Research Links: Detective Fiction
Introduction to crime fiction as a genre
- An overview of Classic Crime Fiction, this article begins with Edgar Allen Poe, moves on to Sherlock Holmes, then explains the difference between "Golden Age" and "Hard Boiled" genres (with a Hard Boiled slang dictionary for good measure).
- Although this Wikipedia article calls Sherlock Holmes the "most famous of all fictional detectives," it barely mentions him in this detailed listing of fictional detectives through the ages.
- Victorian Detective Fiction is reviewed as part of the larger British crimeculture.com website.
- Gareth Watkins reviews Crimes of Conscience: Morality and Justice in Doyle and Christie, also on crimeculture.com
- MysteryNet: "The place for mysteries since 1995" features free online mysteries, mystery games and resources on mystery books, TV and movies.
Lesson Plans
The Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute has developed a unit for grades 3-6 based on the principle that "detective fiction and the whole concept of solving mysteries can be a powerful tool in getting elementary students interested in reading."
Crimeculture.com seeks to be a site with "something to offer anyone teaching or studying crime fiction, film and graphic art." University level course outlines are shown for several genres and all the courses include readings from Sherlock Holmes.