A CATALOGUE OF CRIME

by Jacques & Wendell Hertig Taylor Barzun ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 1971

A staggering inventory of close to 3500 works, outstripping and of course updating the old Howard Haycraft handbook. It is a work of self-evident enjoyment. But the authors, noting the confusion which surrounds any enterprise of this sort and upholding their personal tastes, hedge themselves against protest. As for the specifics, the entries are arranged alphabetically by author in six parts: novels of detection, crime and suspense; short stories, collections and plays; studies and histories of the genre; true crime accounts; the literature of and surrounding Sherlock Holmes; and finally ghost stories and psychical research of a higher nature. Dates of publication are given along with publishers (hardcover). In many cases there is brief biographical data and pseudonyms are indicated. The catalogue will be indexed and cross-referenced along with special entries for e.g. settings (i.e. Family Large Laboratories; Bohemia, etc.). The introduction limns Messrs. Barzun & Taylor's criterion for the kind of detective story which they like best -- it must feature detecting. They also defend the genre and indicate their taste as well as emphasis in selection: endless Andrew Garves, one Mickey Spillane whose ""sex is usually lender and friendly"" even if you never really thought of it as chummy. Necessarily most of the books selected appeared before 1960. The critical annotations are favorable, unforavorable and sometimes split (""JB disliked it all""). They are kind, say, to the Toff, cool toward ira Levin's MAW-winning A Kiss Before Dying, dismissive to Sjowall and Wahloo. They can also be very funny when discussing ""Margery's (Allingham) steadfastly bad French"" or summing up a John Rhode -- ""Very little Priestley -- too many charwomen."" If you idly turn a page you'll even learn that Len Deighton did a cookbook ""Ou est le garlic?"" In fact there's no telling what any habitue-devotee might find. In their words, and they never seem to run out of new ones in a species guaranteed to deaden the vocabulary, it has been accomplished con brio and con amore and to be read with reciprocal pleasure.

Pub Date: May 19, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION