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Crime Fiction: A Very Short Introduction explores the history of ‘crime fiction’ and the various definitions of the genre and considers how it has developed over time. Discussing the popularity of crime fiction worldwide and its various styles; the role that gender plays within the genre; spy fiction, legal dramas, and thrillers; it explores how the crime novel was shaped by the work of British and American authors in the 18th and 19th centuries. Highlighting the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Raymond Chandler, the role of the crime novel in modern popular culture is considered and it asks whether crime fiction can be considered serious ‘literature’. ...Less