Talking About Detective Fiction
Kindle Edition
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Ebook · May 3, 2011
In a perfect marriage of author and subject, P.
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- Who it’s for
- A sharp-minded look at detective fiction’s craft, history, and enduring appeal.
- Genres
- Mystery & Crime Crit, Books & Reading, Creative Writing
- Published
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, May 3, 2011
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Start with this bookAbout this book
In a perfect marriage of author and subject, P. D. James—one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction—gives us a personal, lively, illuminating exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it. “An avid book-length essay on the roots, ethics and methods of the detective story . . . Her opinions are often surprising and determinedly contrary . . .
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Refreshingly outspoken.”—The New York Times Examining mystery from top to bottom, beginning with such classics as Charles Dickens's Bleak House and Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White, and then looking at such contemporary masters as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell, P. D. James goes right to the heart of the genre. Along the way she traces the lives and writing styles of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and many more. Here is P.D. James discussing detective fiction as social history, explaining its stylistic components, revealing her own writing process, and commenting on the recent resurgence of detective fiction in modern culture. It is a must have for the mystery connoisseur and casual fan alike.
Inside the Mystery
A sharp-minded look at detective fiction’s craft, history, and enduring appeal.
Come here for
- The genre’s ethics, methods, and social history
- P. D. James’s reflections on her own writing process
Expect
- A sweep from classic mysteries to contemporary writers
- Close attention to detective fiction’s styles and traditions
Where it sits
| Mystery & Crime Crit | 99% |
|---|---|
| Books & Reading | 77% |
| Creative Writing | 72% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Social History
- Creative Writing
- Mystery & Crime Crit
- Authors
- P. D. James
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- May 3, 2011
- Format
- Ebook
- Reading lane
- Social History