Auguste Dupin-the invention of America's foremost tortured genius, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). The first true literary detective was a French gentleman named C. It was in this environment that the detective story was born. Although fine books were beyond the financial reach of most people, newspapers, magazines, and cheap storybooks thrived in a market that clamored for entertainment and quick thrills, and even the most high-minded authors (and their publishers) discovered that they could actually make money and gain fame by feeding popular tastes. Luckily, more and more people were learning to read, and with literacy came a growing demand for literature in its broadest sense. Even at the raucous frontier fringes of the fledgling United States, Victorianism mixed well with the still-strong strains of Yankee Puritanism. When the young Victoria became Queen of England and Great Britain in 1837, propriety ascended the throne, and the Queen's rigid standards of behavior dominated not only her own subjects but the upstart citizens of England's former colonies as well. In the 1800s, murder was decidedly not a proper topic for well-bred ladies and gentlemen. "All goes to plan, both lying and confession, Down to the thrilling final chase, the kill." IN THE BEGINNING: THE MOTHERS OF DETECTION
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |