The Essential Elements of the Detective Story, 1820-1891

Until recently no one could read the stories that formed the basics of the detective story in America and made it one of the most popular kinds of fiction in the 19th century. With unprecedented access to digital collections of period newspapers and magazines, this text examines detective fiction during its formative years, focusing on crucial elements of the genre-setting, lawyers and the law, physicians and forensics, women as victims and heroes, crime and criminals, and police and detectives.