Clues from the Couch: Psychology in Detective Fiction from Wilkie Collins to Winspear and Penny

The detective story, with its time-displacement structure of crime, is of relatively recent origin but has faced criticism for its formula-bound structure. Contemporary authors have integrated elaborate character development and psychology to keep the genre alive and evolving, reflecting and guiding literary sophistication. This book analyzes over 150 whodunit novels and short stories across decades, from The Moonstone to contemporary novels.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 30 July 2022
Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc

The detective story, a classic whodunit with its time-displacement structure of crime, has a relatively recent origin. In its early development, it faced harsh criticism for its tightly formula-bound structure, leading to predictions of its demise and even of detective fiction as a whole. However, today, the genre is alive and thriving, thanks to contemporary authors who have integrated elaborate character development and psychology into it. The modern psychological detective story has emerged from the historical cauldron of detective fiction and early psychology, and it continues to develop a complexity that reflects and guides the literary sophistication needed. This book, the first of its kind, analyzes over 150 whodunit novels and short stories across decades, from The Moonstone to contemporary novels that saved the genre from an ignominious death.

Weight: 151g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781476688374