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The Industrial Revolution
the spread of literacy, especially in the lower and middle class who wanted sensational material -
"Caleb Williams"
written by William Godwin. Here, the law is repressive and the outlaw is heroic -
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Edgar Allan Poe
very famous author of crime fiction amongst other genres. His stories have gothic elements and reflect the fascination of his age with science and logic. For almost a decade Poe's ideas were the pattern for most crime fiction stories, focusing on the mystery and the analytic way of solving it. -
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Charles Dickens
a famous writer of crime fiction amongst other genres. Dickens examined the pscyhology of the criminal, but also showed interest in the police. He created one of the first official fictional detectives, inspector Bucket. -
The beginning of modern police
in the beginning the police was distrusted by the people -
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
written by Edgar Allan Poe. The beginning of crime fiction as we know it, with many of the modern elements of crime fiction introduced:
The omniscient detective, the detective's friend, material for plots, the unlikely solution and the police -
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Arthur Conan Doyle
the creator of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective who was a continuation of the ideas introduced by Poe. Doyle gave more depth to his character and therefor, the puzzle in the crime story was no longer the only element bearing the story. -
The Golden Age
Crime stories were now considered games to play, and one golden rule was fair play. The characters are more human, but still peculiar. The police are present, but the detective's intelligence are needed to find the murderer. No sex and violence. The stories take place in the English upper-middle class. Characters are representatives of their class and/profession and not emotional individuals. Agatha Christie and Dorothy I. Sayers are the main two woman crime writers. -
The Hard-Boiled Crime Story
The Golden Age crime story had become too remote from the reality of American society, and new medias was introduced: the pulp magazine and the film. The hard-boiled detective with no assistant is introduced. He knows he can't save society, but hopes to help som small people. He has weaknesses: he drinks, smokes and likes women. -
The Modern Crime Story
The crime story gets more blurred and is no longer possible to put under one label. However, there are trends that characterized this post-war period. Some writers were loyal to tradition, others tried new trends such as the psychological crime story, the socio-critical crime sotry, the crime story as a symbol, the new police story and the crime film.