Shakespearean Allusion in Crime Fiction

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 1-16

3. Wild Justice: Mercy, Revenge and the Detective

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 17-61

4. Who Owns the Wood? Appropriating A Midsummer Night’s Dream

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 63-103

5. Border Patrol: Shakespearean Allusions and Social and National Identities

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 105-147

6. Stealing Shakespeare: Detective Fiction and Cultural Value

   • Lisa Hopkins

   Pages 149-181

7. Back Matter

   Pages 183-204

   PDF

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.

• Shakespeare
• Crime fiction
• Shakespearean allusion
• Detective fiction
• Fiction
• Contemporary fiction
• British and Irish Literature

“The book is written in agile, jargon-free prose and will make a helpful addition to the library of any scholar interested in Shakespearean adaptation and appropriation.” (SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Vol. 57 (2), 2017)

“I think this was an interesting read, covering a wide range of texts and looking at a variety of effects Shakespearean allusions can have in crime fiction. This is a work which I found very stimulating and thought provoking and Hopkins makes this an enjoyable read with her engaging and accessible writing style.” (Kate Jackson, CADS, Issue 73, August, 2016)

“This book immediately caught my interest, as I have been aware of the allusions detective fiction writers … . I think Hopkins’ does a good job of examining the effect Shakespearean allusions have on a crime text … . Overall I think this was certainly an interesting read … . on the whole this is a thought provoking book and one which definitely adds to existing research on crime fiction.” (crossexaminingcrime, crossexaminingcrime.wordpress.com, May, 2016)

“I see the book becoming – in addition to a fine read in its own right – an excellent source for scholars interested in pursuing some of the larger ideas Professor Hopkins raises, particularly those touching on how crime fiction navigates Shakespeare's cultural value. The prose is clear and fluid. A much-needed book.” (Andrew Hartley, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)

• Faculty of Development and Society, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom

  Lisa Hopkins

Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, and co-editor of Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare Society.  She has published widely on Shakespeare, Marlowe and Ford.

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