Talking About Detective Fiction
Book - 2009 823.8 Ja 1 On Shelf No requests on this item
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Locations
Call Number: 823.8 Ja
On Shelf At: Downtown Library
Location & Checkout Length | Call Number | Checkout Length | Item Status |
---|---|---|---|
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout |
823.8 Ja | 4-week checkout | On Shelf |
What are we talking about and how did it all begin? -- The tenant of 221B Baker Street and the parish priest from Cobhole in Essex -- The Golden Age -- Soft-centered and hard-boiled -- Four formidable women -- Telling the story : setting, viewpoint, people -- Critics and aficionados : why some don't enjoy them and why others do -- Today and a glimpse of tomorrow.
P. D. James--one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today--gives us a personal, lively exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it. She examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens's Bleak House, and bringing us into the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Sara Paretsky. She compares British and American Golden Age mystery writing. She discusses detective fiction as social history, the stylistic components of the genre, her own process of writing, how critics have reacted over the years, and what she sees as a renewal of detective fiction--and of the detective hero--in recent years.--From publisher description.
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS
Wonderful Read - with added perk
submitted by teri on August 8, 2019, 9:35am
Loved this book - written by one of the best authors of detective fiction!
A real perk was discovering more reading material. How had I never heard of Josephine Tey?
From Wilkie Collins right up to contemporaries like Sara Peretsky - P.D. James revels you with the art of writing detective fiction.
PUBLISHED
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
Year Published: 2009
Description: viii, 198 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
Language: English
Format: Book
ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
9780307592828
0307592820
SUBJECTS
Detective and mystery stories, English -- History and criticism.