Read Todorov’s chapter on ‘The Typology of Detective Fiction’ and using this distinction between ‘the story of the crime and the story of the investigation’ analyse the narrative strategies which are at work in any two of the books studied.

Crime Fiction since 1920

Assignment Question:

In classic crime fiction, argues Tzvetan Todorov, there are ‘not one but two stories: the story of the crime and the story of the investigation’. Read Todorov’s chapter on ‘The Typology of Detective Fiction’ and using this distinction between ‘the story of the crime and the story of the investigation’ analyse the narrative strategies which are at work in any two of the books studied.

Two books to write on:
– Agatha Christie, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (1934)
– Kate Atkinson, ‘Case Histories’ (2004)