The Life of Crime: Unravelling the mysteries of fiction’s favourite genre
- Downloads：8548
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-31 01:19:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Martin Edwards
- ISBN：0008192421
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Annarella
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It's not easy to review this book as it's not a book that you read for the plot。 You read for the information and because Martin Edwards is one of the most learned expert in the history of crime literature。I had high expectations and wasn't disappointed。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC， all opinions are mine It's not easy to review this book as it's not a book that you read for the plot。 You read for the information and because Martin Edwards is one of the most learned expert in the history of crime literature。I had high expectations and wasn't disappointed。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Sharon PLBo
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I'm not sure what I expected， but this wasn't it。 However， I liked what it was。 Edwards seems to have unravelled the lives of crime fiction writers， using subgenres -- some of his own devising -- to structure the book。 In a collection of miniature biographies， he tells us about the writers who have given and continue to give us crime fiction。 I enjoyed it。 I'm not sure what I expected， but this wasn't it。 However， I liked what it was。 Edwards seems to have unravelled the lives of crime fiction writers， using subgenres -- some of his own devising -- to structure the book。 In a collection of miniature biographies， he tells us about the writers who have given and continue to give us crime fiction。 I enjoyed it。 。。。more
Paul
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I find it hard to criticize this one。 It certainly covers a lot of ground， and it provides lots of great analysis and examples of crime stories and authors。 Recommended。I really appreciate the free ARC for review！！
Ant Koplowitz
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Another absolutely masterly account of the international development of crime fiction from the world's number one expert， Martin Edwards。 You can only tip your hat in awe as Edwards takes us through a detailed summary of the development and influence of crime fiction。 It's true， that there surely cannot be anyone in the world with Edwards' depth and breadth of the crime fiction genre。 It's such a readable and accessible account too。 And one wonders when he found time to do all the research and w Another absolutely masterly account of the international development of crime fiction from the world's number one expert， Martin Edwards。 You can only tip your hat in awe as Edwards takes us through a detailed summary of the development and influence of crime fiction。 It's true， that there surely cannot be anyone in the world with Edwards' depth and breadth of the crime fiction genre。 It's such a readable and accessible account too。 And one wonders when he found time to do all the research and writing。 Many chapters start off with a descriptive account of a real life crime which somehow becomes associated with one of the famous authors he goes on to talk about。 I was a bit shocked though at the relatively high number of murdered relatives， attempted and suspected suicides and the hight rates of alcoholism and drug addiction among the crime writing community。 I'm not sure what this says about the cliché 'always write about what you know'！ Highly recommended。 © Koplowitz， 2022 。。。more
Diane Hernandez
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I love the introductions written by this author for the golden age mysteries published by British Library Crime Classics， but they always leave me wanting more。 This book， The Life of Crime， includes all the details and backstories I have been wanting on famous， and not so famous， mystery writers。The Life of Crime is a witty and comprehensive look at every type of mystery from Sherlock to spies to American police fiction。 It also spans the globe from Asia through Scandinavia。 Each chapter is cle I love the introductions written by this author for the golden age mysteries published by British Library Crime Classics， but they always leave me wanting more。 This book， The Life of Crime， includes all the details and backstories I have been wanting on famous， and not so famous， mystery writers。The Life of Crime is a witty and comprehensive look at every type of mystery from Sherlock to spies to American police fiction。 It also spans the globe from Asia through Scandinavia。 Each chapter is clearly labeled so the reader can find what interests them。 There are also three indices， if needed。What can I say that would adequately describe this epic 800-page book？ None seem sufficient so I’ll just say that it is perfect for mystery fans and those interested in the writing craft。 5 stars and a favorite！Thanks to Collins Crime Club and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book。 。。。more
Andréa
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Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss。
Sandy
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Incredibly detailed and with wonderfully interesting notes。
Shana Yates
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3。5 stars
J Earl
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The Life of Crime from Martin Edwards is that wonderful combination of a book you can enjoy reading as well as one you want to keep around for reference。I think the main thing that will bring most readers to the book is the reference book aspect。 Anyone who reads in any of the genres and subgenres under the broad umbrella covered here will want to know about what influenced their favorite genre or their favorite writer。 This book certainly satisfies that desire， in short and engaging chapters th The Life of Crime from Martin Edwards is that wonderful combination of a book you can enjoy reading as well as one you want to keep around for reference。I think the main thing that will bring most readers to the book is the reference book aspect。 Anyone who reads in any of the genres and subgenres under the broad umbrella covered here will want to know about what influenced their favorite genre or their favorite writer。 This book certainly satisfies that desire， in short and engaging chapters that can be read quickly （including the notes， which you don't want to skip， they are often as interesting as the text）。For those who like the reference aspect but intend from the beginning to read the entire book， you will be very happy with how the book is written。 The facts are interwoven with wonderful anecdotes all presented in concise chapters。 This will reward either standard method for reading such a book。 If you want to read it quickly the chapters offer many stopping points so you don't feel like you have to commit to an extremely long chapter if you just want to read for another few minutes。 If you want to read this one or two chapters at a time （how I often read collections of short stories or essays） you can fit in a chapter in a relatively brief window of opportunity。 By the way， for those who mostly want it for reference， I would suggest at least using this second method to work through the book， you might be surprised just how good this is as a read as well as a reference。This is as comprehensive as I imagine a single volume can be。 Substitutions might have been made， though I am certainly not qualified to say what could have been substituted for what， but simply adding more would have been a little redundant as far as explaining the history and definitely have made the book unwieldy。 I think the decisions for inclusion are excellent and answered many of the questions I had and even more I didn't know I had。In addition to the various styles and genres/subgenres， what most interested me was the inclusion of influence， both into and from the crime fiction。 Whether what went into the earliest examples or how recent works have reached into other genres， the reader gets a truly big picture view。 Reading the book itself will probably give you many new titles to read， and likely make you want to reread some you love。 If your interest is in reading even more about the authors and genres， the bibliography is a rich source of information。 I was happy to even see a couple of theory books， though if theory isn't your thing， don't worry， there aren't many。While this is ideal for anyone with an interest in crime fiction （broadly speaking）， I think it would also be of interest to those who simply enjoy literary history。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Harper 360-Collins Crime Club for an advanced copy of this historical study on the mystery genre。 The section entitled Mystery in most bookstores encompasses many different styles and forms。 Some books feature puzzles， some books are full of fisticuffs。 Some stories take place in noble houses and gardens， some take place place in dive bars and back alleys。 There might be a murder that takes place off stage with no mention of violence， some book offer My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Harper 360-Collins Crime Club for an advanced copy of this historical study on the mystery genre。 The section entitled Mystery in most bookstores encompasses many different styles and forms。 Some books feature puzzles， some books are full of fisticuffs。 Some stories take place in noble houses and gardens， some take place place in dive bars and back alleys。 There might be a murder that takes place off stage with no mention of violence， some book offer complete autopsies with medical terminology and full viscera。 Basically something for everyone。 As a mystery fan I love them all from Sherlocks to shamus and everything in between。 As does writer， mystery historian and literature consultant Martin Edwards， whose book The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators is one of the most comprehensive and readable histories of a genre I have ever read。 A book that any mystery fan would kill to own。 The book is broken down into almost 60 essays addressing the history of mysterys from the beginning of writing to the modern day。 The book is primarily about English authors， though there are numerous mentions of American writers and of course essays on Norwegian Noir and Japanese mysteries。 The essays feature biographical sketches of popular and lost writers， cover major works and trends and how they influenced other writers， or have faded away as trends have a habit of doing。 Films， television and radio shows are covered， again with a British leaning， but in this day of streaming a lot of shows are mentioned that might be worth adding to the watch que。 However it is the books that are mentioned that will make readers smile， all described in a way that the puzzles and story are not ruined， something Mr。 Edwards is careful not to do。 Read with a pad and paper as many new writers and novels will need to be written down。 The book is never dull or drags， even in some sections of no interest， the reader will keep reading just for the writing， and the interesting facts that the author covers。 The book is wonderfully sourced， and the footnotes are just as informative as the text。 The work involved is just amazing to contemplate， so many authors， and so many kinds of stories and eras， and with a conversational style that never seems like a lecture， more， oh that sounds great， let me write that down。 To read about the lives of authors whose books I've read suddenly makes a lot of their stories clearer and I understand where they were coming from， and why they wrote what they did。 One of the most illuminating books on literature of any type that I have read in a long time。 This is the book that other histories of the genre will be compared to。 For a fan of mysteries this is a must have book， for reference and for finding lost classics that time was not kind too。 A big book that a fan can get lost in and learn so much， and one that will be flipped through for years to come。 An achievement I really can't say enough about。 。。。more
Raven
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To be honest， what Martin Edwards doesn't know about crime fiction， really isn't worth knowing！ A perfect dip in and out of book covering all crime genres， familiar and not so familiar。。。 To be honest， what Martin Edwards doesn't know about crime fiction， really isn't worth knowing！ A perfect dip in and out of book covering all crime genres， familiar and not so familiar。。。 。。。more
Nichola
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I need a physical copy of this。That is all。Thanks。
Julie
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I was really excited when this large book arrived， and immediately planned to take it with me to Gladstone’s residential library （so I could read it undisturbed and borrow a book cushion！）。 Having read Martin’s previous books - The Golden Age of Murder and The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books， I admit to wondering where this one would go。 I need not have been concerned; there are whole new areas of this subject that he has managed to cover in this book。 As a confirmed fan of the British Libra I was really excited when this large book arrived， and immediately planned to take it with me to Gladstone’s residential library （so I could read it undisturbed and borrow a book cushion！）。 Having read Martin’s previous books - The Golden Age of Murder and The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books， I admit to wondering where this one would go。 I need not have been concerned; there are whole new areas of this subject that he has managed to cover in this book。 As a confirmed fan of the British Library Crime Classics series （100 and counting）， crime fiction mainly set in the past as well as Dean Street Press reprints， I have a reasonable working knowledge of the genre， so I was really pleased to see familiar titles popping up in the text as well as the twenty pages of Select Bibliography。 One of the enormous strengths of this book is the notes at the end of each chapter， which not only give relevant information on titles of books and adaptations but also comments about the authors - such as the political relationship between Ruth Rendall and PD James。 I must admit to not reading all of these for each chapter - but when I come to use this book for reference as I have the previous two big books， I will no doubt have cause to be grateful for them。This is a big book to read cover to cover as I did， having over six hundred pages of text， and would be a rewarding book to dip into to research certain topics and authors。 It is undoubtedly an ambitious book， which looks at the history of crime fiction from the eighteenth century and the beginnings from the pen of William Godwin and The Adventures of Caleb Williams， which I read in pursuit of a literature MA， through the sensation novels of Wilkie Collins， which includes one of my favourite novels The Woman in White， and the aspects of Dickens’ novels which dealt with crime such as one of the first professional detectives， Inspector Bucket。 The Edwardian period is examined， but of course the book really hits its stride with the Golden Age books which provided interwar escapism for so many。 The puzzle and gimmick books are mentioned， as well as the complexity of pen names for authors which concealed other professions and actual gender。 Here are the beginnings of the Detection Club and the awards it established， much prized among authors of the time。 The entire book is shaped by the decision to give a certain amount of background to many of the authors and their often tangled lives， as well as revealing those books which were actually collaborations such as the Dick Francis books。 I particularly enjoyed Martin’s choice of authors who have a chapter of their own， partly because they were the usual suspects such as Agatha Christie， but also because they provided a way into authors I did not know so well， especially the American creators of new styles of detective writing such as Raymond Chandler。 The other great ambition of this book is not only to provide a history of British crime fiction， but to expand it across the world。 So there are chapters on Dutch crime as well as East Asian detective fiction for example， as well as the American development of the genre。 There are passing references and indeed chapters about the transmission of crime fiction， not only in printed form but big and little screen adaptations。 Predictably there were tensions of many kinds in transferring novels to films， with arguments about writing the screenplays and so forth。 I enjoyed the anecdotes about the famous Inspector Morse adaptations， including how the later novels by Colin Dexter changed to reflect the actors’ strengths。 This book， which also includes Indexes of Titles， Names and Subject， is a magnificent achievement by any standards， building on previous books on the subject such as Bloody Murder by Julian Symons and Martin’s own books。 It is comprehensive， yet easy to read in a style that maintained my interest throughout， even though I doubt I will ever be a huge fan of the more obscure and violent American offerings。 It is a book that I enjoyed reading from cover to cover， and yet I know it would be enjoyable to dip into and consult for particular projects。 I was extremely pleased to have the opportunity to read and review it， and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime fiction from the past and the present， from around the world， and in enormous depth。 。。。more
Eric
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I read this book as soon as it appeared， （thanks to my partner for an early birthday present） and let it digest a bit before attempting a review。It is a formidable but not forbidding book and a pleasant read for those， who appreciate the author's novelistic and informal approach。 Personally I find his style a bit irritating， although here it does not lead to as much repetition as in his volume about the Detection Club。In many ways I enjoyed the End Notes more than the main body of the text which I read this book as soon as it appeared， （thanks to my partner for an early birthday present） and let it digest a bit before attempting a review。It is a formidable but not forbidding book and a pleasant read for those， who appreciate the author's novelistic and informal approach。 Personally I find his style a bit irritating， although here it does not lead to as much repetition as in his volume about the Detection Club。In many ways I enjoyed the End Notes more than the main body of the text which comprises 55 short chapters， telling the story of crime writing from William Godwin's 1795 The Adventures of Caleb Williams to the present。 Additionally there are a Select Bibliography， and three indices。 The notes are a treasure house of information， illumination and entertainment。 As with Mr Edwards' The Story of Crime in 100 books， I shall dip back in and out of this comprehensive and invaluable volume many times and oft in the years to come。 It has to have a place on the shelves of all who have an interest in crime fiction and I am sure that it will be a long time before it is superceded。For readers looking for a full and illuminating review， go to Kate Jackson in her crossexaminingcrime blog。 Very much recommended。 At the current prices， a steal！4。5 stars。 。。。more
Kate
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