Re:Father Knox’s decalogue: the ten rules of Golden Age dete...
by the_af on Wednesday December 01, 2021 @09:02PM
(#29411641)
> Surprised there is no mention of Dashiell Hammett, a contemporary of Christie's. He wrote The Maltese Falcon in 1930, introducing the world to Sam Spade
I think it's because Dashiell Hammett wrote in a different genre. Rather than detective fiction, he wrote in the hardboiled or noir style, totally unlike Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle or other authors of what we associate with "detective/whodunnit fiction". His stories are not that much about the mystery (contrast them with Christie's, which are all about the mystery, and without which they would not be interesting to read), but about the rough and cynical detective making a living in an uncaring world, where corruption rules and the law is similarly dirty and suspect. Also they smoke a lot and wear hats!
I think it's because Dashiell Hammett wrote in a different genre. Rather than detective fiction, he wrote in the hardboiled or noir style, totally unlike Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle or other authors of what we associate with "detective/whodunnit fiction". His stories are not that much about the mystery (contrast them with Christie's, which are all about the mystery, and without which they would not be interesting to read), but about the rough and cynical detective making a living in an uncaring world, where corruption rules and the law is similarly dirty and suspect. Also they smoke a lot and wear hats!