A brief history of the development of the detective genre. The detective genre in English literature

A good detective story will have charming characters, gripping suspense, and a puzzle that will keep you reading. But writing a truly worthwhile detective story, especially if you haven't done it before, can be difficult. With the right preparation, brainstorming, planning and editing, and character development, you can write a compelling mystery story.

Steps

Part 1

Getting ready to write

Understand the difference between detective and thriller genres. Detective stories always start with a murder. Main question in a detective story or novel - who committed the crime. Thrillers usually begin with a situation that leads to a major disaster, such as terrorist attack, Bank robbery, nuclear explosion And so on. The main question in a thriller is whether the main character will be able to prevent a disaster.

In detective stories, the reader does not know who committed the murder until the end of the novel. Detective stories are built on logical chains searching for crime targets or on a puzzle.
Mysteries are written in the first person, while thrillers are usually written in the third person and feature multiple points of view. In detective stories, the passage of time is usually more gradual as the protagonist/detective tries to solve the crime. Also, mysteries tend to have less action sequences than thrillers.
Because the passage of time is slower in detective stories, the characters tend to be more deeply developed and well-rounded in detective stories than in thrillers.

Read examples of detective stories. There are many excellent detective stories and novels from which you can learn how to write a detective story with good story and well-developed characters.

Identify the main character in the presented stories and novels. Think about how the author introduces the main character and how he describes him.
Identify the location and setting of the example story. Think about how the author shows the place and time of the story.
- For example, in the second paragraph of the first page deep sleep Marlow places the reader in the place and time of the story: “The Sternwoods' main hall had two floors.”
- The reader understands that Marlowe is in front of the Sternwood house, and this big house, most likely rich.
Think through a crime or puzzle that the main character has to solve. What crime or puzzle will the main character have to deal with? It could be a murder, a missing person, or a suspicious suicide.
- IN Deep sleep General Sternwood hires Marlowe to “take care” of a photographer who is blackmailing the general with scandalous photographs of his daughter.
Identify obstacles and problems that the main character may face. A good detective will captivate the reader with the difficulties that the main character will face while fulfilling his mission (solving a crime).
- IN Big dream Chandler complicates Detective Marlowe's pursuit of the photographer with the photographer's murder in early chapters, as well as the suspicious suicide of the general's chauffeur. Therefore, Chandler introduces two murders into the narrative that Marlowe must solve.
Think about solving the crime. Think about how a crime is solved at the end of a detective story. The solution to the crime should not be too obvious or far-fetched, but it should also not be implausible or out of the blue.
- The solution to the crime should surprise the reader without confusing him. One of the advantages of the detective genre is that you can pace your story so that the revelation comes gradually, rather than in a rushed manner.
Review the first draft copy. Once you've drafted your mystery, go through the story, taking care to review key aspects such as:
- Plot. Make sure your the story goes according to plan and has a clear beginning, middle and end. You should also note the changes in your main character at the end of the story.
- Heroes. Are your characters, including the main one, unique and vibrant? All your heroes behave in a similar way or are they different? Are your characters original and charming?
- Pace of the story. Story pacing is how quickly or slowly the events in your story unfold. Good pacing will go unnoticed by the reader. If things seem to be moving too quickly, focus more on the feel to highlight the characters' emotions. If you feel like you're bogged down in details, cut scenes down to the most essential information. Good rule is to always end an episode earlier than you think you should. This will help maintain tension from episode to episode, allowing the story to move at the right pace.
- Turn. A twist can either ruin or make the whole detective story. It's up to the writer's discretion, but many good mysteries have a twist at the end. Make sure your twist isn't too cheap. The more unique the twist, the easier it will be to describe. When you write a tired "and here they woke up" twist, you have to be a great writer to make the twist work. A good twist can leave not only the reader, but also the hero himself, in the cold. Hint at the twist throughout the scenes of the episodes so that when the reader begins to remember earlier parts of the story, they will be surprised at how they could have missed it. However, try not to make the turn obvious too early.

Despite its relative youth as an independent literary movement, detective fiction is one of the most popular genres today. The secret of such success is simple - the mystery captivates. The reader does not passively follow what is happening, but takes an active part in it. He predicts events and builds his own versions. Grigory Chkhartishvili (Boris Akunin), author famous series novels about detective Erast Fandorin, in an interview he once told how to write a detective story. According to the writer, the main factor for creating an exciting plot is a game with the reader, which needs to be filled with unexpected moves and traps.

Be inspired by example

Many authors of popular detective stories do not hide the fact that they received inspiration from reading the works of outstanding masters of this genre. For example, the American writer Elizabeth George has always admired the work of Agatha Christie. Boris Akunin could not resist the charades of the great author of detective prose. The writer generally admitted that he adores detective stories. english style and often uses techniques characteristic of them in his works. About what contribution Arthur Conan Doyle made to the detective genre with his famous character probably shouldn't say much. Because creating a hero like Sherlock Holmes is the dream of any writer.

Become a criminal

To write a real detective story, you need to invent a crime, since the mystery associated with it is always at the heart of the plot. This means that the author will have to try on the role of an attacker. To begin with, it is worth deciding what the nature of this crime will be. Most famous detective stories are based on the investigation of murders, thefts, robberies, kidnappings and blackmail. However, there are also many examples where the author captivates the reader with an innocent incident that leads to the solution to a larger mystery.

Turn back time

After choosing a crime, the author will have to think it over carefully, since a real detective story contains all the details that will lead to the denouement. Masters of the genre advise using the reverse time technique. First you need to decide who committed the crime, how he did it and why. Then you need to imagine how the attacker will try to hide what he has done. Do not forget about accomplices, evidence left behind and witnesses. These clues build a compelling plot that gives the reader the opportunity to conduct their own investigation. For example, the famous British writer P.D. James says she always comes up with a solution to the mystery before creating a compelling story. Therefore, when asked how to write good detective, she replies that you need to think like a criminal. A novel shouldn't feel like a boring interrogation. Intrigue and tension are what matters.

Plot construction

Detective genre like any other literary direction, has its own subgenres. Therefore, when answering the question of how to write a detective story, professionals advise first to decide on the choice of method for constructing the storyline.

The classic detective story is presented in a linear form. The reader investigates crime committed along with the main character. In doing so, he uses the keys to riddles left by the author.
In an inverted detective story, the reader witnesses a crime at the very beginning. And the entire subsequent plot revolves around the process and methods of investigation.
Detective writers often use a combination storyline. When the reader is asked to look at the same crime with different sides. This approach is based on the effect of surprise. After all, the established and harmonious version breaks down in one moment.

Get the reader interested

Bringing the reader up to date and intriguing by presenting a crime is one of the main stages of creating a detective story. It doesn't matter how the facts become known. The reader can witness a crime himself, learn about it from a character’s story, or find himself at the scene of its commission. The main thing is that leads and versions for investigation appear. The description must have a sufficient amount of plausible details - this is one of the factors that should be taken into account when understanding the question of how to write a detective story.

Keep the suspense

The next important task for a novice author will be to retain the reader’s interest. The story should not be too simple when it becomes clear at the beginning that everyone was killed by the “scuba diver.” A far-fetched plot will also quickly get boring and disappoint, since a fairy tale and a detective story are different genres. But even if you plan to create a wildly twisted plot, you should hide some clues in a heap of seemingly unimportant details. This is one of the techniques of the classic English detective story. A clear confirmation of the above can be the statement of the popular Mickey Spillane. When asked how to write a book (detective), he replied: “No one will read mysterious story to get to the middle. Everyone intends to read it to the end. If it turns out to be a disappointment, you will lose the reader. The first page sells this book, and the last page sells everything that will be written in the future."

Traps

Since detective work relies on reason and deduction, the plot will be more exciting and believable if the information presented in it causes the reader to come to the wrong conclusions. They may even be mistaken and follow a false line of reasoning. This technique is often used by authors who create detective stories about serial killers. This allows you to confuse the reader and create an intriguing turn of events. When everything seems to be clear and there is nothing to be afraid of, it is at such a moment that the main character becomes most vulnerable to an impending series of dangers. Unexpected turn always makes the story more interesting.

Motivation

Detective heroes should have interesting motives. The writer's advice that in a good story every character should want something applies more to the detective genre than to others. Since the hero’s subsequent actions directly depend on motivation. This means they influence the storyline. It is necessary to trace and then write down all the causes and consequences in order to firmly hold the reader in the created situation. The more characters with their own hidden interests, the more confusing, and therefore more exciting, the story becomes. Spy detective stories are mostly full of characters like this. A good example is the detective thriller Mission: Impossible, written by David Koepp and Steven Zaillian.

Create a criminal identity

Since the author knows from the very beginning who, how and why committed the crime, all that remains is to decide whether this character will be one of the main ones.

If you use a common technique, when the attacker is constantly in the reader’s field of view, then it is necessary to work out in detail his personality and appearance. As a rule, the author makes such a hero very likable in order to inspire confidence in the reader and avert suspicion. And in the end - you will be stunned by an unexpected outcome. A striking and clear example is the character Vitaly Egorovich Krechetov from the detective series “Liquidation”.

In the case where the decision is made to make the criminal the least noticeable character, in to a greater extent will be needed detailed drawing personal motives than appearance, in order to ultimately bring him to main stage. These are the types of characters that authors who write detective stories about serial killers create. An example is the sheriff from the detective series “The Mentalist”.

Create the identity of a hero investigating a crime

The character who opposes evil can be anyone. And not necessarily a professional investigator or private investigator. Attentive old lady Miss Marple Agatha Christie's and Dan Brown's Professor Langdon cope with their duties no less efficiently. The main task of the leading character is to interest the reader and evoke empathy in him. Therefore, his personality must be alive. Authors of the detective genre also give advice on describing the appearance and behavior of the main character. Some feature will help make him extraordinary, like Fandorin’s gray temples and stutter. But professionals warn novice authors against being too enthusiastic in their descriptions. inner world the main character, as well as from the creation too beautiful appearance with figurative comparisons, since such techniques are more typical for romance novels.

Detective Skills

Perhaps a rich imagination, natural flair and logic will help a novice author in creating an interesting detective story, and will also captivate the reader in composing big picture cases from small pieces of information offered. However, the story must be believable. Therefore, the luminaries of the genre, when explaining how to write a detective story, focus on studying the intricacies of the work of professional detectives. After all, not everyone has the skills of criminal investigators. This means that for the authenticity of the plot it is necessary to delve into the peculiarities of the profession.

Some use specialist advice. Others spend long hours and days sorting through old court cases. Moreover, to create a high-quality detective story, you will need not only the knowledge of criminologists. At least a general understanding of the psychology of criminal behavior will be necessary. And for authors who decide to spin a plot around a murder, they will also need knowledge in the field of forensic anthropology. You should also not forget about details specific to the time and place of action, since they will require additional knowledge. If the plot of the crime investigation takes place in the 19th century, the environment, historical events, technology and behavior of the characters must correspond to it. The task becomes much more complicated when the detective is also a professional in some other field. For example, a strange mathematician, psychologist or biologist. Accordingly, the author will have to become more skilled in the sciences that make his character special.

Completion

The most important task of the author is also to create an interesting and logical ending. Because no matter how twisted the plot may be, all the mysteries presented in it must be solved. All the questions that have accumulated during the course of the action must be answered. Moreover, through detailed conclusions that will be clear to the reader, since understatement is not welcome in the detective genre. Reflections and construction various options the completion of the story is typical for novels with a philosophical component. And the detective genre is commercial. In addition, the reader will be very interested to know where he was right and where he was wrong.

Professionals draw attention to the danger hidden in mixing genres. Working in similar style, it is very important to remember that if a story has a detective beginning, its conclusion should be written in the same genre. You cannot leave the reader disappointed by attributing the crime to mystical forces or an accident. Even if the former occur, in the novel their presence must fit into the plot and the course of the investigation. And the accident itself is not the subject of a detective story. Therefore, if it happened, someone was involved in it. In short, a detective story may have an unexpected ending, but it cannot cause bewilderment and disappointment. It is better if the conclusion is designed for the reader’s deductive abilities, and he solves the riddle a little earlier than the main character.

Detective (English detective, from Latin detego - I reveal, expose) is a literary genre whose works describe the research process mysterious incident in order to clarify its circumstances and solve the mystery. Usually such an incident is a crime, and the detective describes its investigation and determination of the perpetrators, in this case the conflict is built on the clash of justice with lawlessness, ending in the victory of justice.

The main feature of a detective story as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most commonly described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories that investigate events that are not criminal.

An essential feature of the detective story is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in its entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the investigative process, given the opportunity at each stage to build their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual or mysterious, then it should no longer be classified as a pure detective story, but rather among related genres (action film, police novel, etc.).

An important property of a classic detective story is the completeness of facts. The solution to the mystery cannot be based on information that was not provided to the reader during the description of the investigation. By the time the investigation is completed, the reader should have enough information to use it to find a solution on their own. Only certain minor details may be hidden that do not affect the possibility of revealing the secret. At the end of the investigation, all mysteries must be solved, all questions must be answered.

“The world of a detective story is much more orderly than the life around us,” was N. N. Vasiliev’s opinion about the “detective” genre.

What is often found in the detective genre:

Ordinary surroundings. The conditions in which the events of the detective story take place are generally common and well known to the reader (in any case, the reader himself believes that he is confident in them). Thanks to this, it is initially obvious to the reader which of what is described is ordinary and which is strange, beyond the scope.

Stereotypical behavior of characters. The characters are largely devoid of originality, their psychology and behavioral patterns are quite transparent, predictable, and if they have any distinctive features, they become known to the reader. The motives for the actions (including the motives for the crime) of the characters are also stereotypical.

The existence of plot construction rules that do not always correspond real life. So, for example, in a classic detective story, the narrator and detective, in principle, cannot turn out to be criminals.

Another limitation is noted, which is almost always followed by a classic detective story - the inadmissibility of random errors and undetectable coincidences. For example, in real life, a witness can tell the truth, he can lie, he can be mistaken or misled, but he can simply make an unmotivated mistake (accidentally, mix up dates, amounts, names). In a detective story, the last possibility is excluded - the witness is either accurate, or lying, or his mistake has a logical justification.

Evolution of the genre

The first developers of the genre were such famous writers as E. A. Poe, G. K. Chesterton, A. Conan Doyle, G. Leroux, E. Wallace, S. S. Van Dyne, D. Hammett, E. Quinn and etc.

Perhaps the first theorist of the detective story as a special genre was G. K. Chesterton, who spoke in 1902 with the article “In Defense of detective literature" In his essay, Chesterton emphasizes that "a detective novel or short story is perfectly legal literary genre" “The most important advantage of the detective story is that it is the earliest and so far the only form popular literature, which expressed a certain sense of poetry modern life» .

At the beginning of the 20th century, attempts were made to develop standards in accordance with which works of the detective genre would be created. So, in 1928 English writer Willard Hattington published his collection literary rules, calling it “20 Rules for detective writers».

Among modern researchers the detectives should be named A. Adamov, G. Andzhaparidze, N. Berkovsky, V. Rudnev, A. Vulis. Their works trace the history of the genre, analyze its poetics, and explore artistic parallels in the works of different authors.

Detective according to V. Rudnev is “a genre specific to mass literature and cinema of the twentieth century." Rudnev explains the peculiarity of the detective genre by the fact that “ main element as a genre lies in the presence of a protagonist - a detective detective (usually a private one) who detects a crime. The main content of the detective story is, therefore, the search for truth.

Let's look again at the definition of genre:

DETECTIVE (Latin detectio – disclosure of English detective – detective) – piece of art, the plot of which is based on the conflict between good and evil, realized in solving a crime.

It turns out that the educational and psychological aspects come to the fore in a detective story: a detective story must show the triumph of good, the inevitability of punishment for evil, and it also makes it possible to reveal the nature of the crime. How does a person become inclined to commit a crime? How does this happen: is the environment to blame for everything or does he tend to do it himself?

The detective shows a person in a rare situation - during a personal or social drama. Detective is an intense struggle, be it an intellectual battle, interrogation, chase, shooting or hand-to-hand combat.

The Weiner brothers noted that a prerequisite for a detective is sociality. And since the subject of the detective story is crime, he “takes a slice of life in which explosive forces have accumulated, in which the “negative aspects” have broken through the social foundations of morality and legality. It is detective writers who resolutely and mercilessly expose the ulcers and festerings of society.”

Charles P. Snow wrote that detective literature is a sign of civilization and the investigation of crime is a symbol of everything positive that is in modern world, romance in in every sense words. This property of a detective is especially valuable now, at a time of acute shortage of true romance, a dangerous fight against evil, its exposure and punishment.

Speaking about the detective story, one cannot ignore the writer who revolutionized the genre, immortalizing the classic detective story. This is, of course, Agatha Christie! She introduced the world to a new concept of prose, which proclaimed the rule of law and the triumph of reason, protecting society as a whole and individuals in particular against the threat of someone encroaching on the rights and freedoms of others. The genius Edgar Allan Poe, who founded the detective story as such, gravitated towards mysticism, and therefore did not form the “idea of Nemesis”, justice over criminals, which was later discovered in Christie; Arthur Conan Doyle made a significant contribution to the development of this genre, proposing a universal image of the hero - the legendary Sherlock Holmes, famous for his logic and determination; Issues of morality were repeatedly considered by the respected Keith Gilbert Chesterton, through his main character - Father Brown - addressing the attentive reader. But it was a woman who was destined to lead the victorious march of the detective, who in the 1920s and 1930s became a confident representative of the middle class of Westerners. Making close to ideal justice and the inevitability of punishment for the criminal the leitmotif in her works, Christie did not forget about literature directly, with her piercing simplicity winning the trust of readers, heating up the intrigue to the limit and describing the everyday conflicts of good old Britain.

Analysis of Agatha Christie's work

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"

For analysis, the novel “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” was taken, recognized at one time as one of Agatha Christie’s best creations and a masterpiece of the genre.

The novel takes place in the fictional English village of Kings Abbot. The story begins with the death of Mrs. Ferrar, a wealthy widow rumored to have murdered her husband. The villagers believe that the widow committed suicide until Roger Ackroyd, a widower who was planning to marry Mrs. Ferrar, dies.

Hercule Poirot, who arrived at the scene, begins an investigation, having many suspects around - Ackroyd's relatives and acquaintances, each of whom was interested in his death. One of them, the last person to see Ackroyd alive, Dr. James Shepard, is the narrator of the story and traces Poirot's actions step by step, acting as a kind of "Dr. Watson" - the assistant and biographer of the professional detective. Here and there in the text of the novel, “keys” to the mystery are scattered - hints, reservations, details - which, with careful reading, can open your eyes to what is happening long before the denouement of the story.

The key word, which, in our opinion, forms the basis of the novel is the word “weak-willed”. It is first spoken in Chapter 17 by Dr. Shepard, and then by his sister Caroline in relation to himself.

“We started talking about Ralph Paton.

“He’s a weak-willed man,” I insisted, “but not vicious.”

A! But weakness, where does it end?

That’s right,” said Caroline, “take James, for example, as soft as water.” If I weren't there to look after him

My dear Caroline,” I said irritably, “could you please not get personal?”

“You’re weak, James,” she continued, completely unmoved by my remark, “I’m eight years older than you Oh! I don’t mind if Monsieur Poirot knows about it.”

It is weakness of will that leads to dramatic consequences: blackmail, incitement to suicide, murder of a person and betrayal of a friend for the sake of personal interests. Here's how Hercule Poirot puts it:

“Let's take a man - himself an ordinary person, who doesn’t even have thoughts of murder. But somewhere in the depths of the soul lurks a certain tendency towards weakness. Nothing affects her, and she does not express herself. Perhaps it will never manifest itself, and the person will go to his grave honest and respected by everyone. But let's say something happened. He finds himself in a difficult situation. Or not even that. He accidentally learns some secret, a secret on which someone’s life or death depends. His first instinct is to talk about it, to honestly fulfill his duty as a citizen. And then his tendency to weak will manifests itself. He sees that he can get money - big money. But he needs money, he craves it. And it's so easy. He doesn't have to do anything to get them. He just needs to be silent. This is the beginning. But the passion for money is growing. He needs more and more! He is intoxicated by the discovery of a gold mine at his feet. He becomes greedy, and in his greed he outsmarts himself.”

Who knows how many more murders could have followed if the criminal had not been stopped? The people closest to you could also come under attack.

“But what scared me most was Caroline. I thought she might guess. She spoke strangely that day about my tendency to be weak-willed.”

The most notable technique, the use of which has led to much discussion, is the use of an unreliable narrator who ends up being the murderer. In his final confession, Dr. Sheppard tries to justify himself from possible accusations of lying:

“I'm quite pleased with myself as a writer. What could be more precise, for example, the following words: “The letter was delivered at twenty minutes to nine. It remained unread when I left at ten minutes to nine. Having already grabbed the doorknob, I hesitantly stopped and looked around, wondering if I had done everything. Without thinking of anything, I went out and closed the door behind me.”

Agatha Christie's idea was that Dr. Sheppard does not hide the truth and does not lie - he simply does not say anything. In particular, he "forgets" to mention what happened between 20.40 and 20.50, when Roger Ackroyd was actually killed.

Events take on new meaning in the reader's eyes when the killer becomes known. Dr. Sheppard himself is amazed at his duplicity, the complexity of the investigation and the fact that so many people were under suspicion. On the one hand, he is overcome by the fear of exposure, on the other hand, he admires and is proud of his cunning, the fact that he can fool such a person around his finger. famous detective like Poirot!

Even after exposure, the killer does not regret what he did, the lives lost, believing that they received a well-deserved punishment and retribution. He doesn't even feel sorry for himself. He is dejected by one thing: that Hercule Poirot appeared there.

“And then what happens next? Veronal? It would be like retribution from above, something like poetic justice. I do not consider myself responsible for the death of Mrs. Ferrars. It was a direct result of her own actions. I don't feel sorry for her. I don't even have pity for myself. So let it be veronal. But it would be better if Hercule Poirot never retired and came here to grow pumpkins."

So, based on the above, we can draw the following conclusions

1. Having worked out the definition of the “detective” genre and examined the evolution of this genre, we found out that the distinctive property of the classic detective story is the inherent moral idea, or morality. Thus, in the novels of A. Christie, the matter always turns out to be the punishment of the criminal and the triumph of justice.

2. In detective stories you can catch a lot of educational and even warning; situations related to universal human vices are given. Usually, the heroes are placed in very extreme situations, which helps the author to identify hidden personality traits in apparently prosperous people.

What do we see in Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd?

Betrayal loved one for the sake of self-interest

Betrayal of a friend for personal interests

What is the result?

Easy money that doesn't bring happiness

Drive to suicide

Killing a man

Constant fear of exposure

But why, one might ask, does a person need any additional problems, because life is already full of various troubles. Being driven into a dead end, financial disadvantage and other problems gradually break a person, and soon he succumbs to vices, stooping, for example, to theft or blackmail. Then a moment of insurmountable fear comes, and as a result you have to commit another, more serious crime in order to avoid punishment for the first.

Does the person at this moment think that he is making his situation twice as difficult? Evil eats away at a person, one vice leads to another, and easy money only goes to waste, as easily as it is obtained, so easily does it go away.

In this work, the main character begins to write a novel about everything that happens. Why did you need to write about your own crime? It's all about the incredible confidence of a man who competently built an alibi for himself and hoped to send this book to Hercule Poirot as the first unsolved crime in his practice. And what didn't work out in the end?

People should not forget that any crime does not go unpunished, and if the verdict is not passed by the court, then it will be handed down by life, which is more severe and merciless.

Exploring the world, people become wiser and purer. A detective novel is also a kind of knowledge - through observation to “insight”, to the discovery of the truth. Human dramas in Agatha Christie's novels are not put in the foreground, they always remain in the depths, which is why they produce such strong impression. It’s as if in pursuit of an entertaining plot you pass by human destinies.

The materials of this study can be used when conducting extracurricular activities in literature, in lessons when studying foreign literature of the 20th century as additional material.

It's been a while since we dived into the hopeless abyss genre literature, were not reveling in the gray monotony, and then a wonderful opportunity just appeared - this week I came across an interesting classification on the Internet detective stories, which I hasten to introduce you to today. And although the detective story is one of my least favorite genres, the classification below is so elegant and laconic that it just begs to be written down. And it will be even more useful for beginners to know it.

Let me remind you once again that we are talking about a classic detective story, the plot of which is built around a mysterious murder, and the main driver of the plot is the search and identification of the criminal. So…

Classification of detective stories.

1. Fireplace detective.

This is the best thing ever traditional type detective story in which a murder occurs and there is narrow circle suspects. It is known for certain that one of the suspects is the killer. The detective must identify the criminal.

Examples: numerous stories by Hoffmann and E.A. By.

2. Complicated fireplace detective.

A variation of the previous scheme, where the same occurs murder mystery, a limited circle of suspects is outlined, but the killer turns out to be someone outside and usually completely invisible (gardener, servant or butler). In a word, minor character, which we could not even think of.

3. Suicide.

The introductory ones are the same. Throughout the entire story, the detective, suspecting everyone and everything, searches for the killer to no avail, and in the end it unexpectedly turns out that the victim simply took her own life, killing herself.

Example: Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians.

4. Gang murder.

The detective, as always, has outlined a circle of suspects and is trying to identify the criminal. But there is not just one killer among the suspects, because everyone killed the victim through joint efforts.

Example: Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express."

5. Living corpse.

There has been a murder. Everyone is looking for the criminal, but it turns out that the murder never took place, and the victim is alive.

Example: Nabokov " Authentic life Sebastian Knight."

6. The detective killed.

The crime is committed by the investigator or detective himself. Perhaps for reasons of justice, or perhaps because he is a maniac. By the way, it violates commandment No. 7 of the famous ones.

Examples: Agatha Christie “The Mousetrap”, “Curtain”.

7. Killed by the author.

The introductory ones are practically no different from the above-mentioned variations, however, the scheme implies that the main character should be the author of the story. And in the finale it suddenly turns out that he was the one who killed the unfortunate victim. This scheme, used by Agatha Christie in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, initially caused real anger from critics, because... violated the first and main Ronald Knox's 10 Detective Commandments: « The criminal should be someone mentioned at the beginning of the novel, but it should not be a person whose train of thought the reader was allowed to follow" However, the technique was subsequently called innovative, and the novel was recognized as a true masterpiece of the genre.

Examples: A.P. Chekhov “On the Hunt”, Agatha Christie “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”.

Addition.

As a bonus, I will give three additional original schemes that have been used a few times, but clearly expand the above classification:

8. Mystical spirit.

Introduction into the narrative of some irrational mystical power(vengeful spirit), which, possessing the characters, commits murders with their hands. In my understanding, such an innovation takes the story into the related area of a fantastic (or mystical) detective story.

Example: A. Sinyavsky “Lyubimov”.

9. Killed by a reader.

Perhaps the most complex and tricky of all possible schemes, in which the writer strives to build a narrative so that in the end the reader is surprised to discover that it was he who committed the mysterious crime.

Examples: J. Priestley "Inspector Ghoulie", Kobo Abe"Ghosts Among Us"

10. Dostoevsky's detective.

The phenomenon of Dostoevsky's novel " Crime and Punishment", which undoubtedly has a detective basis, is the destruction traditional scheme detective. We already know in advance the answers to all the questions: who was killed, how and when, the name of the killer and even his motives. But then the author leads us through dark, untrodden labyrinths of awareness and comprehension of the consequences of what was done. And this is something we are not accustomed to at all: the simplest Detective story evolves into a complex philosophical and psychological drama. All in all, this is a wonderful illustration of the old saying: “ where mediocrity ends, genius just begins».

That's all for today. As always, I look forward to your feedback in the comments. See you soon!

CINEMA GENRES. DETECTIVE.

Detectiveś V(English detective, from Latin detego - I reveal, expose) - a predominantly literary and cinematic genre, the works of which describe the process of investigating a mysterious incident in order to clarify its circumstances and solve the mystery. Typically, such an incident is a crime, and the detective describes its investigation and determination of the perpetrators; in this case, the conflict is built on the clash of justice with lawlessness, ending in the victory of justice.

1 Definition

2 Features of the genre

3 Typical characters

4 Detective story

5 Twenty rules for writing detective stories

6 Ten Commandments of a Detective Novel by Ronald Knox

7 Some types of detectives

7.1 Closed detective

7.2 Psychological detective

7.3 Historical detective

7.4 Ironic detective

7.5 Fantastic detective

7.6 Political detective

7.7 Spy Detective

7.8 Police Detective

7.9 "Cool" detective

7.10 Crime detective

8 Detective in the cinema

8.1 Aphorisms about a detective

The main feature of a detective story as a genre is the presence in the work of a certain mysterious incident, the circumstances of which are unknown and must be clarified. The most frequently described incident is a crime, although there are detective stories in which events that are not criminal are investigated (for example, in The Notes of Sherlock Holmes, which certainly belongs to the detective genre, in five stories out of eighteen there are no crimes).

An essential feature of the detective story is that the actual circumstances of the incident are not communicated to the reader, at least in its entirety, until the investigation is completed. Instead, the reader is led by the author through the investigative process, given the opportunity at each stage to construct their own versions and evaluate known facts. If the work initially describes all the details of the incident, or the incident does not contain anything unusual or mysterious, then it should no longer be classified as a pure detective story, but rather among related genres (action film, police novel, etc.).

Features of the genre

Several more features of the classic detective story were collectively called by N. N. Volsky as the hyperdeterminism of the detective world (“the detective world is much more orderly than the life around us”):

The existence of a priori rules for constructing a plot, which do not always correspond to real life. So, for example, in a classic detective story, the narrator and detective, in principle, cannot turn out to be criminals.

This set of features narrows the field of possible logical constructions based on known facts, making it easier for the reader to analyze them. However, not all detective subgenres follow these rules exactly.

Another limitation is noted, which is almost always followed by a classic detective story - the inadmissibility of random errors and undetectable coincidences. For example, in real life, a witness can tell the truth, he can lie, he can be mistaken or misled, but he can also simply make an unmotivated mistake (accidentally mix up dates, amounts, names). In a detective story, the last possibility is excluded - the witness is either accurate, or lying, or his mistake has a logical justification.

Eremey Parnov points out the following features of the classic detective genre:

the reader of the detective story is invited to participate in a kind of game - solving the mystery or the name of the criminal;

“Gothic exoticism” - Starting with the infernal monkey, the founder of both genres (fiction and detective) Edgar Allan Poe, with the blue carbuncle and tropical viper of Conan Doyle, with the Indian moonstone of Wilkie Collins and ending with the secluded castles of Agatha Christie and the corpse in the boat of Charles Snow, Western the detective is incorrigibly exotic. In addition, he is pathologically committed to the Gothic novel (the medieval castle is a favorite stage on which bloody dramas are played out).

sketchiness -

Unlike science fiction a detective story is often written just for the sake of a detective story, that is, a detective! In other words, the criminal tailors his bloody activities to a detective story, just as an experienced playwright tailors roles to specific actors.

There is one exception to these rules - the so-called. "The Reversed Detective"

Typical characters

Detective - directly involved in the investigation. The most can act as a detective different people: law enforcement officers, private detectives, relatives, friends, acquaintances of the victims, sometimes completely random people. The detective cannot turn out to be a criminal. The figure of the detective is central to the detective story.

A professional detective is a law enforcement officer. He may be a very high-level expert, or he may be an ordinary police officer, of which there are many. In the second case, in difficult situations, he sometimes seeks advice from a consultant (see below).

A private detective - crime investigation is his main job, but he does not serve in the police, although he may be a retired police officer. As a rule, he is extremely highly qualified, active and energetic. Most often, a private detective becomes a central figure, and to emphasize his qualities, professional detectives can be brought into action, who constantly make mistakes, succumb to the provocations of the criminal, get on the wrong trail and suspect the innocent. The contrast “a lonely hero against a bureaucratic organization and its officials” is used, in which the sympathies of the author and the reader are on the side of the hero.

An amateur detective is the same as a private detective, with the only difference being that investigating crimes for him is not a profession, but a hobby that he turns to only from time to time. A separate subspecies of the amateur detective is a random person who has never engaged in such activities, but is forced to conduct an investigation due to urgent necessity, for example, to save an unjustly accused loved one or to divert suspicion from himself (these are the main characters of all Dick Francis's novels). The amateur detective brings the investigation closer to the reader, allowing him to create the impression that “I could figure this out too.” One of the conventions of detective series with amateur detectives (like Miss Marple) is that in real life a person, unless he is professionally involved in crime investigation, is unlikely to encounter such a number of crimes and mysterious incidents.

A criminal commits a crime, covers his tracks, tries to counteract the investigation. In a classic detective story, the figure of the criminal is clearly identified only at the end of the investigation; up to this point, the criminal can be a witness, suspect or victim. Sometimes the actions of the criminal are described during the course of the main action, but in such a way as not to reveal his identity and not to provide the reader with information that could not be obtained during the investigation from other sources.

The victim is the one against whom the crime is directed or the one who suffered as a result of a mysterious incident. One of the standard options for a detective story is that the victim himself turns out to be a criminal.

A witness is a person who has any information about the subject of the investigation. The criminal is often first shown in the description of the investigation as one of the witnesses.

A detective's companion is a person who is constantly in contact with the detective, participating in the investigation, but does not have the abilities and knowledge of the detective. He can provide technical assistance in the investigation, but his main task is to more clearly show the outstanding abilities of the detective against the background of the average level ordinary person. In addition, a companion is needed to ask the detective questions and listen to his explanations, giving the reader the opportunity to follow the detective's train of thought and pay attention to individual moments which the reader himself might miss. Classic examples of such companions are Dr. Watson from Conan Doyle and Arthur Hastings from Agatha Christie.

A consultant is a person who has strong abilities to conduct an investigation, but is not directly involved in it. In detective stories, where a separate figure of the consultant stands out, she may be the main one (for example, the journalist Ksenofontov in the detective stories of Viktor Pronin), or she may simply turn out to be an occasional adviser (for example, the teacher of the detective to whom he turns for help).

Assistant - does not conduct the investigation himself, but provides the detective and/or consultant with information that he obtains himself. For example, a forensic expert.

Suspect - as the investigation progresses, an assumption arises that it was he who committed the crime. Authors deal with suspects in different ways; one of the frequently practiced principles is “none of those immediately suspected is a real criminal,” that is, everyone who comes under suspicion turns out to be innocent, and the real criminal turns out to be the one who was not suspected of anything. . However, not all authors follow this principle. In Agatha Christie's detective stories, for example, Miss Marple repeatedly says that “in life, it is usually the one who is suspected first that is the criminal.”

Detective story

The first works of the detective genre are usually considered to be the stories of Edgar Poe, written in the 1840s, but elements of the detective story have been used by many authors before. For example, in the novel “The Adventures of Caleb Williams” (1794) by William Godwin (1756-1836) one of central characters- amateur detective. The “Notes” of E. Vidocq, published in 1828, also had a great influence on the development of detective literature. However, it was Edgar Allan Poe who created, according to Eremey Parnov, the first Great Detective - the amateur detective Dupin from the story “Murder in the Rue Morgue.” Dupin subsequently gave birth to Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown (Chesterton), Lecoq (Gaborio) and Mr. Cuff (Wilkie Collins). It was Edgar Poe who introduced into the detective story the idea of rivalry in solving a crime between a private detective and the official police, in which the private detective, as a rule, gains the upper hand.

The detective genre becomes popular in England after the release of W. Collins's novels The Woman in White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868). In the novels “The Hand of Wilder” (1869) and “Checkmate” (1871) Irish writer Ch. Le Fanu combines a detective story with a Gothic novel. The golden age of the detective story in England is considered to be the 30s - 70s. 20th century. It was at this time that classic detective novels by Agatha Christie, F. Beading and other authors were published who influenced the development of the genre as a whole.

The founder of the French detective story is E. Gaboriau, the author of a series of novels about the detective Lecoq. Stevenson imitated Gaboriau in his detective stories(especially in "The Rajah's Diamond").

Twenty rules for writing detective stories

Twenty rules for writing detective stories. It is necessary to provide the reader with equal opportunities to unravel the mysteries as the detective, for which purpose it is necessary to clearly and accurately report all incriminating traces.

2. In relation to the reader, only such tricks and deception are allowed that a criminal can use in relation to the detective.

3. Love is forbidden. The story should be a game of tag, not between lovers, but between a detective and a criminal.

4. Neither a detective nor another person professionally involved in the investigation can be a criminal.

5. Logical conclusions must lead to exposure. Accidental or unfounded confessions are not permitted.

6. A detective story cannot lack a detective who methodically searches for incriminating evidence, as a result of which he comes to a solution to the riddle.

7. The obligatory crime in a detective story is murder.

8. In the decision given secret everything must be excluded supernatural powers and circumstances.

9. There can only be one detective in the story - the reader cannot compete with three or four members of the relay team at once.

10. The criminal should be one of the most or less significant characters well known to the reader.

11. An unacceptably cheap solution in which one of the servants is the criminal.

12. Although the criminal may have an accomplice, the story should mainly be about the capture of one person.

13. Secret or criminal communities have no place in a detective story.

14. The method of committing the murder and the investigation methodology must be reasonable and justified with scientific point vision.

15. For a savvy reader, the solution should be obvious.

16. In a detective story there is no place for literary nonsense, descriptions of painstakingly developed characters, coloring the situation with the help of fiction.

17. Under no circumstances can a criminal be a professional villain.

19. The motive for the crime is always of a private nature; it cannot be an espionage action, seasoned with any international intrigues or motives of the secret services.

As Eremey Parnov writes, however,

The decade that followed the promulgation of the terms of the Van Dyne Convention finally discredited the detective story as a genre of literature. It is no coincidence that we know the detectives of previous eras well and every time we turn to their experience. But we can hardly, without looking into reference books, name the names of figures from the “Twenty Rules” clan. The modern Western detective story developed in spite of Van Dyne, refuting point after point, overcoming self-inflicted limitations. One paragraph (a detective should not be a criminal!), however, survived, although it was violated several times by the cinema. This is a reasonable prohibition, because it protects the very specificity of the detective story, its core line... modern novel we won’t see any trace of the “Rules”...

The Ten Commandments of a Detective Novel by Ronald Knox

Ronald Knox, one of the founders of the Detective Club, also proposed his own rules for writing detective stories:

I. The criminal should be someone mentioned at the beginning of the novel, but it should not be a person whose train of thought the reader was allowed to follow.

II. The action of supernatural or otherworldly forces is excluded as a matter of course.

III. The use of more than one secret room or secret passage is not permitted.

IV. It is unacceptable to use hitherto unknown poisons, as well as devices that require a long scientific explanation at the end of the book.

V. The work must not include a Chinese person.

VI. A detective should never be helped by a lucky chance; he should also not be guided by unconscious but correct intuition.

VII. A detective should not turn out to be a criminal himself.

VIII. Having come across one or another clue, the detective is obliged to immediately present it to the reader for study.

IX. The detective's stupid friend, Watson in one guise or another, should not hide any of the considerations that come to his mind; in his mental abilities he should be slightly inferior - but only slightly - to the average reader.

X. Indistinguishable twin brothers and doubles in general cannot appear in a novel unless the reader is properly prepared for this.

Some types of detectives

Closed detective

A subgenre that usually most closely follows the canons of the classic detective story. The plot is based on the investigation of a crime committed in a secluded place, where there is a strictly limited set of characters. There could be no one else in this place, so the crime could only have been committed by someone present. The investigation is conducted by someone at the scene of the crime with the help of other heroes.

This type of detective story is different in that the plot, in principle, eliminates the need to search for an unknown criminal. There are suspects, and the detective’s job is to obtain as much information as possible about the participants in the events, on the basis of which it will be possible to identify the criminal. Additional psychological tension is created by the fact that the criminal must be one of the well-known, nearby people, none of whom, usually, resemble the criminal. Sometimes in a closed-type detective story a whole series of crimes occurs (usually murders), as a result of which the number of suspects is constantly reduced. Examples of closed-type detectives:

Edgar Poe, "Murder in the Rue Morgue."

Cyril Hare, A Very English Murder.

Agatha Christie, Ten Little Indians, Murder on the Orient Express (and almost all works).

Leonid Slovin, “An additional one arrives on the second path.”

Gaston Leroux, The Secret of the Yellow Room.

Psychological detective

This type of detective story may deviate somewhat from the classical canons in terms of the requirement for stereotypical behavior and the typical psychology of the heroes. Usually a crime committed for personal reasons (envy, revenge) is investigated, and the main element of the investigation is the study of the personal characteristics of the suspects, their attachments, pain points, beliefs, prejudices, and clarification of the past. There is a school of French psychological detective.

Dickens, Charles, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor, “Crime and Punishment.”

Boileau - Narcejac, “She-Wolf”, “She Who Wasn’t There”, “Sea Gate”, “Outlining the Heart”.

Japrisot, Sebastien, "A lady with glasses and a gun in a car."

Calef, Noel, "Elevator to the Scaffold."

Ball, John, "A Stifling Night in Carolina."

Historical detective

Main article: Historical detective story

A historical work with detective intrigue. The action takes place in the past, or an ancient crime is being investigated in the present.

Eco, Umberto “The Name of the Rose”

Robert van Gulik, Judge Dee series

Agatha Christie "Death Comes at the End", "The Five Little Pigs"

John Dixon Carr "The Bride of Newgate", "Devil in Velvet", "Captain Cut-Throat"

Ellis Peters, Cadfael series

Anne Perry, Thomas Pitt, Monk series

Boileau-Narcejac "In the Enchanted Forest"

Queen, Ellery "The Unknown Manuscript of Dr. Watson"

Boris Akunin, Literary project"The Adventures of Erast Fandorin"

Leonid Yuzefovich, Literary project about detective Putilin

Alexander Bushkov, The Adventures of Alexey Bestuzhev

See also List of detective stories about pre-revolutionary Russia

Ironic detective

The detective investigation is described from a humorous point of view. Often works written in this vein parody and ridicule the cliches of a detective novel.

Agatha Christie, "Partners in Crime"

Varshavsky, Ilya, “The robbery will happen at midnight”

Kaganov, Leonid, “Major Bogdamir saves money”

Kozachinsky, Alexander, “Green Van”

Westlake, Donald, "The Cursed Emerald" (Hot Pebble), "The Bank That Gurgled"

Ioanna Khmelevskaya (most works)

Daria Dontsova (all works)

Yene Reite (all works)

Fantastic detective[edit | edit wiki text]

Main article: Fantastic detective

Works at the intersection of science fiction and detective fiction. The action can take place in the future, an alternative present or past, or in a completely fictional world.

Lem, Stanislav, “Investigation”, “Inquiry”

Russell, Eric Frank, "A Routine Job", "The Wasp"

Holm van Zaychik, cycle " Bad people No"

Kir Bulychev, cycle “Intergalactic Police” (“Intergpol”)

Isaac Asimov, cycles Lucky Starr- space ranger, detective Elijah Bailey and robot Daniel Olivo

Sergey Lukyanenko, Genome

John Brunner, The Squares of the City (English: The Squares of the City, 1965; Russian translation - 1984)

The Strugatsky brothers, Hotel "At the Dead Mountaineer"

Cook, Glenn, a series of fantasy detective stories about detective Garrett

Randall Garrett, a fantasy detective series about detective Lord Darcy

Boris Akunin "Children's book"

Kluger, Daniel, fantasy detective series “Magical Matters”

Edgar Allan Poe - Murder in the Rue Morgue

Harry Turtledove - The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

Political detective

One of the genres quite far from the classic detective story. The main intrigue is built around political events and rivalry between various political or business figures and forces. It also often happens that the main character himself is far from politics, however, while investigating a case, he comes across an obstacle to the investigation from the “powers that be” or uncovers some kind of conspiracy. A distinctive feature of a political detective story is (although not necessarily) the possible absence of completely positive characters, except for the main one. This genre infrequently found in pure form, however, may be an integral part of the work.

Agatha Christie, "The Big Four"

Boris Akunin, “State Councilor”

Levashov, Victor, “Conspiracy of Patriots”

Adam Hall, "Berlin Memorandum" (Quiller Memorandum)

Nikolai Svechin, “The Tsar Hunt”, “Demon of the Underworld”

Spy detective[edit | edit wiki text]

Based on the narrative of the activities of intelligence officers, spies and saboteurs in both military and Peaceful time on the "invisible front". In terms of stylistic boundaries, it is very close to political and conspiracy detective stories, and is often combined in the same work. The main difference between a spy detective and a political detective is that in a political detective the most important position is occupied by the political basis of the case under investigation and antagonistic conflicts, while in a spy detective the attention is focused on intelligence work (surveillance, sabotage, etc.). A conspiracy detective can be considered a variety of both a spy and a political detective.

Agatha Christie, "The Cat Among the Pigeons", "The Man in the Brown Suit", "The Hours", "Baghdad Meetings" (and most of the works).

John Le Carré, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

John Boynton Priestley, The Darkness of Gretley (1942)

James Grady, "Six Days of the Condor"

Boris Akunin, "Turkish Gambit"

Dmitry Medvedev, “It was near Rovno”

Nikolay Daleky, “The Practice of Sergei Rubtsov”

Ian Fleming, series of novels about "James Bond"

also: "spy action"

Police detective

Describes the work of a team of professionals. In works of this type, the main detective character is either absent or only marginally higher in importance compared to the rest of the team. In terms of the authenticity of the plot, it is closest to reality and, accordingly, deviates to the greatest extent from the canons of the pure detective genre (the professional routine is described in detail with details not directly related to the plot, there is a significant proportion of accidents and coincidences, the presence of informants in criminal and near-criminal environment, the offender often remains unnamed and unknown until the very end of the investigation, and can also evade punishment due to negligence of the investigation or lack of direct evidence).

Ed McBain, "87th Precinct" series

Schowall and Vale, a series of novels about employees of the homicide department led by Martin Beck

Yulian Semyonov, “Petrovka, 38”, “Ogareva, 6”

Kivinov, Andrey Vladimirovich, “Nightmare on Stachek Street” and subsequent works.

Emile Gaboriau, cycle about Lecoq

« Cool" detective

Most often it is described as a lone detective, a man of about thirty-five to forty years old, or a small detective agency. In works of this type, the main character confronts almost the entire world: organized crime, corrupt politicians, corrupt police. Main features - maximum action of the hero, his “coolness”, vile the world and the honesty of the protagonist. The best samples The genre is psychological and contains signs of serious literature - for example, the works of Raymond Chandler.

Dashiell Hammett's series about the Continental Detective Agency, "Bloody Harvest" is considered the founder of the genre.

Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, The High Window, The Woman in the Lake.

Ross Macdonald - many works.

Chester Haymes, Run, Negro, Run.

Crime detective[edit | edit wiki text]

Events are described from the point of view of the criminal, and not from the people looking for him. Classic example: Jim Thompson's "The Killer in Me"