Mystery Time Line
1830’s – 1860’s
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Father of the mystery story, Edgar Allen Poe introduced mystery fiction’s first
fictional detective, Auguste C. Dupin in his 1841 story, “The Murders in the Rue
Morgue.” Poe continued Dupin’s character in “The Mystery of Marie Roget”
(1842) and “The Purloined Letter” (1845).
British authors like Dickens (who greatly influenced Poe) and Wilkie Collins
wrote “Sensation Novels.” Dickens’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) is a
detective novel that is both intriguing and frustrating because, since the novel is
unfinished, its crime is never solved. Collins wrote numerous essays and short
stories as well as crime novels including “The Woman in White” (1860). “The
Moonstone” (1868) is considered by some to be the first true English detective
novel.
1870’s – 1900’s
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In 1878, Anna Katherine Green became the first woman to write a detective
novel, “The Leavenworth Case.”
Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s brilliant detective, arrived on the
scene in “A Study in Scarlet” (1887). Holmes and his ever-reliable sidekick, Dr.
Watson, quickly became favorites of mystery readers everywhere.
1920’s – 1940’s
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Period known as the Golden Age of mystery fiction
The “Big Three” Golden Age mystery novelists, Agatha Christie, John Dickson
Carr, and Ellery Queen emerge.
Agatha Christie, known for writing cozies, created Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot
and endearing spinster Jane Marple, who remain two of mystery fiction’s most
popular characters.
John Dickson Carr specialized in impossible crimes and became the all-time best
writer of them. These include: “The Three Coffins” and “The Judas Window.”
Ellery Queen’s (a pseudonym used by two American cousins, Manfred B. Lee and
Frederic Dannay) stories feature highly complex plots, bizarre events, and
mysteries solved through clever chains of reasoning. Examples: “The Siamese
Twin Mystery” and “The Tragedy of Z.”
Pulp magazines published – cheap magazines filled with short stories. Many
featured tough guy (and girl) detectives whose cases mixed clever plots with
adventure and excitement. The most famous pulp magazine was “The Black
Mask.”
 Tough, “hard-boiled” mystery fiction
emerges including works by Dashiell
Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner, and
Raymond Chandler.
 Famous fictional detectives Sam Spade
(Hammett), Perry Mason (Gardner), and
Philip Marlowe (Chandler) were hard-edged
men, tough guys who lived by strict codes of
honor. Sam Spade was immortalized on the
big screen in the 1941 film classic “The
Maltese Falcon.”
 In 1941, writer Mickey Spillane wrote “I,
The Jury,” introducing very popular ultratough guy Mike Hammer. Critics hated
Spillane’s books and their heavy focus on
blood and guts, but readers loved them.
 Mystery on television becomes extremely
popular.
 Police procedural crime fiction surfaced in
the 1940’s with a realistic portrayal of police
methods. The stories were always presented
from the point of view of the police. Most
successful writer of police procedurals was
Ed McBain.
1950’s – Present
 Children’s mystery emerges with Nancy
Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Encyclopedia
Brown.
 Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine became
popular mystery authors.
 The popular Parker Brothers game, Clue, is
another example of mystery's enormous
appeal to children.
 Mystery on television continues to gain
popularity.
 TV mysteries mostly followed police
procedurals. Examples would be Dragnet,
Hawaii 5-0, Kojak, and Hill Street Blues. All
these programs developed strong followings.
 New arrivals on the mystery scene like Sue
Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone (Alphabet Series)
share space on the shelves with such
characters as Spenser, Robert B. Parker’s
Boston-based P.I., and Adam Dagliesh, P.D.
James’ popular British policeman.