EN 334: Crime Fiction, Nation and Empire
Assessed Essay 2, 2012-13
5000 words
Submission Date: 14 May, Tuesday Term 3, Week 4
In your essays you should refer to and compare, unless otherwise stated, at least two texts you
have studied this term.
1. ‘The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic.’ (‘The Blue Cross’) Either, (a)
explore how Flambeau or another criminal may be an ‘artist’; (b) discuss how and why we may
view the detective as a ‘critic’; or, (c) examine the relationship between a criminal artist and a
critical detective.
2.
‘The talk was that strange, slight talk which governs the British Empire, which governs it in
secret, and yet would scarcely enlighten an ordinary Englishman even if he could over hear it’
(‘The Queer Feet’). Referring to at least two texts studied this term, explore the ways in which
the ‘secrets’ of imperial power and control are simultaneously hidden and revealed in twentieth
century crime fiction.
3. ‘I really believe that wizened-up old maid thinks she knows everything there is to know. And
hardly been out of this village all her life. Preposterous. What can she know of life?’ (Murder
at the Vicarage) Examine the way/s other characters view a detective who appears to lead a
‘quiet’ life. You may wish to consider themes such as gender, worldliness, insularity,
geographical location and the acquisition of knowledge.
4. Consider the relationship between gender and genre as experienced through the writings of one
of the ‘Queens of Crime’. You may wish to address the ‘feminisation’ of the genre, the role of
women as detectives/criminals/suspects or the depiction of men between the wars. Analyse one
or two text studied.
5. ‘“Where did she get all that money from?”… “America, I’ve heard”’ (Death on the Nile, Agatha
Christie). Discuss the relationship between crime, England, America, and ‘new money’ as they
are seen in twentieth century crime fiction.
6. “That would mean looking at the case from an entirely different angle” (The Murder at the
Vicarage, Agatha Christie). By examining the narrative styles of at least two novels, show how
the detective’s point of view works to correct the assumed reader’s flawed perspective of
events.
7. Examine the ways in which Dororthy Sayers’s Harriet Vane/Peter Wimsey novels may be said
to be self-reflexive or self-referential, especially in their use of intertextuality.
8. In her influential work Forever England Alison Light uses the term ‘Conservative Modernity’
to capture the way in which much early twentieth century fiction seems to look backwards and
forwards at the same time. Examine how useful this critical term is when applied to Gaudy
Nights and at least one more crime novels you have studied this term.
8.
‘If there was one subject in the world about which Miss Climpson might claim to know
something, it was spiritualism.’ (Strong Poison) ‘Tinkerton says Aunt V. is far gone in black
magic.’ (Surfeit of Lampreys) Either, discuss the role of spiritualism/black magic/the occult, or,
analyse the relationship between religion, sanity and crime. You may refer to one or more texts
studied this term.
9. ‘When they come to London, colonials orientate themselves by Piccadilly Circus. All their
adventures start from there. It is under the bow of Eros that to many a colonial has come that
first warmth of realization that says to him: “This is London.”’ (Surfeit of Lampreys) Examine
the relationship between crime and ‘the city’ in twentieth century crime fiction.
10. ‘The post-war generation and so on. Lots of people go off the rails a bit – no real harm in ‘em
at all. Just can’t see eye to eye with the older people.’ (Strong Poison) Where do we find a
sense of historical or generational change in twentieth century crime fiction and how is such
change conveyed to the reader?
11. ‘Another instance…of the aristocracy mixing with the commonalty. They’ve tried trade and
they’ve tried big business. Why not a spot of homicide?’ (Surfeit of Lampreys) Explore the
relationship between crime, class and detection as exhibited by one writer studied this term.
12. Consider the way that theatricality, performance, charades, masquerades or impersonations are
mobilised in early twentieth century crime fiction. In what ways do such moments of identity
(re) invention and/or obfuscation relate to the socio-cultural context in which they were written.
13. ‘By half-past two the rooms at Highfold had begun to assume a stealthy dimness. The house
itself, as well as the human beings inside it, seemed to listen and to wait.’ (Death and the
Dancing Footman) Write about the domestic settings or living spaces of crime and criminal
activity. You may focus on one or two authors studied.