Detectionary: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Characters in Mystery Fiction

by Mill Roseman, Mill Roseman (Editor)

Lists all major characters of detective fiction, providing information on their creators, their actions, the cases they were involved in, and their destinies

Genres: Mystery, Reference, Nonfiction

374 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Jack Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. Short biographies of the leading, and not-so-leading fictional detectives in mystery stories of the previous 100 years. At least until 1977! All your favourites are here: Holmes, Poirot, Wolfe, Queen, Maigret and Mason along with some of those lost to the ages: Philo Vance, The Toff, J.G Reeder, Smiler Bunn, and others. The section titled "Rogues and Helpers" is especially fun; here you'll find Della Street, Auric Goldfinger, and Professor Moriarty. There's an interesting list of leading titles too, plus a section on detective fiction in the movies which is surprisingly long. As a bonus, almost every page has a still from one film or another. The book is one of many titles on the subject from Otto Penzler and Chris Steinbrunner. They have been prolific in expanding the public's understanding of the mystery genre. Are these works still essential in the age of the Internet and Goodreads? Not really for the average reader, but they're useful if you want to peak around the corner of time to find some of the glories of yesterday. As I put together my "Basic Mystery and Thriller Compilation," this book was helpful. (September 2018)

[tortoise dreams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambitiously called "a complete guide to mystery fiction," Detectionary is a compendium of the mystery story world at a certain time. This reference work is divided into sections with entries on "Detectives" (the famous ones and many, many you've never heard of); "Rogues & Helpers" such as Irene Adler, Bunter, Paul Drake, Archie Goodwin, Raffles, and of course Dr. Watson; "Cases" (notable novels and stories); "Movies," and an index of publications organized by author and detective. The book may be hard to find, and is somewhat dated as it seems to end around 1975, and this information can now easily be found on-line. Authors such as P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, and Chester Himes are not included, but it's fantastic for tracking down Golden Age authors. It's fun to peruse in search of authors who've been lost to the sands of time and for the editors' obvious enjoyment of the field. The "Movies" section is an excellent resource for finding films of your favorite detective that you never knew existed. Originally it was privately printed by the Hammermill Paper Company as a sample to showcase their products, but was so popular that it became an actual book. To find it you may have to search the internet or you might stumble across it at a thrift store or charity shop. It's not perfect, however, as, for example, it's missing a Josephine Tey title and the Le Carre titles end in 1963, so I assume there are other omissions. The same crew of editors and compilers later greatly improved and expanded this guide into the hefty Encyclopedia of Mystery & Detection (1976). [4★]

[Khristopher Golder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a neat collection of crime and mystery characters, alongside some real people who influenced other authors, stories, and characters