Murder in Retrospect: A Selective Guide to Historical Mystery Fiction

by Michael Burgess, Jill H. Vassilakos

Overview

The pleasures of mystery novels and historical fiction double when the two genres meet in a single book. This detailed guide is the first to document and describe the diverse writings in the growing body of historical mystery literature. Organized alphabetically by author name and series title, the guide covers the works of approximately 70 authors, and contains descriptions of more than 700 works with crime themes (whether strictly in the mystery genre or a mainstream literary novel). For those who want to read historical mysteries in sequence, this is an essential guide; and for those seeking background information on historical mysteries to guide their reading or collection development choices, this book offers a level of detail that facilitates selection.

The pleasures of mystery novels and historical fiction double when the two genres meet in a single book. This detailed guide is the first to document and describe the diverse writings in the growing body of historical mystery literature. Its focus is on the best, most representative, most current and easily accessible publications, with an emphasis on series novels. Most have been released in the past decade, with select classic historical mysteries (e.g., Christie's Death Comes as the End, 1945) also cited. Organized alphabetically by author name and series title, the guide covers the works of approximately 70 authors, and contains descriptions of more than 700 works with crime themes (whether strictly in the mystery genre or a mainstream literary novel). For those who want to read historical mysteries in sequence, this is an essential guide; and for those seeking background information on historical mysteries to guide their reading or collection development choices, this book offers a level of detail that facilitates selection.

Each series entry names the scene of the crime; identifies the detective and his or her chief associates; notes the series premise; comments on characteristics, features, and overall series quality; and discusses the critical response. Individual series titles (The Cases) are then listed and described in series (or chronological) order. Additional access to titles is provided through detailed indexes: author, title (series and individual), characters, and settings (time and place). Academic, public, and high school librarians will welcome this guide as a valuable reference, readers' advisory, and collection development tool.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591580874
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/2005
Edition description:	ANN
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

MICHAEL BURGESS is Head of Collection Development at California State University, San Bernardino, and a professional writer and editor. He has written and edited hundreds of books and thousands of articles, many in the areas of literature and popular reading interests. He received his M.S. in L.S. from the University of Southern California in 1970. Then joined the faculty of California State College (later University), San Bernardino, where he has abided ever since. He achieved tenure in 1975, and was promoted in 1978, 1981, and 1984. He currently serves as Head of Collection Development in the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB. Burgess published his first book, his undergraduate honor's thesis, in 1970

s ninety-third monograph was issued in 2002. Many of these works have appeared under his professional pseudonym, Robert Reginald.

JILL H. VASSILAKOSis Head of Technical Services and Government Documents Librarian at California State University, San Bernardino.

Table of Contents

Contents\#004\#000\#008ContentsContentsIntroduction: Detecting the Past ixMurder in Retrospect 1Author Index 367Series Index 373Title Index 377Major Character Index 403Setting Index 409

Editorial Reviews

Geared toward readers and librarians, this annotated guide provides a broad overview of the historical mystery genre, defining it as a mystery in which the time period is set more than 50 years before the novel's actual composition….Each entry provides the author's name, dates of birth and death (where applicable), series name, a profile of the detective, the supporting characters, the series premise, critical commentary on the series, including whether or not the author stays true to historical facts, and an annotated listing of all the titles in the series. Short story collections are here as well. Indexed by author, title, series, character, and setting, this highly accessible resource is appropriate for readers' advisory and collection development. For all public libraries.” —Library Jourbanal

“This volume will help the reader and the readers' advisors to find historical mysteries set in specific areas, eras, and by writers who also work in the readers' selected genres….This volume was a major undertaking by the authors and it will appeal to fans of the genre and probably introduce it to new fans who like to read in an orderly fashion all there is to read by an author or about a given setting, personality or era….It is recommended for general libraries, both public and academic, especially academic libraries in institutions where creative writing, particularly in the area of historical fiction and mysteries, is taught.” —Collection Management

“The listings are invaluable to patrons and librarians who know very little about an author or series. They will help a librarian understand the appeal of particular authors and books and will be very useful in readers' advisory work….For large public libraries with a strong mystery readership, Murder in Retrospect would be a good addition to a comprehensive readers' advisory reference collection.” —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

“Intrigue with a historical twist. How fun, how delicious, and how mainstream with all the interest in The Da Vinci Code….[v]aluable to teacher-librarians who are in search of a good read-aloud for junior and senior high school students when we must capture their attention before a serious research project. In addition to the teens, all mystery-reading adults can check their favorite titles and find other delicious morsels.” —Teacher Librarian

From the Publisher