The History of Mystery

by Max Allan Collins

Footprints, a smoking revolver, broken glass . . . Whodunit? Get to the bottom of things with Max Allan Collins, who puts the enigmatic, endlessly fascinating world of the mystery genre under the magnifying glass in "The History of Mystery." Collins tracks the modern detective story from its birth in Allan Pinkerton's Memoirs to its fullest flowering in the fiction of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Ross MacDonald. En route, Collins explores the rich narrative and visual history of detective comics and the legacy of mystery in radio, television, and film noir. Arguably the most comprehensive survey ever published, "The History of Mystery" is sure to please the most discriminating sleuth.

Genres: Mystery, History, Reference, Crime, Art, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

How many of us would have fun choosing our favorite “private eyes” and then putting a book together with some of the cover art that accompanied these sleuths? Collins has done just that. You remember Max Allen Collins? Author of the Nathan Heller and Quarry series; co-author of “hard-boiled” crime novels with Mickey Spillane; and, author of The Road to Perdition that also won an Oscar for Best Picture (and he did the screenplay)?

Collins notes in his introduction: “Our focus here is strictly on sleuths. No cops, only crooks who also solve crimes, and very few one-shot mysteries. I have chosen (in addition) ten authors to showcase, whom I consider to be the prime movers and shakers of the genre….Neither have I attempted to gather the most significant, the rarest book covers and movie posters, etc., for what is, in part, a picture book….I have leaned toward images that I found, well fun.”

Yes, there is a good deal of description and opinion. Yes, there are many early pulp covers and paperback art from the post-WW II and Korean War period.

Though not the primary focus, movies, radio and television are also acknowledged. Collins provides his “Ten Best Private Eye TV Series” in addition to his “Twenty-five Classic Private Eye Novels.”

I guess I will be going back to this book until somebody plugs me or I stumble into the “big sleep.” However, its size (about a foot square) and weight make it a risk for reading in bed, ‘nuff said.

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. Can you give 6? If that was possible, Collins deserves it. Anyone interested in the history of mystery can be assured, this is for you. It's not the deepest analysis, rather a wonderfully presented and graphically beautiful look at our favourite genre. You will love the colour illustrations. The author puts the world of crime detection under the magnifying glass and tracks it from the 19th century with Vidocq and Poe. He makes the point that the professionalization of police forces, in Europe and America at that time, had much to do with the popularization of mystery writing. He has special chapters on Doyle, Hammett, Gardner, Christie, Queen, Chandler, and Spillane and explains how each contributed to what we see in the 21st century. The Dimes and Pulps remain fascinating to me; there are full-colour illustrations of dozens of them. Most have faded into obscurity! TV spin-offs, crime comics, lists of the author's favourites, it's all here. But a PS: despite the "6" you will find a few detail mistakes; Miles Burton indexed as Mike Burton for example. As I put together my "Basic Mystery and Thriller Compilation," this book was helpful. (January 2019)

[Sally Sugarman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well illustrated look at the evolution of the mystery novel from its beginnings in the dime novel to the richly varied genre it has become. As a mystery writer himself Collins appreciates the contributions of the various writers and the different forms that the mystery has taken in magazine, book, film and television. He provides a social context for the changes that occur in the writing styles and in the concept of the detectives, moving from the amateur to the professional. He notes the influence of the pulps and the way the lawman moved from the westerns of the dime novels to the urban detectives in books. The history includes all of the usual figures such as Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle, but he also notes the impact of Allan Pinkerton among others. Collins pays tribute to the outstanding figures such as Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ellery Queen and Mickey Spillane among others. He looks briefly at children’s mysteries. There are lists of outstanding categories of mysteries. However, it is the profusion of illustrations that makes this a fascinating account over which to pore. The images of magazines, paperbacks and movie posters powerfully convey the genre’s history and how it was sold to its readers and viewers.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Public library copy.
While the author notes it's not the definitive book on mystery nor its writers, it does a great job showcasing many of the best who's-who in the genre and among different media like pulp books, comics books, and old time radio.
I discovered that there existed a Jeff Goldblum PI show early on in his career. I was a bit puzzled how Winess of the Prosecution was left out on Agatha Christie's finer movie adaptions.

[David Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max Alan Collins is a great read as a fiction writer, but this coffee table book focusing on artwork from pulp detective fiction covers is simply astounding! If you're into any kind of gumshoe genres, you owe it to yourself to own this superb overview and choice, rare color reproductions. The layout and publication is also terrific!

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you pick-up this book to read a history of mystery books and authors, which is how it bills itself, you will be disappointed. Think of this as a museum show with book covers and some author pictures reproduced in a size too small to be rewarding with a placard giving a paragraph about the books and writers. That is what this book is really like. It is too superficial to be satisfying and the images too small to be fully enjoyed. Somehow, though, the limited way that both can be enjoyed is enjoyment enough to give the book a marginal recommendation. It should have been so much more, but there is enough fun here to give it the small amount of time that it takes to read and look at it. Do not pay full price. It ain’t that much fun.

[Larry]

Reference

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm learning a lot about the connections between genres of literature at this point. I think that is fascinating because it offers insight into things that maybe didn't make as much sense before.

[Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Edgar Allan Poe to Janet Evanovich and Walter Mosley.... this is quite the "history of mysteries'...
Fully illustrated with cover art that features some of the best mysteries ever in print Collins includes more than just the books but also the radio shows and of course the Television Series as well as some movies. It's all here.
There are also individual chapters of some of the best of the best in mystery: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Erle Stanley Gardner and Mickey Spillane.
Along with the text the illustrations featuring the books is priceless.
A must for ant fan of mysteries.

[Wes LeVo Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books! The book’s art only is worth the price of admission. Partnered with the excellent writing and dogged research of the author you have a masterpiece in your hands. I encourage every mystery fan to read this book. It will enrich you.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read as part of my effort to clear the shelf of unread coffee table books. I enjoyed many of the pictures. I found the history uneven. Obscure works that are favorite of the author get column inches of praise, while works that were more popular and more important were often given short shrift based on the author's critical view of said works.