This Edgar winner is for anyone interested in the history of mysteries. Extremely well-referenced, this is also an insightful read. In the introduction, the author, Martin Edwards, tells his reader, "The main narrative of THE LIFE OF CRIME follows broadly, but not slavishly, a chronological path. Typically, a chapter opens with an incident or a sequence of events in an author's life that had a bearing, however oblique, on his or her crime writing; the discussion then explores a particular subject or theme connected with that writer. I've adopted a flexible structure, so as to accommodate books and topics that I find worthy of discussion, but which don't fit in with a straightforward linear account." That just about sums it up on what made this book such a gem. It holds so many interesting tidbits I've not read or heard about before on a wide variety of crime and mystery writers' lives and their inspiration. This book is an informative and worthwhile addition to any--public or private--library. ( )

The Life of Crime is a nonfiction book tracing the history of crime fiction from its earliest days into the 2020s. It covers a massive amount of writing, authors, genres and themes; although the bulk of the work discussed comes from Anglophone authors, there is good representation from other European, Latin American and East Asian countries as well. Each of the 55 chapters is fairly short (usually 10 pages or less), with extensive footnotes at the end of each chapter, and each focuses on a particular theme or period or authorial identity. As someone who adores footnotes, I was especially pleased with these: almost none are of the “citation of quote’s source” type and instead provide more information about a given subject that the author thought interesting but that was too tangential to fit into the main text; in other words, the best kind of footnote! The book is a whopping 724 pages long, although to be fair, the last 102 pages consist of a bibliography and several indices; one can easily just dip into it a chapter or two at a time, although I enjoyed reading it straight through. One doesn’t need to know a vast amount about the subject, although a basic knowledge of the primary authors of the genre is helpful; but really all the reader needs is an interest in the subject, and Mr. Edwards (himself an excellent mystery writer) does the rest. Highly recommended! ( )

A magnificent survey/history of mystery fiction, in its many manifestations, covering early examples (pre Poe) through Wilkie Collins, Conan Doyle, the Golden Age through to the last decade or two.

It is structured around chapters that deals with different approaches/types of fiction,though largely chronological. Hence one reads of (in addition to topics already mentioned):
- the Great Detectives
- Agatha Christie
- The Science of Detection
- Locked rooms
- Radio mysteries
- European crime fiction
- crime and Hollywood
- earlier histories/criticism of crime writing
- women writing about private investigators
amongst others.

Edwards is very knowledgeable, but wears his erudition lightly.

Each chapter commences with a quirky true tale or anecdote relevant to the theme of the chapter, many of which were completely new to me.

Edwards comes across as being a little more even-handed that some other surveyors of crime writing (eg Julian Symonds) but is in no way dry in his thoughts.

I read recently another book by Edwards, being a study of the (UK's) Detection Club being a study of that invitation only club for crime writers, commencing with the Golden Age. Whilst there is some cross over between these 2 books, with the latter (with its narrower focus) being able to go into greater depth on its themes, this book has a far greater scope.

So if you had to pick one or the other, one would decide based on your own focus.

Either way, there are many suggestions as to further reading, and with Edwards very skilfully telling enough of a book's story to make it interesting without including a spoiler alert, that further reading should not be spoiled on that account.

The 5 star rating is for those who want to read more as to this (historically) under-rated genre of fiction. I found it fascinating, as much as to finding out who Edwards decides to talk about in each chapter as in getting recommendations as to further reading.

Big Ship

29 November 2022

This book is just what the subtitle promises -- a history of the mystery genre, and of the authors who comprise it. I listened to it on Audible, going straight through from start to finish. That is not an approach I would recommend; it gets boring and feels repetitive. Instead, I would suggest dipping and nibbling, looking up one author and seeing where it leads you. And it should be stressed that this is a very valuable reference book. I shall buy it in hardcover, and keep it close at hand. ( )