By Fyodor Dostoevsky Translated By Constance Garnett

“Dostoevsky says: “They snapped words over our heads, and they made us put on the white shirts worn by persons condemned to death. Thereupon we were bound in threes to stakes, to suffer execution. Being the third in the row, I concluded I had only a few minutes of life before me. I thought of you and your dear ones and I contrived to kiss Plestcheiev and Dourov, who were next to me, and to bid them farewell. Suddenly the troops beat a tattoo, we were unbound, brought back upon the scaffold, and informed that his Majesty had spared us our lives.” The sentence was commuted to hard labour. One of the prisoners, Grigoryev, went mad as soon as he was untied, and never regained his sanity.” (From the introduction).

Modern Library. 1954. 529p

Edited by Maria Aristodemou; Fiona Macmillan; Patricia Tuitt

This book opens up a range of important perspectives on law and violence by considering the ways in which their relationship is formulated in literature, television and film. Employing critical legal theory to address the relationship between crime fiction, law and justice, it considers a range of topics, including: the relationship between crime fiction, legal reasoning and critique; questions surrounding the relationship between law and justice; gender issues; the legal, political and social impacts of fictional representations of crime and justice; post-colonial perspectives on crime fiction; as well as the impact of law itself on the crime fiction’s development. Introducing a new sub-field of legal and literary research, this book will be of enormous interest to scholars in critical, cultural and socio-legal studies, as well as to others in criminology, as well as in literature.

Abingdon, Oxon, OX; New York: Birkbeck Law Press; 2017. 181p.

By Josef Hoffmann

Josef Hoffmann covers influences and inspirations in crime writing with references to a stellar cast of crime writers including Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Dashiell Hammett, Albert Camus, Borges, Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Ted Lewis. Hoffmann examines why crime literature may provide stronger consolation for readers than philosophy. In so doing, he demonstrates the truth of Wittgenstein's claim that more wisdom is contained in the best crime fiction than in philosophical essays. Josef Hoffmann's combination of knowledge, academic acuity, and enthusiasm makes this a must-have book for any crime fiction aficionado—with or without a philosophical nature.

Harpenden, Herts, UK: No Exit Press, 2013. 192p.

From Agatha Christie to Ruth Rendell: British Women Writers in Detective and Crime Fiction

By Susan Rowland

From Agatha Christie to Ruth Rendell is the first book to consider seriously the hugely popular and influential works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Nag Marsh, P.D. James and Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine. Providing studies of 42 key novels, this volume introduces these authors for students and the general reader in the context of their lives, and of critical debates on gender, colonialism, psychoanalysis, the Gothic, and feminism. It includes interviews with P.D. James and Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine.
Palgrave macmillan, 2000. 232p.

By Christiana Gregoriou

This book explores the three aspects of deviance that contemporary crime fiction manipulates: linguistic, social, and generic. Gregoriou conducts case studies into crime series by James Patterson, Michael Connelly and Patricia Cornwell, and investigates the way in which these novelists correspondingly challenge those aforementioned conventions.

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. 189p.

By Lisa Hopkins

This book explores why crime fiction so often alludes to Shakespeare. It ranges widely over a variety of authors including classic golden age crime writers such as the four ‘queens of crime’ (Allingham, Christie, Marsh, Sayers), Nicholas Blake and Edmund Crispin, as well as more recent authors such as Reginald Hill, Kate Atkinson and Val McDermid. It also looks at the fondness for Shakespearean allusion in a number of television crime series, most notably Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse and Lewis, and considers the special sub-genre of detective stories in which a lost Shakespeare play is found. It shows how Shakespeare facilitates discussions about what constitutes justice, what authorises the detective to track down the villain, who owns the countryside, national and social identities, and the question of how we measure cultural value.

London; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. 211p.

By Allan Pinkerton

The stories which compose this volume are taken from the author’s original notes on three actual cases, which were placed in his hands several years ago. Whatever else may be said of these tales, they cannot be denied the merit of strict truthfulness ; and it is to this quality, more than to any pretensions to literary excel¬ lence, that the author trusts in presenting them to the public. The patrons of the old Clifton House in Chicago will readily recall the occurrences related in “ Claude Melnotte,” and many of the regular boarders will recognize the characters herein depicted. In some very minor details, a small ingredient of fiction has been introduced, but the accuracy of the story has not been perceptibly affected thereby. It is hardly necessary to state that the names given are all fictitious ; the characters, however, are genuine, and the localities are correctly described. The same is the case with the dramatis persona of the “Two Sisters”; but, for obvious reasons, the scene of the abduction is located at some distance from the town where it actually occurred. The operations of Jules Imbert, “ The Frenchman,” are given literally, without the slightest departure from the facts. (From Preface)

Chicago : W.B. Keen, Cooke & Co. ; Chicago : Lakeside Publishing and Printing Co. 1875. 346p.

By George Barton

It is a trite saying that "truth is stranger than fiction. " Like most proverbs, this one has to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. It is a fact, nevertheless, that the raw truth often possesses greater human interest than the most polished fiction. Crime, in itself, is painful and sometimes repulsive, but a study of the methods of criminal investigation by which difficult problems are solved and the guilty brought to justice , is entertaining and may be profitable. With this thought in mind, the reader is invited to a consideration of a few of the famous cases that are to be found in the history of the world's greatest detectives. Each story is complete in itself, and outside of its own interest is intended to illustrate the peculiar system of the official and the nation therein portrayed. (From the Preface)

New York : McKinlay Stone & Mackenzie, 1909.

Read/Download Part 1
Read/Download Part 2

By Allan Pinkerton

Maroney, the expressman, is living in Georgia, having been released during the war. Mrs. Maroney is also alive. Any one desiring to convince himself of the absolute truthfulness of this narrative can do so by examining the court records in Montgomery, Ala., where Maroneywas convicted. The facts stated in the second volume are well known to many residents of Chicago. Young Bright was in the best society during his stay at the Clifton House, and many of his friends will remember him. His father is now largely interested in business in New York, Chicago,and St. Louis. The events connected with the abduction of " The Two Sisters," will be readily recalled byW. L. Church, Esq., of Chicago, and others. The storyof " Alexander Gay," the Frenchman, will be found in the criminal records of St. Louis, where he was sentenced for forgery. So with the stories in this volume. The characters in "The Detective and the Somnambulist," will be easily recognized by many readers in the South. As the family of Drysdale are still living and holding a highly respectable place in society, the locality is not correctly given, and fictitious names are used throughout. (From Book)

Toronto, Belford , 1877. 274p.

By Allan Pinkerton

Containing numerous detective sketches : collected from private records. “ The life of a Detective is naturally a varied and excitable one. At one time he is engaged in the pursuit of the hardened Criminal, whose hands are crimson with the blood of his victim—at another, the Burglar, whose manipulations of the protecting appliances which have been invented to secure the wealth of others from his rapacious grasp, engrosses his attention—and anon he is found working his silent way through the intricate mazes of science, where the Counterfeiter and the Forger, with their miraculous chemicals and deft handiwork, require not only a familiarity with their mode of procedure, but an astute knowledge of human nature and their various characteristics. In the succeeding pages will be found a series of incidents which will fully justify my previous expressionsj and will throw a ray of light upon some of the hidden mysteries which surround the Criminal, but which must eventually present themselves to the intelligent eye of the Detective.”

New York : G.W. Carleton & Co., 1883. 682p.

By William A. Pinkerton

Address Given at the Annual Convention of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 1907. “Heretofore my addresses have been upon subjects with which most of us are familiar and, while I know there are among those present, members of this Association who have had more or less t(3 do with the apprehension of the train robber or ''hold-up" criminal, a product we have that no other country has ex- cept as our fugitives ; I believe some reminiscences of these outlaws will be of interest. As the detective agents throughout the United States of many railroad, express and stage companies and of the American Bankers' Association, and co-operating with police officials, United States marshals, sheriffs, railroads detectives and various other law enforcement authorities, for over fifty years our agency has been, engaged investigating many of the robberies of railroad trains, banks and stages by this desperate robber ; my father, the late Allan Pinkerton, my brother Robert and I, often in these years personally taking part in running down this now almost extinct outlaw.

Wm. A. and Robert A. Pinkerton, Chicago and New York. 1907. 86p.

By Allan Pinkerton

“one of the cardinal principles of my detective system, viz.: "That crime can and must be detected by the pure and honest heart obtaining a controlling power over that of the criminal." The history of the old man who, although in the possession of unlimited wealth, leaves the shores of his native land to escape the imagined dangers of assassination, and arrives in America, only to meet his death — violent and mysterious — at the hands of a trusted servant, is in all essential points a recital of actual events.”

New York: G.W. Gillingham, 1880.

By Allan Pinkerton

FROM PREFACE. Almost every community has known one or more periods when the dissolute elements of the place have seemed to be unusually active, and the majesty of the law so little regarded and feared as to cause a perfect carnival of crime. Under such circumstances, the honest portion of the population become bewildered and disheartened, and the rogues apparently take charge of affairs, until some sudden dis- covery brings to punishment a number of the guilty men, and then order returns. Such was the experience of "The- Model Town." It was a very pleasant and thriving inland place, the law- abiding people far outnumbering the law-breakers; yet previous to the time when my services were engaged there was a period of almost total disregard of law and authority.in the place. In a few weeks my detectives were successful in identifying the ringleaders of all the evil-doers of the town, and I was able to gather them in for punishment in small groups, without exposing my plans or alarming the others, whose guilt was yet to be discovered. At length, having effectually broken up all the parties of thieves, counterfeiters, burglars, and incendiaries, I left the place to enjoy a career of peace and prosperity. There are many persons yet living who will remember the circumstances herein related, and they will recall how complete the reformation was worked by the arrest and conviction of the criminals. From the moment it was re- vealed that Pinkerton's detectives were at work in the town, the orderly character of the place was assured for an indefi- nite length of time, and the good effect lasted many years after my men had been withdrawn. As the story of " Byron as a Detective " may call forth some discussion, I merely desire to say that, concerning his being the son of Lord Byron, I have no means of determining the truth or falsity of the claim ; and only give the facts, which were then common among his associates, to the public for what they are worth. There were doubtless hundreds of other men of legitimate, as well as illegitimate, birth, each one of whom chance might have thrown into habits of reckless adventure resulting in crime, the temperament and mental conditions of each of whom might have given rise to the theory of being Byron's son, especially when the claim was so persistently put forward and so commonly accepted as in this case.

Read/Download

By Allan Pinkerton

“The characters with whom the reader will make acquaintance have all been in the flesh. But few of them, so far as I know, have yet quitted it. The identity of some has been veiled by fictitious names. ..any one of those introduced would be able to recognize a faithful account of the events narrated. ..of the events themselves it will be sufficient for me to state that they had a wide public notoriety at the time of their occurrence….the slight embellishment which is here given them…” from the Preface.

New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1881. 364p.

By Alan Pinkerton

The governing idea in the mind of the author, while preparing this volume for the press, has been to give details connected with the MOLLIE Maguires, and follow strictly the truth concerning the adventures of the detectives during three years passed in their midst. He is aware that, in many places, the relation reads much like fiction, and that it will be accepted as romance by very many who are totally unacquainted with the country and the people attempted to be described. It has been the constant endeavor to adhere closely to facts, and if the incidents are, in a great degree, novel and absorbing, it is due to these facts, and they were worked out, through arduous labors, in sleepless nights and undivided attention to the ends to be gained. The coal regions of Pennsylvania are inhabited by a mixture of races, the ingredients perhaps more widely differing, in character and origin, than those of any other portion of the globe. Living within a stone's throw of each other will be found the German, Swede, Norwegian, Pole, Irish, Scotch, English Bohemian, and Russian. And in moving across the country, from one colliery to another, representatives of nearly all of these widely separated nations may be encountered, with here and there an American and Pennsylvania German. All endeavor to express themselves in Anglo-Saxon, but their foreign idioms and native eccentricities will, spite of themselves, occasionally crop out. Hence the life of a person, who is sensitively alive to diversified phases of human nature and having a keen sense of the humorous, in the mining districts, cannot well be devoid of enjoyment. Some extraordinary habits and peculiarities are found in the coal fields not discovered elsewhere.

New York: G.W. Carleton, 1880. 552p.

By Allan Pinkerton

The Mississippi River has for many years more especially since the close of the war been infested by a class of men who never would try to get an honest living, but would prey upon their neighbors or attack the property of southern railroads and express companies ; these marauders could be seen any day prowling along the banks of the Mississippi, in fact, the shores and immediate neighborhood were peopled by just such a class, who cared not how they obtained a living ; for the crimes they committed, they often suffered infinitely worse punishment, more so than any suffering which could hare been entailed on them from leading a poor but honest life. The story of the "Mississippi OUTLAWS AND THE DETECTIVES '' is written to illustrate incidents which took place in the southern section of the country at no rery remote date. " DON PEDEO AND THE DETECTIVES " is another story of detective experience, which came under my own observation and management ; it is a truthful narrative, and shows that some men are worse than known criminals, and can squander the money they have obtained by false pretenses, in a very lavish manner. " THE POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES " is a well- known bit of detective experience, which, when read, will be recognized by any one who ever takes an inter- est in crime, and the bringing to justice its perpetrators. The reader must remember that fictitious names are used in all of these stories, otherwise the facts are plainly and truthfully told as they occurred. (From Preface)

New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1882. 377p.

By CoIin Heston.

In this raucous Aussie story, corpses pop up in the Yarra river while Lizzie entertains her powerful and kinky clients in her Winnebago, parked on the ferry to Williamstown. Tightly bound Detective Striker, confronted by the mob of Catholics, wharfies and communists who rule Williamstown, struggles to solve the mystery. Lizzie gets engaged to her uncle Bobby, the lame ferry driver, and her mum, Babs, spellbound by the strange Father Zappia, tries to solve her own mystery of St. Robert’s toe. She throws a raucous send-off party for Lizzie, and out of the chaos emerges many truths..

Five Star Readers’ Favorite! “…true Aussie humor…a satirical drIama …will reward those who can untie the hilarious Gordian knot.” See all reviews

NY. Harrow and Heston Publishers. 2020. 284p.

By Guy Morton.

We have few authors on our fiction list possessed with the same gift of analysis into human character and motive as Mr. Morton. Indeed, nothing pleases him more than to play one type of individual against another, and since their actions culminate, as a rule, in deeds of violence, the author is never lacking either in material or scope for his own peculiar abilities. When, therefore, Mr. Morton turns his attentions to a rather mixed gathering at The Briars, a pleasantly situated country-house, the reader is entitled to expect some starthng disclosures. Nor does he find himself disappointed. Two murders, each of great brutaHty, take place in rapid succession, and the perpetrator, obviously one who has little to learn either in the art of con- cealment or dissimulation, effectively side-tracks the poHce from the vital issues and appears to rest securely behind the cloak of their incompetence. But whoever committed the crime completely under-estimated the talents of the ever vigilant Amor Kairns, who finally brings the criminal to book in an extremely dramatic quick curtain.

London: Skeffington & Son, 1900. 288p.

By Theodore Dreiser.

Theodore Dreiser was inspired by a true story to write this novel about an ambitious, socially insecure young man who finds himself caught between two very different women--and two very different visions of what his life could be. Clyde Griffiths was born poor and is poorly educated, but his prospects begin to improve when he is offered a job by a wealthy uncle who owns a shirt factory. Soon he achieves a managerial position, and despite being warned to stay away from the women he manages, he becomes involved with Roberta, a poor factory worker who falls in love with him. At the same time, he catches the eye of Sondra, the glamorous socialite daughter of another factory owner, and begins neglecting his lover to court her. When Roberta confronts Clyde with her pregnancy, Clyde's hopes of marrying Sondra are threatened, and he conceives a desperate plan to preserve his dream.

New York: Modern Library, 1925. 860p.

By Arthur Conan Doyle.

It is impossible to read and weigh the facts in connection with the conviction of Oscar Slater in May, 1909, at the High Court in Edinburgh, without feeling deeply dissatisfied with the proceedings, and morally certain that justice was not done. Under the circumstances of Scotch law I am not clear how far any remedy exists, but it will, in my opinion, be a serious scandal if the man be allowed upon such evidence to spend his life in a convict prison. The verdict which led to his condemnation to death, was given by a jury of fifteen, who voted: Nine for "Guilty," five for "Non-proven," and one for "Not Guilty." Under English law, this division of opinion would naturally have given cause for a new trial.

New York: Hodder & Stoughton, George H. Doran, 1912. 102p.