Inverted detective story
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 10:45, 20 August 2020 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 10:46, 20 August 2020 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''''Malice Aforethought''''' (1931) is a crime novel written by [[Anthony Berkeley Cox]], using the [[pen name]] Francis Iles. It is an early and prominent example of the "[[inverted detective story]]", claimed to have been invented by [[R. Austin Freeman]] some years earlier. The murderer's identity is revealed in the first line of the novel, which gives the reader insight into the workings of his mind as his plans progress. It also contains elements of [[black comedy]], and of serious treatment of underlying tensions in a superficially respectable community. It is loosely based on the real-life case of [[Herbert Rowse Armstrong|Herbert Armstrong]], with elements of [[Hawley Harvey Crippen|Doctor Crippen]]. | ||
| - | |||
| - | == Plot summary == | ||
| - | Edmund Bickleigh, a physician with a modest rural practice, is in a loveless marriage with the domineering childless Julia, He consoles himself with young unmarried women, in particular the accommodating Ivy. In his village arrives Madeleine, a rich young woman, who succumbs to his attentions but warns she will not marry him if he divorces. Reasoning that she will however marry him if he is a widower, he cruelly starts to poison Julia. To relieve her increasing pain he gives her increasing doses of morphine, until she dies miserably. | ||
| - | |||
| - | Madeleine then rejects him, to marry a wealthy young man, while the rejected Ivy also marries a well-off lawyer. Rumours start spreading that Julia's death was not accidental, fuelled by the antagonism towards Edmund of Madeleine's husband and Ivy's husband, who both bitterly resent that he was the seducer of their wives. Attempting to stop the gossip, Edmund poisons both men and Madeleine as well, though only Madeleine's husband dies. Not unaware of the rumours and the suspicious deaths, the police investigate and Edmund is put on trial. Acquitted of murdering his unfortunate wife, a second trial convicts him for the death of Madeleine's husband and he is executed. | ||
| - | |||
| - | == Adaptations == | ||
| - | The novel has been adapted for television twice. | ||
| - | |||
| - | The first was a four-part serial by the [[BBC]] in 1979, starring [[Hywel Bennett]] as Dr. Bickleigh, [[Cheryl Campbell]] as Madeleine, and [[Judy Parfitt]] as Julia. It later aired in 1981 when it was featured in the US [[PBS]] series, ''[[Mystery!]]'', introduced by [[Vincent Price]]. | ||
| - | |||
| - | A second adaptation ''[[Malice Aforethought (film)|Malice Aforethought]]'', starring [[Ben Miller]] as Dr. Bickleigh, [[Megan Dodds]] as Madeleine, and [[Barbara Flynn]] as Julia, was produced by [[Granada Television]] and broadcast on [[ITV Network|ITV]] in 2005. It too has been shown on ''Mystery!'' in 2005. | ||
| + | An '''inverted detective story''', also known as a "'''howcatchem'''", is a [[murder]] [[mystery fiction]] structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery. There may also be subsidiary puzzles, such as why the crime was committed, and they are explained or resolved during the story. This format is the opposite of the more typical "[[whodunit]]", where all of the details of the perpetrator of the crime are not revealed until the story's climax. The first such story was [[R. Austin Freeman]]'s ''The Case of Oskar Brodski'' published in [[Pearson's Magazine]] in 1912. | ||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Caper story]], a related subgenre | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 10:46, 20 August 2020
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
An inverted detective story, also known as a "howcatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery. There may also be subsidiary puzzles, such as why the crime was committed, and they are explained or resolved during the story. This format is the opposite of the more typical "whodunit", where all of the details of the perpetrator of the crime are not revealed until the story's climax. The first such story was R. Austin Freeman's The Case of Oskar Brodski published in Pearson's Magazine in 1912.
See also
- Caper story, a related subgenre
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Inverted detective story" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
