MYSTERY
THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY
The earliest known example of mystery fiction appeared in One Thousand and One Nights in the story “The Three Apple.” In the tale, a fisherman discovers a locked chest in a river and sells it to the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who, after breaking it open, discovers the dead body of a woman cut into pieces. Harun orders his vizir to solve the crime in three days or be executed.
The mystery genre as we know it today began developing in the early 19th century. The genre, sometimes also known as crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery novel, or police novel, centers on criminal acts, often murder, and the investigation into who committed the crime and why. The hero is a cop, private eye, or amateur sleuth with a strong sense of justice who faces a clever villain. The author brings the reader along the journey with the detective and asks us to try to figure out the mystery ourselves and appreciate the detective’s craft and cleverness.
The evolution of mass print media in the United Kingdom and the United States is one of the many forces that led to the popularization of the mystery genre. It’s theorized that the rise of mystery genre may be tied to the rise of institutionalized police forces. Before the Industrial Revolution, many towns would have constables and, maybe, a night watchman. Naturally, they would know everyone in town and crimes committed were either solved very quickly or not at all. As people moved to cities, populations grew and the need for detectives and police forces were realized. (Excerpt courtesy of the American Writers Museum)
A GENRE BEGINS
The rapid growth of urban centers in the 19th century meant that more police were needed. This spurred the advent of professional detectives whose chief job was to investigate crimes. Although there are examples of puzzle stories that reach back through time to when some of the earliest poems or tales were written down, most people agree that the first modern ‘detective story’ is "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe. First published in the April 1841 issue of Graham’s Magazine, the short story tells the tale of an amateur detective who sets out to solve the grisly murders of a mother and daughter within a locked room of their apartment on the Rue Morgue. (read more)
THE QUEEN OF MYSTERY
Agatha Christie was an author and playwright known for books such as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, as well as characters like Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Christie published her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920 and went on to become one of the most famous writers in history with 83 books to her name (and her pseudonym, Mary Westmacott). She also became a noted playwright with The Mousetrap, which is still running today on London’s West End. Christie died in January 1976 at age 85 and remains one of the top-selling authors ever, with her combined works selling more than 2 billion copies worldwide.
The Mousetrap (1952)
Ken Ludwig admired--and was arguably inspired by--this Christie classic written for the stage. Set in the snowbound Monkswell Manor, the story begins with the brutal murder of a woman on Culver Street, accompanied by the haunting nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice." As new guests arrive at the manor, including a peculiar cast of characters, they soon find themselves trapped together due to a severe snowstorm. The atmosphere thickens as police investigate, revealing a dark connection between the guests and the murdered woman, related to a past case of child neglect. As tensions rise, a detective-like figure arrives to uncover the truth, prompting a series of revelations and accusations among the guests. The play explores themes of good versus evil, mistaken identities, and the complexities of human nature. Notably, Christie's clever plotting and suspenseful twists lead to an unexpected conclusion, making The Mousetrap a classic in the mystery genre. Its enduring popularity is further evidenced by its status as the longest-running play in the history of London's West End, inviting audiences to experience its thrilling narrative in person.
GREG'S AGATHA CHRISTIE TRIFECTA
In addition to The Mousetrap, Greg considers two other Agatha Christie stories to be among her best-- and maybe the best mysteries.
They are:
-Murder on the Orient Express
-And Then There Were None
They both started as novels but have been adapted into plays, films and even episodes of television shows many times.
AGATHA CHRISTIE & SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle played a role in a mysterious event in Agatha Christie's life, much like he was an inadvertent player in William Gillette's short time as an espionage suspect. Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1926. Doyle aided with the hunt, requesting one of Christie's gloves to aid the psychic he hired in finding her location.
A KEY TRAIT which Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle share-- "playing fair" with the audience. Their stories may be complex, but red herrings exist in the plot for a purpose. Their mysteries are not solved by something revealed for the very first time right at the end of the story.
GAME RECOGNIZES GAME
Professor and Agatha Christie scholar JAMIE BERNTHAL lectured in 2021 about the relationship between the two authors.
An excerpt:
"In the early 1920s, as Christie herself acknowledged, she thoroughly indebted to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. To quote her autobiography again: ‘I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition – eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp’, she said. But the influence went beyond this initial set-up.
We can see this in the details of the stories themselves, especially the short stories. In ‘The Third Floor Flat’, for example, people recognize Poirot from his published adventures in The Sketch, just as characters recognized Holmes from Dr Watson’s accounts of him (i.e. Doyle’s short stories) in The Strand. ‘The Veiled Lady’ is very clearly a retelling of Doyle’s ‘The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’." (read more)