Evolution of Crime Fiction
Newgate Novel
• The Newgate novels (or Old Bailey novels) were published in England from the late 1820s until the 1840s
• Thought to glamorize the lives of the criminals they portrayed
• Most drew their inspiration from the Newgate Calendar, a biography of famous criminals published at various
times during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but usually rearranged or embellished the original tale for
melodramatic effect
• The Newgate Calendar fed the popular fascination with crime and criminals with its accounts of their lives, trials,
confessions, punishments, and, sometimes, escapes
• The Newgate label was attached by (usually hostile) critics in the 1830s and 1840s to a relatively small group of
extremely popular novels that focused on the lives of real or invented criminals
• Came under fierce attack from critics, including W. M. Thackeray, who accused them of encouraging crime
Golden Age Detective Fiction
• Era of classic murder mystery novels predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s
• Certain conventions and clichés were established that limited any surprises on the part of the reader to the
details of the plot and, primarily, to the identity of the murderer
• The majority of novels of that era were "whodunits” and puzzle solving –the character development is often
sacrificed in favour of ingenious plotting
• The secluded English country house populated by cooks, butlers, and relatives and its upper-class inhabitants
was very common
• The rules of the game – and Golden Age mysteries were considered games – were codified in 1929 by Ronald
Knox. According to Knox, a detective story ‘must have as its main interest the unravelling of a mystery; a
mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose
nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end.’ – the reader should in theory be
able to sole the mystery
Knox's "Ten Commandments" (or "Decalogue") are as follows:
1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the
reader has been allowed to know.
2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific
explanation at the end.
5. No Chinaman must figure in the story
6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which
proves to be right.
7. The detective himself must not commit the crime.
8. The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover.
9. The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass
through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
• Detection Club: Founded in 1928 by a circle of detective story writers and dedicated to the cultivation of the
art. Members swore to abide by a set of rules of fair play with the reader: no concealing of vital clues allowed;
the detective solves the crime by his or her wits; no divine inspiration or supernatural intervention allowed; the
King's English must be honoured. The club still exists, although the rules have been abandoned. Original
members included G.K. Chesterton (first president), Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley, Gladys
Mitchell, Miles Burton/John Rhode, Freeman Wills Croft, and Father Ronald Knox.
• Donnish School: a style, usually written by an academic, that featured an academic setting or detective plus a
liberal sprinkling of esoteric literary and classical allusions.
• Humdrum School: coined by Julian Symons to describe a style where a complicated puzzle plot predominated
at the expense of character development, realism, or interesting dialogue.
• Inverted Mystery: a style where the identity and method of the murderer is revealed at the outset, the suspense
then built on detailing the detective's process of discovery.
• Locked Room Mystery: a category of impossible crime where the murder victim is found in a locked room with
seemingly no avenue of escape for the murderer.
• The outbreak of the Second World War is often taken as a beginning of the end for the light-hearted,
straightforward "whodunit" of the Golden Age as the uncertain post-war world was unsuited to them
• Current writing influenced by the Golden Age style is often referred to as "cosy" mystery writing, as distinct from
the "hardboiled" style popular in the United States
• Crime has evolved – becoming more firmly rooted in the realities and uncertainties of the 21st century with a
much deeper focus on psychology than puzzle
Newgate Novel
• The Newgate novels (or Old Bailey novels) were published in England from the late 1820s until the 1840s
• Thought to glamorize the lives of the criminals they portrayed
• Most drew their inspiration from the Newgate Calendar, a biography of famous criminals published at various
times during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but usually rearranged or embellished the original tale for
melodramatic effect
• The Newgate Calendar fed the popular fascination with crime and criminals with its accounts of their lives, trials,
confessions, punishments, and, sometimes, escapes
• The Newgate label was attached by (usually hostile) critics in the 1830s and 1840s to a relatively small group of
extremely popular novels that focused on the lives of real or invented criminals
• Came under fierce attack from critics, including W. M. Thackeray, who accused them of encouraging crime
Golden Age Detective Fiction
• Era of classic murder mystery novels predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s
• Certain conventions and clichés were established that limited any surprises on the part of the reader to the
details of the plot and, primarily, to the identity of the murderer
• The majority of novels of that era were "whodunits” and puzzle solving –the character development is often
sacrificed in favour of ingenious plotting
• The secluded English country house populated by cooks, butlers, and relatives and its upper-class inhabitants
was very common
• The rules of the game – and Golden Age mysteries were considered games – were codified in 1929 by Ronald
Knox. According to Knox, a detective story ‘must have as its main interest the unravelling of a mystery; a
mystery whose elements are clearly presented to the reader at an early stage in the proceedings, and whose
nature is such as to arouse curiosity, a curiosity which is gratified at the end.’ – the reader should in theory be
able to sole the mystery
Knox's "Ten Commandments" (or "Decalogue") are as follows:
1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the
reader has been allowed to know.
2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific
explanation at the end.
5. No Chinaman must figure in the story
6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which
proves to be right.
7. The detective himself must not commit the crime.
8. The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover.
9. The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass
through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
• Detection Club: Founded in 1928 by a circle of detective story writers and dedicated to the cultivation of the
art. Members swore to abide by a set of rules of fair play with the reader: no concealing of vital clues allowed;
the detective solves the crime by his or her wits; no divine inspiration or supernatural intervention allowed; the
King's English must be honoured. The club still exists, although the rules have been abandoned. Original
members included G.K. Chesterton (first president), Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley, Gladys
Mitchell, Miles Burton/John Rhode, Freeman Wills Croft, and Father Ronald Knox.
• Donnish School: a style, usually written by an academic, that featured an academic setting or detective plus a
liberal sprinkling of esoteric literary and classical allusions.
• Humdrum School: coined by Julian Symons to describe a style where a complicated puzzle plot predominated
at the expense of character development, realism, or interesting dialogue.
• Inverted Mystery: a style where the identity and method of the murderer is revealed at the outset, the suspense
then built on detailing the detective's process of discovery.
• Locked Room Mystery: a category of impossible crime where the murder victim is found in a locked room with
seemingly no avenue of escape for the murderer.
• The outbreak of the Second World War is often taken as a beginning of the end for the light-hearted,
straightforward "whodunit" of the Golden Age as the uncertain post-war world was unsuited to them
• Current writing influenced by the Golden Age style is often referred to as "cosy" mystery writing, as distinct from
the "hardboiled" style popular in the United States
• Crime has evolved – becoming more firmly rooted in the realities and uncertainties of the 21st century with a
much deeper focus on psychology than puzzle
