The Progression of Crime Fiction

The crime fiction genre is one of, if not the, best selling literary genre to date and in recent decades has made its presence known in TV series such as Law and Order, CSI, Dexter and NCIS to name a few. Crime Fiction is such a popular genre because texts delve into the prevalent values of society, using crime to explore the inner workings of the human psyche.  However each text manages to do this is a unique and invigorating way, forever revitalizing the ever-expanding genre. Its flexibility, coupled with its recognisable conventions allows authors to experiment across different mediums, subject matters and time periods, while still remaining within the bounds of crime fiction. The history of the genre is long and fruitful, beginning with original detective fiction, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, continuing on to the British driven ‘locked room mystery’, such as is reflected in P.D. James’s 1982 novel The Skull Beneath The Skin . In sync with the 1980’s post-colonial movements on the world stage, crime fiction also veered into national criminality with works such as Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost . From the original detective comics, recent decades have seen the pulp style re-envisioned as graphic crime fiction, as epitomised by Frank Miller’s film Sin City. The wide diversity of the crime fiction genre is a key element of its appeal, as readers find themselves able to delve into an infinitive world of expression.

Genres emerge from a group of prolific writers who push the boundaries of pre-existing classifications, demonstrating a newfound insight into a particular subject matter. Edgar Allan Poe is often named the ‘father of detective fiction’ for his original and inventive works of crime fiction. With Poe’s creation of the detective Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, the literary world was first exposed to tales surrounding a murder, the accretion of evidence and the re-establishing of order out of chaos.  Perhaps the most famous and generically consistent text Poe produced was the short story “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, told by an unnamed narrator who becomes acquainted with Dupin. Almost instantly, the conventional mannerisms of a detective are established with Dupin displaying his analytical gaze, as “the result of some strong exertion of the intellect.” From here, Poe integrates elements that later developed into crime fiction conventions; murder, the amateur detective and an unscrupulous police force, who, “so much extolled for acumen, are…no more.”

 At the time of its writing, Poe’s work was unlike anything before it, which only added to the appeal of an already established author. However, there is an element that makes Poe’s short stories intriguing for the modern audience-the universal values that it embodies and the familiarity of their presentation. Displaying Barthes’s hermeneutic and proairetic codes, Poe presents judgements on society, the unreliability of memory in recounting reality and the value versus the curse of an analytical mind. In the end, “this riddle…was now unriddled”, with the solution being almost as enigmatic as the puzzle itself. The reader is left with a sense of optimism, as order is re-established and they are left with the afterthought of the values raised during the text, which are as important now as they were during the context of production.

P.D. James’ The Skull Beneath the Skin (TSBTS) is a classic example of the “locked door” mystery, a style that emerged from Golden Age subgenre following Poe’s original detective stories. However, set in a modern context, this novel takes a different approach to the conventional ‘cosy’ text. From the outset, James’ private detective Cordelia Grey is shown to be an unconventional P.I., as her clients are “disconcerted as much by her sex as by her youth”. However James constantly demonstrates her confidence and capability. Readers may revel in the extravagant setting that they have come to expect from the subgenre; an antique and luxurious Victoriana castle, located on its own privately owned island and adorned with both interesting and morbid items.  The appeal of this text arises from the way in which it conforms to the previously projected conventions and the surprise and intrigue that arises from the subversion of these. Typically, Golden Age texts concluded with the criminal caught, his secrets exposed and the detective having explained their methods of detection, as in Conan Doyle’s “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.” Ultimately, good triumphs over evil and justice is usually served. However James challenges the conventions by leaving the story somewhat unfinished, with no guilty verdict.

After the turbulent nature of the 20^th century, some crime texts began to demonstrate an anti war and post colonial agenda, as exemplified by Michael Ondaatje’s novel Anil’s Ghost . This post-modern approach to crime fiction is completely unmatched by its take on the chaotic Sri Lankan civil wars and its presentation of the government as a “vainglorious” institution. Anil’s Ghost shows seamless shifts between the past and present and various italicised authorial intrusions, which highlight Ondaatje’s personal commonalities with his United Nations forensic anthropologist, Anil Tissera. Again, this text places a female in a position that is historically male, challenging the preconceptions of many readers. Anil, a native born Sri Lankan, also works closely with Sarath Disenya, a Government archaeologist who has been assigned to her case. The complex characterisation in Anil’s Ghost uses Anil and Sarath to communicate opposing sides; Anil represents the search for justice, while Sarath embodies “views on the danger of truth.” These characters present a range of binary opposites, including the west and the east and intuition versus rationality. This use of juxtaposition is a common theme in crime fiction texts, allowing readers to analyse the properties of each argument. This is an engaging element of the text, which influences readers to think about how the values presented are relevant in their own context. This metaphysical study of the Sri Lankan political context provides a disturbing, but appealing answer;  “the reason for war was war.”

In stark contrast to the reality presented with Anil’s Ghost , Frank Miller’s film Sin City demonstrates a comic book style approach whilst delving into the abhorrent depths of the formidably named “Basin City”. Adapted from Miller’s own graphic crime fiction series, Sin City is a modern, blended interpretation of the classic film noir and pulp styles, offering viewers a distinctive crime fiction text. With Quentin Tarantino as a guest director, the film superbly projects the auteur’s notorious style, depicting scenes of graphic violence and bloodshed. The innovative use of selective colouration is highly effective in creating striking visual contrast, guiding the viewers to important information, as they play the role of detective. Sin City follows a number of overlapping stories, not necessarily chronologically, providing insight into the lives of several different characters, with the audience guided by the overlay of narrator voices. Ultimately, the film follows the actions of three protagonists; detective John Hartigan, murderer Dwight McCarthy and a perplexingly chivalrous thug, Marv. The film begins with Hartigan investigating a child molestation case, despite recently having a heart attack. In mere minutes we become privy to the unsightly world of Sin City, as Hartigan is shot by his partner, who is working to conceal the work of the paedophile, a relation of the town mayor. This gripping presentation of a world in moral disarray allows readers to evaluate the contrast and perhaps some similarities between this fiction and the current world context.

Sin City deals with the familiar thematic concerns of truth, justice and vigilantism, particularly through characterisation. The sleazy suburb “Old town” is home to Basin City’s sexual sirens, a gang of prostitutes who “…get to administer their own brand of justice.” The evident lack of police intervention in their vigilantism, due to a “truce” formed through bribery, is a strong judgement on the enforcement of law. A character that demonstrates this even more so is Detective Hartigan. Possibly the only incorruptible man on the police force, referred to as “Mr. Law and order”, Hartigan is a shining beacon of truth and the prevalence of justice. However as the film progresses, viewers may become dismayed at Hartigan’s shift of tone, as he comments that “Sometimes the truth doesn’t matter like it ought.” The only hope Hartigan holds is in the innocence of the victim he previously rescued, Nancy Callahan. Interestingly, as Nancy writes to Hartigan, she adopts the pen name Cordelia, derived from James’ protagonist. These interwoven subtleties reflect the underlying commonalities between the vast expanses of the crime fiction genre. The characters of Dwight McCarthy and Marv serve as vehicles that Miller uses to portray the conventional crime fiction personas of men who are morally ambiguous in their search for truth. They serve as the doppelgangers of society, displaying sinister and often brutal forms of justice, as McCarthy reflects, Marv was “…born in the wrong century. He’d be right at home on some ancient battlefield swinging an axe into somebody’s face.”  Marv particularly demonstrates how the moral degradation of society has begun to disintegrate any remaining order, as he remarks “This is blood for blood and by the gallons…the all or nothing days.” The film concludes with no sense of justice being served, which may rob some viewers of what they consider the traditional crime fiction experience. However, this unconventional ending speaks to the diversity that new mediums, such as graphic crime fiction, have afforded to authors.

As crime fiction continues to expand, authors are free to replicate or subvert pre-existing conventions, providing seemingly endless textual possibilities. The way in which crime fiction is able to analyse and evaluate society and demonstrate universal themes results in the genre being one of the most widely read. As literary embodiments of crime fiction continue to be produced, authors will continue to push the bounds of the genre, subverting and creating new conventions and remaining forever appealing and diverse.