The First Great Crime Story

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 3, 4 January 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

The First Great Crime Story

By F. H. Soward

THIS year marks a centenary that will probably pass unnoticed. It will be the hundredth anniversary of the first great effort at crime fiction, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." With that long short story Edgar Allan Poe then set a standard which few have surpassed. The etory has .expanded into a novel, the methods of crime detection have become more scientific, and the sleuths a little more lifelike and likeable, but the basic pattern remains. As Conan Doyle once admitted, the. author of myetery crimes "always sees the foot-prints of Poe in front of him." Purely English , Since Poe published his masterpiece, English has remained the language of crime fiction. No Russian or German has ever made a real success in this branch of fiction while French contributions have been few and spasmodic. I Only recently hae a French writer ''■<, appeared who has attracted favourable i attention.

He ie Georges Simenon, who writes novelettes like Poe, and, in English translation, has two published in a single volume. Inspector Maigret believes that character never lies and bases hie solutions almost exclusively on the psychology of the crime. In "Maigret Goes Abroad" (Musson), you enjoy the Gallic touch in crime fiction. Scotland Yard : English writers may be divided into > three classes; those who bow the knee to Scotland Yard, those who retain the Poe-Boyle preference for a distinguished amateur, and those who write thrillers , after the faehion of Edgar Wallace. ! Chief Inspector French (Freeman i Crofts), Chief Inspector Edward Beale i (Rupert Penny), Superintendent Wilson • (The Coles), Superintendent Hanslet . (John Rhode) and Inspector Arnold • (Miles Burton) are all from the Yard, > although Hanslet would get nowhere without the eccentric scientist, Dr.

Priestley, and Arnold is saved from many a misjudgment by hie friend, Desmond Merrion. But the creators of these eleuthe have in common dogged detection, in concealment of clues, the shattering of the apparently unbreakable alibi and a certain greyness of atmosphere from which the Coles sometime escape. I have almost overlooked a recent and most promising regular sleuth, Inspector Macsporran of the Raith County constabulary, the only Scottish detective of my acquaintance. After proving his mettle in "Dagger Drawn," the good inspector tackled the mystery of "Corpse Without Boots" (Collins) in the West Highlands, and was undaunted even by the eccentricities of a Cambridge don. Lord Peter Wimsey, Hereule Poirot and Colonel Bethryn are among the distinguished ''non-Yarders," but two of these have been infrequent visitors lately. During their absence Nicholas Blake, alias Cecil Day Lewis, has invented a newcomer, who is right at the top. Nigel Strangeways, it is true, has a relative at the Ytrd, but does his own detecting.

His latest exploit is to vieit a eummer camp of a type leaping into fame just before war. "Malice in Wonderland" (Collins) explains why the "Mad Hatter" was determined to wreck the camp, but also pokes fun at mass observation and a glorious Oxford tailor. Another new sleuth is Peter Allen, special reporter for the London "Echo," who worke with Inspector Wiston. His creator Lindsay Anson has a restless and inquiring mind awl sets his mystery in an atmosphere of abnormal psychology. He's a Gentleman "I Don't Like Cats" (Collins) is a nice blend of macabre and mystery. Veterans in crime fiction will welcome back with pleasure Lynn Brock's hero, the most gentlemanly of private detectives, Colonel Gore. Hβ has been absent for years, but returns as imperturbable and kindly as ever, to help a 'brother officer out of a nasty situation. The most energetic private detective is Mick Cardby of Cardby and Son. The father was a Scotland Yard man before he retired from the force, but hie son is unorthodox in his methods. A slapdash fellow of the "Bulldog Drummond" school, he is never so happy as when defying the most horrible of the underworld. "Five Aces" and "Eternity, Here I Come" (Collins) are what Americans would call "toughies" and are typical David Hume products.