Meny

Theme article

History of crime fiction

By: Johan Wopenka

Depending upon how one wishes to define the concept ‘crime fiction’, it is possible to trace its history and roots back in time. When Dorothy L. Sayers compiled her comprehensive three-volume anthology Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror (1928–34) she started with two stories from the Old Testament, and when Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee (alias Ellery Queen) wrote their fundamental The Detective Short Story : A Bibliography (1942), they listed eight Chinese collections of short stories which are believed to have been written down between 600 A.D. and 1800 A.D., some of them containing stories based on an older, oral tradition.

Further reading

Literary figure

George Gideon

Gender: Male

Chief inspector in London, created by J.J. Marric (pseudonym for John Creasey). George Gideon is a big man, he moves slowly and talks softly; he seems reflective, but can really explode in both speech and manner when he gets angry. He is known for his thoroughness and his extremely good memory. He is happily married to Kate, his first great love. They have had seven children, but one of them died.

Further reading