From the sleeve of the 1989 edition by Oxford University Press:
What is it that has always made the detective such a popular figure in fiction? Why are we invariably seduced by the search to discover 'whodunit'? And how far back does this fascination go?
T. J. Binyon follows the trail of the detective in fiction from Edgar Allan Foe's Chevalier Dupin to the present day; yet this book is a history not of a type of fiction, but of a type of character: the fictional detective in all his guises, ranging from brilliant, eccentric amateur to plodding, imperceptive policeman. This unusual approach reflects two unusual aspects of the genre: not only did it grow out of the character, rather than vice versa, but also the characters — such as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot — have frequently overshadowed their authors.
For anyone who has ever been gripped by a good crime novel and wants to investigate further, or for those who have never tried but are tempted, this will be an indispensable guide to who did what to whom, and how.
CONTENTS:
1 In the Beginning: Dupin and Lecoq
2 The Professional Amateur
Sherlock Holmes and the Magazine Short Story
Holmes's First Successors
Dr Thorndyke
Law
Medicine
Journalism
Insurance
Accountancy
The Schism of the 1920s
The Private Detective: 1920 to the Present
The Private Eye from Williams to Warshawski
Misfits
3 The Amateur Amateur
The Amateur Predicament
Academics
Philip Trent
Priests, Missionaries, and Rabbis
The Theatre
Husbands and Wives
Finance
Miscellaneous Female Amateurs
Miscellaneous Male Amateurs
4 The Police
Inspector French
Younger Policemen
More Cultured Policemen
Peripheral Policemen
The Amateur Professional
Foreign Policemen
The Police Procedural
Other American Policemen
Other British Policemen
Provincial Policemen
5 A Few Oddities
Comedy
History
Crooks and Villains
Gentleman-burglars and Robin Hoods
6 Conclusion
Further Reading
Bibliography
Index