Early Detective Literature Background Questions

Early Detective Literature Name:__________________
Global Literature: Europe Unit

1. What are some reasons detective stories have appealed to readers since their start?




2. Who was the father of the detective story? What stories did he tell? What pattern did he establish?





3. What is a “Roman Policer”? What was unique about these books?




4. What were “Penny Bloods”? Why were they so popular? How are they different from detective books today?





5. What were “Railway fiction” and “Yellow Backs”? How did they get their name and how did they help popularize detective fiction?






6. Who wrote about Sherlock Holmes? Why did this particular detective become so popular?






7. In the late 1800’s, what countries were producing the most detective fiction?


8. Sherlock Holmes was very popular. What characters competed with him in the literary market? What is an “arm chair detective” and how did these authors give rise to this?





9. What is an “arch villain”? Who were some of the most famous ones and what did they do? How did detective writers use stereotypes to create these? Why do you think this was done (hint: think about when these were written)? How do you feel about this?









10. How did women enter detective fiction?




11. What was the “golden age” of detective fiction? How did it get this name?






12. What was a “hardboiled dick”? Why did they become popular?





13. How did events from the time period of detective novels affect and reflect your literary movement?