A Century of Detection

Designed for mystery lovers as well as professors and students in college courses devoted to detective fiction, this anthology features classic texts, pivotal works by lesser-known authors, and unknown gems by major writers not typically associated with the genre.
Providing a chronological and thematic survey of the first 100 years of detection, this volume includes stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bret Harte, G.K. Chesterton, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Anna Katharine Green, Baroness Orzcy, Susan Glaspell, Carroll John Daly, Dashiell Hammett, Cornell Woolrich, Pauline Hopkins, Chester Himes and Ralph Ellison.
Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

John Cullen Gruesser is a professor of English at Kean University and has published broadly on detective fiction.

Edited by John Cullen Gruesser

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 378
Bibliographic Info: 6 photos, bibliography
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4650-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5774-8
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction      3

THE INVENTION OF MODERN DETECTION
EDGAR ALLAN POE      13
The Murders in the Rue Morgue      14
The Purloined Letter      42
The Gold-Bug      57

VARIATIONS ON POE, EXPANSIONS TO THE FORM
WILKIE COLLINS      87
Who Is the Thief?      87
MARK TWAIN      109
The Stolen White Elephant      110
G. K. CHESTERTON      126
The Blue Cross    126

THE WORLD’S MOST CELEBRATED DETECTIVE
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE      143
A Scandal in Bohemia      143
The Adventure of the Speckled Band      163
The Adventure of the Final Problem      183
BRET HARTE      198
The Stolen Cigar Case      198

GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND DETECTION
MARY WILKINS FREEMAN      209
The Long Arm      209
BARONESS ORCZY      233
The Ninescore Mystery     233
ANNA KATHARINE GREEN      248
Missing: Page Thirteen      249
SUSAN GLASPELL      276
A Jury of Her Peers     277

TOUGH GUYS
CARROLL JOHN DALY      297
The False Burton Combs      298
DASHIELL HAMMETT      318
The Road Home     319
CORNELL WOOLRICH      322
Murder at the Automat      323

RACE AND DETECTION
PAULINE ELIZABETH HOPKINS      341
Talma Gordon      342
CHESTER HIMES      355
He Knew      355
RALPH ELLISON      360
The Birthmark     361

Suggested Reading      367

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