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The Life of Crime
Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators
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The Life of Crime
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book is ideal for crime fiction enthusiasts, mystery writers, and readers interested in literary history and genre studies. It suits those seeking a deep but accessible exploration of crime fiction's development and its key figures.
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Winner of four major prizes for the best critical/biographical book related to crime fiction: the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and H.R.F. Keating Awards; and shortlisted for both the Agatha and Gold Dagger Awards. 'Martin Edwards is the closest thing there has been to a philosopher of crime writing.' The Times
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Description
Winner of four major prizes for the best critical/biographical book related to crime fiction: the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and H.R.F. Keating Awards; and shortlisted for both the Agatha and Gold Dagger Awards.
‘Martin Edwards is the closest thing there has been to a philosopher of crime writing.’ The Times
In the first major history of crime fiction in fifty years, The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators traces the evolution of the genre from the eighteenth century to the present, offering a brand-new perspective on the world’s most popular form of fiction.
Author Martin Edwards is a multi-award-winning crime novelist, the President of the Detection Club, archivist of the Crime Writers’ Association, and series consultant to the British Library’s highly successful series of crime classics. He is uniquely qualified to write this book. Martin has been a widely respected genre commentator for more than thirty years, winning the CWA Diamond Dagger for making a significant contribution to crime writing in 2020. That year, he also compiled and published Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club and the novel Mortmain Hall. His critically acclaimed The Golden Age of Murder (Collins Crime Club, 2015) was a landmark study of Detective Fiction between the wars.
The Life of Crime is the result of a lifetime of reading and enjoying all types of crime fiction, old and new, from around the world. In what will surely be regarded as his magnum opus, Martin Edwards has thrown himself undaunted into the breadth and complexity of the genre to write an authoritative – and readable – study of its development and evolution. With crime fiction being read more widely than ever around the world, and with individual authors increasingly the subject of extensive academic study, his expert distillation of more than two centuries of extraordinary books and authors – from the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann to the novels of Patricia Cornwell – into one coherent history is an extraordinary feat and makes for compelling reading.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Critics praise The Life of Crime as a magisterial and entertaining history of crime fiction. Andrew Taylor in The Spectator calls it 'reliably readable and frequently amusing,' while Ian Rankin describes it as 'as entertaining and illuminating a history of crime and thriller fiction as I’ve ever read.' Reviews highlight the book's scholarly yet anecdotal style, its extensive research, and the way it appeals both to longtime fans and newcomers alike. The New York Times notes it as a valuable resource for mystery readers and writers.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780008192426
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 26 May 2022
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Collins Crime Club
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 59.0mm
Width: 159.0mm
Height: 240.0mm
Weight: 1060g
Pages: 736
About the Author
Adrian Muller is one of the co-founders of CrimeFest, the international crime fiction convention. Martin Edwards, the current Vice Chair of the CWA, has won numerous awards including the Edgar, Agatha and Macavity awards, the CWA Short Story Dagger, CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and the HRF Keating award. He is the author of The Lake District Mystery series, eight novels about Liverpool lawyer Harry Devlin and over 80 short stories. He has also edited over 30 anthologies and published eight non-fiction books. A well-known critic and writer about the crime fiction genre, past and present, Martin is President and Archivist of the world-famous Detection Club. He is also series consultant to British Library's highly successful series of crime classics. Martin is currently also Archivist of the Crime Writers' Association and editor of its annual anthology.
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