A Counter-History of Crime Fiction: Supernatural, Gothic, Sensational

A Counter-History of Crime Fiction takes a new look at the evolution of crime fiction, drawing on material from the Middle Ages up to the early Twentieth century, when the genre was theoretically defined as detective fiction. Considering 'criminography' as a system of inter-related, even incestuous, sub-genres, Maurizio Ascari explores the connections between modes of literature such as revenge tragedies and providential fictions, the gothic and the ghost story, urban mysteries and anarchist fiction, while taking into account the influence of pseudo-sciences such as mesmerism and criminal anthropology.

Author: Maurizio Ascari
Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
Published: 09/05/2007
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.68lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.55d
ISBN: 9780230594623

About the Author
MAURIZIO ASCARI is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Bologna, Italy. His publications include books and essays on crime fiction, anarchist fiction, the formation of the literary canon and travel writing.