Victorian Detective Fiction and the Nature of Evidence: The Scientific Investigations of Poe, Dickens, and Doyle

by Lawrence D. Frank

Frank investigates an intertextual exchange between nineteenth-century historical disciplines (philology, cosmology, geology archaeology and evolutionary biology) and the detective fictions of Poe, Dickens, and Doyle. In responding to the writings of figures like Lyell, Darwin and E.B. Taylor, detective fiction initiated a transition from scriptural literalism and a prevailing Natural Theology to a naturalistic, secular worldview. In the process, detective fiction sceptically examined both the evidence such disciplines used and their narrative rendering of the world.

Genres: Literature, History

261 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2003

Reviews

[Irene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very tedious writing style.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, although be warned, this is pretty heavy at times. Frank connects three of the biggest mystery writers of the nineteenth century - Poe, Dickens, and Doyle - and links them to contemporary developments in the sciences. We begin with explorations of the nature of investigation in THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE and THE GOLD-BUG before moving to an analysis of BLEAK HOUSE and EDWIN DROOD and finally an extensive look at THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES in relation to the works of Darwin. The evocation of the era's interest in the newfound nebular hypothesis and other crucial scientific and philosophical developments and their links to the aforementioned tales is a unique one, and Frank has here created a work of depth and insight.