"An insight into a popular yet complex genre that has developed over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The volume explores the contemporary anxieties to which crime fiction responds, along with society's changing conceptions of crime and criminality. The book covers texts, contexts and criticism in an accessible and user-friendly format"-Provided by publisher. Machine generated contents note: - General Editors' Preface - Introductory Essay - Chronology - Contexts: History, Politics, Culture - Literature: Texts, Themes, Issues - Criticism: Approaches, Theory, Practice - Index.
Detective and mystery stories -- History and criticism