Since their inception, detective novels have been a wildly successful genre of American fiction, featuring a uniquely American belief in rugged individualism. This historical and critical text surveys early and mid-20th century American detective novels, particularly those by John Carroll Daly, Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald, and Raymond Chandler. The book focuses on Raymond Chandler's creation of Philip Marlowe, a detective whose feeling for community and willingness to compromise radically changed the genre's vigilantism and violence. British detective fiction is also analyzed in order to highlight the unique qualities of the American genre.
- ISBN13 9780786442157
- Publish Date 10 October 2011
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
- Format Paperback
- Pages 208
- Language English