THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY The Father of Mystery
- Slides: 9
THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY
The Father of Mystery � � � Mystery stories as we know them began in the mid 1800 s. Edgar Allen Poe introduced mystery’s first detective in his story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in 1841. Poe continued these stories and became known as the father of mystery.
� � Charles Dickens also made many contributions to the beginnings of the mystery genre. His most famous mystery is “The Mystery of Edwin Drood, ” written in 1870, because the author’s death left the story unfinished. In 1878, Anna Katherine Green became the first woman to write a detective novel. She wrote “The Leavenworth Case. ”
� � � 1887 brought the most famous mystery detective: Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote “A Study in Scarlet” and began the Sherlock Holmes adventures. Conan Doyle’s writing exhibited a new style to solving mysteries by making the act of deducing clues a science.
� Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson quickly became indispensable to mystery readers everywhere.
The Golden Age � � � The 1920 s brought about many more mystery writers. The popularity of mystery fiction was at an all time high. During this time, famous mystery author Agatha Christie began her stories. She wrote more than 80 novels and is probably the most well-known mystery writer in history.
� � � Radio mysteries became popular in the early to mid 1900 s. The 1940 s brought mysteries to the television, with popular characters such as Perry Mason, Simon Templar, Columbo, and Jessica Fletcher of the “Murder, She Wrote” series. Later television mysteries included “Dragnet, ” “Hawaii 5 -O, ” and “Alfred Hitchcock. ”
Mysteries for Children � � � More mystery stories began to be written for children, including Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Encyclopedia Brown. Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine (“Goosebumps”) began writing mysteries for children. The game CLUE brought mystery to even more children.
Today � � Today, mystery continues to be an everpopular genre for both children and adults. Here are some you may recognize:
