The first detective storyThe first detective story in history was probably one of the seven extant tragedies of the Athenian playwright Sophocles (496-406 BC), called Oedipus the King. After all, King Oedipus of Thebes investigates the murder and reveals the truth. But this tragedy does not strictly belong to the detective genre; it is an example of one of the first uses of detective elements.
In fact, the first work of the detective genre is the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1841.
The most popular authorAgatha Christie is considered the most popular and best-selling author of detective stories. Its estimated sales are between 2 billion and 4 billion.
The most filmed authorAgatha Christie is also considered the most filmed author. Her books have received at least 50 film adaptations, as well as numerous TV series and television plays.
When we hear the word detective story, two of the most popular authors of this genre, Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as their creations, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, pop up in our heads. They are truly considered classics of this genre and examples of genre-strict authors. Their works contain all the characteristics of the original form of detective literature.
In the modern world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to classify a fictional story into any one genre. Similarly, modern detective stories usually combine elements of many genres, some more prominently than others. Examples of such writers are Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Donna Tartt.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes combined two genres: classic detective and young adult. Her books feature more mystery than crime and murder, and intertwine them with stories of teenage friendship, love and coming of age. Donna Tartt often used the reverse detective genre, where the crime and the culprit are known from the beginning and the plot is based on how the plot arrived at those events. And only in one of her books does she use a linear narrative. She combines this with the coming of age genre in almost every book she writes. Her works, due to their scale and volume, are generally difficult to attribute to one genre; she is an example when the author uses the features of several genres and often deceives our expectation.
English writer. Known for his classic characters of detective, science fiction literature: detective Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger, Officer Gerard,
etc.
English novelist and playwright. Among the world's most famous authors of detective prose thanks to her popular characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
Contemporary American writer in the detective genre. She is best known for her work The Goldfinch.
An aspiring but already very popular American writer of young adult novels. She also writes in the detective genre.
Arthur Conan Doyle's language can be described as detailed, descriptive and atmospheric, yet clear and accessible. Now his language may seem outdated, but in fact it was quite sparse and aimed at a wide audience. But his style was not so simple, he used an abundance of linguistic and literary techniques, and therefore his texts are very “artistic” and “literary.” Doyle also uses dialogue to flesh out characters and plot and is prone to sarcasm.
He has a keen eye for detail and surroundings, creating vibrant and exciting sets. Of course, he also created complex and intelligent plots and skillfully constructed mysteries. Logic and deduction abound in his books; Sherlock Holmes especially stands out for this. As each story progresses, characters and events are revealed layer by layer until the case unfolds into the confession of the culprit.
The narration in the books is linear and told in the first person, from Dr. Watson, who admires Sherlock's work. He asks questions and observes, essentially embodying the readers as they try to uncover the plot.
Agatha Christie's works are characterized by a combination of suspense, intrigue, intellectual riddles and puzzles, elements of suspense and surprise. She creates seemingly unsolvable crimes, important details and unexpected twists.
Agatha Christie's books have a formulaic structure that effectively creates suspense. Typically, after the initial discovery of a crime, a police investigation is carried out and all suspects are questioned. Throughout the story, evidence is revealed that first implicates and accuses someone, and then exonerates them. And when it seems to the reader that the case has been solved, the author introduces new plot twists, new characters and reveals someone’s alibi. All this confuses the reader. And at the end, the chief detective reveals the final truth to everyone.
Despite the formulaic plots, Agatha Christie created complex mysteries, but her language is very simple, clear, straightforward and accessible to any audience. There are no complex vocabulary or complex constructions. Her sentences are short and direct, and the narrative moves quickly through quick dialogue between the suspects. Dialogue in general is one of Agatha Christie's main tools for advancing the narrative and developing her characters. They are laconic, even economical, but they reveal and move the story.
The narration in her books is conducted both from the first person and from the third. We can either get an objective picture of what is happening through the perspective of all the characters, or we can get the subjective view of one character.
One can also note Agatha Christie's use of irony and satire in her works, which helped highlight the social components of that British society.
In all Donna Tartt's works, intrigue is maintained until the very end, using thriller elements that create a feeling of excitement. In all her books we are met with mysteries and not always solved ones. This is one of the main features of detective stories, which she actively uses.
It is worth noting the difference between the author’s three books. Two of them, the novels "The Secret History" and "The Goldfinch", use an element of reverse detective fiction, when at the beginning of the book we learn about future events - a crime or murder and the culprits. In addition, they are narrated in the first person, which helps to dive deeply into the inner world of the main characters and look at everything that happens through their eyes. But it also makes us think about the unreliability of what is being told, because we will not see the other person’s point of view. “The Little Friend” uses a linear narrative, which is told from a third person, thanks to which we see an objective picture of reality and can better understand all the characters. It also helps to reveal that in this story there is not one main character, but another character who turns out to be a “little friend”.
A huge feature of her books is that the characters are teenagers or just entering adulthood. They go through traumatic events and incredible turning points. And in all the horrors that each of them experiences, they try to find a place in this world and solid ground.
In all the stories, Donna Tartt explores the themes of the difficulties of growing up, loneliness, the relationship between parents and children and how a lack of love has a detrimental effect on the child, the failure of adults, the influence of the environment and environment. The center of her work is love, but not romantic, of which there is very little in her books, but platonic, the kind of love that everyone needs and that would heal. To a greater extent, she writes about the absence of this very love, but its incredible necessity.
It is also interesting how the tragedy of the ending decreases from book to book. In "The Secret History", the heroes remain unpunished, but deeply wounded. In "The Little Friend" the heroes make what seem to be irreparable mistakes, but it all ends with the hope that they will cope. "The Goldfinch" has the brightest ending, in which the hero chooses light and good and corrects all mistakes. We observe how faith in the best gradually grows.
In her books, Jennifer Lynn Barnes combined the genres of young-adult and detective. From the latter, crimes occur in her books, secrets, intrigues and riddles are contained. It also contains the following features of teenage literature: the period of growing up, the transition from the children's to the adult world, turning points in the formation of personalities, the relationships of teenagers, vivid characters, accurate and detailed presentation of facts, a clear style of presentation, a sense of humor, an intriguing introduction and a memorable ending.
Her stories are more about solving mysteries and mysteries than serious crimes like murder. Novels are also characterized by great dynamics.
The author's language is characterized by an abundance of modern slang, simple and modern vocabulary, simple sentences, and many dialogues.
The narration is told in the first person, from the main character, this allows you to immerse yourself in her consciousness and inner world and see her perspective on what is happening. This creates subjectivity.
In addition to the heroine, four more characters are considered the main characters; they all work as a team, which can also be identified as a feature of teenage literature.
- Changes in the style of authorsIn modern detectives we observe a simplification of the syllable: authors are less and less likely to use compound sentences, add slang and colloquial vocabulary to the dialogues of the characters.
This is due to the fact that the speech of modern people is also simplified and in order to attract the right audience authors try to bring the text of their works closer to reality. - HeroesThe characters have also changed considerably. In classic works, we see that detectives are presented to the readers some heroes, great detectives who are able to solve any case.
In modern books, the heroes are more real and correspond to the spirit of the time. Everyone has their own internal problems, experiences, which they try to overcome as the plot develops. - Description of the terrain/nature/appearance of the charactersIn the authors of classical works we observe a detailed description of the terrain, nature, appearance of the main characters, which is a reflection of the inner feelings of the hero.
In modern detectives, on the contrary, simple sentences prevail, which create the dynamics of the plot. Sometimes the author may even omit some detailed description of the main character's appearance to emphasize the events. - Number of charactersBoth Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie emphasize only one main character in their works - the detectives who will be in charge of the case. They have assistants, but they are not given a key role.
In modern works, authors do not emphasize any one character, they try to reveal all the key characters in the story.
Students of the 4th year of
"Peoples' Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba"
prepared for you all the information presented
- Permyakova ElizavetaExploring the work of Donna Tartt
- Konovalova TatianaStudying the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- Nitusova DianaStudying the works of Agatha Christie and Jennifer Lynn Barnes
