Everyone has heard the name "Sherlock Holmes," even if they haven't read a single work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or seen a film or television adaption. The famous detective has become so integrated into our culture that "No ----, Sherlock," is a commonly used insult, and "Elementary, my dear Watson," is often quoted (even though Holmes never says those four words together in any of Conan Doyle's original work). Agatha Christie is another household name and her most famous detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple captured widespread attention and sold millions of copies. Mysteries are so popular and so plentiful that they have their very own section in my public library. But do they get the respect they deserve?
Recently, I attended BookCon, a convention where authors, publishers, and readers all gathered in New York City's Javits Center. At one panel featuring YA authors Leigh Bardugo and Marissa Meyer, both women commented that the two genres that receive the most shame and disdain are romance and young adult, and they theorized the reason was at least partially the fact that a vast majority of the authors and fanbases are female. But the detective novel is a much more male-dominated genre, from the authors to the protagonists (or the cast of the characters in general), and the fanbase. This is not to say that there are not many females in any of those roles - but none of these categories is at all female-dominated. So what is it about the detective novel that makes it, as Ernst Bloch wrote, "seldom praised and often read, even by those who despise it?"
Perhaps the reason is that there seems to be a very distinct pattern and a good number of popular tropes. The detective is often an amateur who is somewhat resented by the police for his/her unwillingness to simply allow the law enforcement to handle the situation. Said detective often experiences social problems (typically some form of isolation), and has few, if any, friends. The plotline is the same - the crime, the investigation, a red herring, more investigation, and finally the revelation of "whodunit" and why and how and all the other questions that required a resolution.
But not everyone can just sit down and pen a detective novel. It's hard work to come up with a mystery that isn't immediately solvable so as to keep the reader engaged while still having relatable characters and a well-written story. The mystery novel requires so many specific details and leaves so much room for plot holes that true skill is necessary for any mystery writer. And because detective stories are so fast-paced, the authors tend to write a lot of them - meaning they must imagine hundreds of impossible crimes that can be solved in interesting and creative ways. Mystery is probably one of the harder genres to write let alone master, especially if it is how a writer makes a living.
Perhaps like romance and YA, the detective novel is typically meant as a short, sweet form of entertainment for the masses. Obviously there are many intellectual, philosophical, and inspirational works in all three genres, but the stereotype of an easy read that the public can stomach exists in all of these categories. So while everyone has heard of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, few would consider them on the same tier as literary "gods" like Tolstoy, the Brontës, or Dickens. People can argue all day about whether or not mystery writers deserve to be placed on the "classics" shelves of libraries. However, detective novels definitely do not deserve to be written off as "trash." Every genre has its good and its bad and its in-between. There is no need to judge an entire genre or its fanbase simply because society says it is poorly-written.
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