The Rise of the Detective in Early Nineteenth-Century Popular Fiction

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Introduction

   • Heather Worthington

   Pages 1-5

3. Criminal Narratives: Textualising Crime

   • Heather Worthington

   Pages 6-45

4. Making the Case for the Professionals

   • Heather Worthington

   Pages 46-102

5. A Conspicuous Constabulary: or, Why Policemen Wear Tall Helmets

   • Heather Worthington

   Pages 103-169

6. Conclusion

   • Heather Worthington

   Pages 170-173

7. Back Matter

   Pages 174-203

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Detection existed in fiction long before Poe and Doyle. Its real origins lurk in the popular press of the early Nineteenth century, where the detective and the case were steadily developed. The well-known masters of early crime fiction, including Collins and Dickens, drew on this material, found in texts that have rarely been reprinted or even discussed. In this revealing book, Heather Worthington combines scholarly and archival study with theoretically informed analysis to unearth the foundations of detective fiction. This is essential reading for those researching in, studying, or just fascinated by crime fiction.

• Charles Dickens
• detective fiction
• English literature
• fiction
• British and Irish Literature

• Cardiff University, UK

  Heather Worthington

HEATHER WORTHINGTON is a lecturer in English Literature at Cardiff University, where she teaches Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century Crime Fiction and Children's literature. Previous publications include essays on G.K. Chesterton, T.H. White and Edward Bulwer Lytton; work in hand includes a monograph on crime fiction from 1850-1900.

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