertinent to the novels assigned or because they stress a sense of place or ethnicity. All are recommended with reservations to only certain students because of content inappropriate to this age group. They may be used in part or as a whole depending on the situation.
Adams, lan.
S, Portrait of a Spy
. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields, 1982.
Any student eager to learn more about spy networks should doggedly read through this cynical, realistic portrait of high level double and triple espionage. Clever use of the author as part of the plot.
Constantine, K.C.
The Man Who Loved Slow Tomatoes
. Boston: David R. Godine, Pub., 1982.
The latest in a series of mysteries portraying an ltalo-Serbian Police Chief in a dying Pennsylvania mining town, here solving a murder resulting from tragic domestic relationships. An intense sense of place and ethnic identity are present, but the strong language and explicit details of the problems call for selectivity in teacher’s recommendations.
Hansen, Joseph.
Gravedigger
. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1972. For the teacher only. One in a series featuring a detective involved in a homosexual milieu in California. Unattractive treatment of some characters, but this novel is worthwhile in reference to local color and also on subject of youth and cults.
Littell, Robert.
The Debriefing
. New York: Dell Pub. Co. Inc., 1979. Nothing turns out to be as it seems, the hero-spy discovers; his own country and his mind play tricks on him. Difficult reading but interesting depiction of an American spy finding Russian roots as the tables turn. For selected readers.
McClure, James.
The Steam Pig
. New York: Pantheon Books, 1971. Kramer, the Afrikaner, and Zondi, the Bantu, form a classic and classy detective team which in spite of apartheid, maintains an enviable working relationship. Several unpleasant themes make the novel inappropriate for class reading; sections can be chosen to illustrate parallels to other teams.
Parker, Robert B.
Mortal Stakes
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1975. A hard-boiled private eye in Boston delivers his own brand of justice in a situation involving the Boston Red Sox. Excellent sense of place and topical themes, but questions involving moral values and overly-violent episodes make this a questionable choice for all but the more mature students.
Sayers, Dorothy.
Gaudy Night
. New York: Avon Books, 1936. Perhaps the most complex of the novels involving woman detectives dealing with woman’s problems, although it becomes less a mystery than a feminist view of the uneasy state of women at Oxford in the 1930’s. Excellent sense of place. For selected students.
Sjšwall, Maj and Per Wahlšš.
Roseanna
. New York: Pantheon Books. 1965.
Valuable novel for students interested in encountering the workings of a detective team in an unfamiliar setting, this time with Martin Beck and his cohorts in Sweden. Realistic portraits of police procedure, human relationships and the problems of a model Socialist state. Certain details of plot preclude recommendation for general readership.
Additional Suggestions:
Regionalism—
New England
: Novels by Doris Miles Disney, George Higgins Harry Kemelman; books on witchcraft, Lizzie Borden.
South
—John J. MacDonald, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers.
Midwest
—Winfred Van Atta,
Hatchet Man
; Travers,
Anatomy of a Murder
.
West—
Donald Zochert,
Another Weeping Woman
; Elizabeth Linington,
Date With Death
.
California
—any by Joseph Wambaugh, Ross Macdonald, John G. Dunne.
Social Issues
Woman Sleuths, Feminism
—any by Margaret Millar, Elizabeth Linington, Ernest Larsen.
Big Business
—any by Emma Lathen.
Post-Civil War
—James Sherburne,
Death’s Grey Angel
.
Crime
—Mario Puzo—
The Godfather
; Ernest Hemingway,
The Killers
.
Sub Genre
—
Classics
—E.A. Poe, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Agatha Cristie, Ellery Queen.
Police Procedure
—Ed McBain.
Hard-Boiled
—Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett.
Spy
—John Le Carré, Graham Greene.
Gothic Horror
—Shirley Jackson.
