In English and American cultures, detective fiction has a long and illustrious history. Its origins can be traced back to major developments in Anglo-American law, like the concept of circumstantial evidence and the rise of lawyers as heroic figures. Edgar Allen Poe's writings further fueled this cultural phenomenon, with the use of enigmas and conundrums in his detective stories, as well as the hunt-and-chase action of early police detective novels. Poe was only one staple of the genre, with detective fiction contributing to a thriving literary market that later influenced Arthur Conan Doyle's work. This text examines the emergence of short detective fiction in the nineteenth century, as well as the appearance of detectives in Victorian novels. It explores how the genre has captivated readers for centuries, with the chapters providing a framework for a more complete understanding of nineteenth-century detective fiction.

Until recently, only a privileged few could read the rare, early writings that formed the basis of detective fiction in America and made it one of the most popular literary genres of the 19th century. Drawing on the unprecedented access provided by digital collections of period newspapers and magazines, this book examines detective fiction during its formative years, focusing on such crucial elements as setting, lawyers and the law, physicians and forensics, women as victims and heroes, crime and criminals, and police and detectives.