The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 21, 1994, Page 9, Image 9
Murdero
MARC LaFOUNTAIN Staff Writer
Professor Carol McGinnis Kay loves a good murder.
In fact, Kay loves murder so much she's teaching
an entire class about it. The murder, of course,
is fictional, and the class is English 429E, American
Detective Fiction.
Kay said ifs important for scholars to study classical
works, but she thinks novels from today's popular
authors are also worth examining in the classroom.
"There are people in the academic world who
would say what we call liigh culture' is the most
i i.i_: * ? x- - x._ J. ? i i uv ii i
mipui uuil tiling iui us to stuay, sne saia. 1 tmriK
it is also very important to look at what a lot of people
like. If we say it's not important because so many
people like it that it can't be good, I think we are
saying dreadful things about what we think about
people."
Kay said William Shakespeare's plays are considered
classical today but were seen only as popular
fiction during his time. She said Shakespeare
is an example of how popular fiction can be worth
study, and detective fiction is nothing if not popular.
Agatha Christie, the author of mysteries feat
turing characters such as Miss Marple and Hercule
Poirot, has become the best-selling author in
history. Her novels have outsold Shakespeare and
the Bible.
Judy Thomason, owner of Volume I bookstore,
said mystery/suspense novels are the most popular
type of fiction in her store.
"That is probably because a lot of the people who
work in this store like those types of stories and direct
people there when they ask what books are
good to read," she said. "In bigger cities, you find
large bookstores dedicated to mysteries. Science fic
tion is the only other type of novel you would find
an entire bookstore for.
"Mysteries probably appeal to me because I still
have the Nancy Drew syndrome. I read mysteries
as a child, and I still like that kind of fiction. I also
like the adventure. I can project myself into adventures
I do not think I would do in real life."
This is the first time Kay has taught American
Detective Fiction, which examines the works of fe,0
male detective novelists from the beginning of the
genre to the present. In her class, she classifies detective
fiction into three basic sub-genres.
First are the "Golden Age" or "Fair Play" novels,
exemplified by Agatha Christie. These novels
feature an intricate plot where the reader can attempt
to solve the puzzle of whodunit as clues are
a rm r.-i j j i 1 *
untuvereu. me leaturea aeiectives are weaitfty
and, at times almost omniscient, making deductions
from seemingly unrelated clues to reveal the
identity of the killer. Intellectual prowess, not physical
strength, is the way crimes are solved.
The second area is the "Hard-boiled" detective
novel. Raymond Chandler and his fictional private
investigator Philip Marlowe are often said to represent
this area best. Hard-boiled detectives lack
the omniscient abilities of their "Golden Age" coun- 1
terparts. Hiey also tend to be much more physical,
often getting into gun fights and car chases.
The third area is one Kay refers to as the "con- j
ft temporary" mystery novel. Almost all of the authors [
are women, manv of whom started writincr data*. j
five fiction after a divorce. In addition to the search 1
_ /7ft
(J Cusl
eI v I 1 s|
usly goo<
deal with a social issue.
els don't fit into any of
could say is that they are ^pP
issues, and the fact that ||||P^ J
it is a mystery novel is pr M
simnlv a wav to deal with i -fflgMffiBSr
u, ' i-" i iiiiiiiiflMir
the social issue.
"Judith Van Gieson's
heroines always get in- :f;!;|f
volved in fighting environmental
terrorists. Barbara
D'Amato's novels :#'&
issue. Hard Women' is M
one before that was Hard ; .... /W
male detective novelists.
She has formed a book ' ' Mk
dub which meets at 7:30
pm. on the first Tuesday of every month at Volum
I. The group reads a work by a female mystery at
thor and discusses it. Kay, a member of the grouj
said they are awarding "daggers" to the novels the
read. A five-dagger book might be murderously goo
reading, while a one-dagger might be, well, mui
der to read.
Kay isn't the only professor at USC who deal
in death. Professor Matthew Bruccoli is team-teach
ing an honors section of English 102 on Americar
Detective Fiction with an unusual slant. Along with
computer science professor Robert Oakman, Bruc
coli is helping students to create a multi-media com
puter presentation of chapters from the works ol
Raymond Chandler.
Each student takes one chapter and creates -"hypertext
links" for it on CD-ROM. For instance, il
the character Philin Marlowe is enterincr a Hi-iild.
ing in San Francisco, viewers can see a picture ol
that building just by clicking on the appropriate
link in the text. The CDs will be available for public
viewing after they are complete.
Bruccoli said he enjoys writers like Chandler
not for their mystery plots, but for their ability tc
portray people and locations.
"Presumably, a lot of readers of detective fiction
read them for the puzzle. I don't. I don't care whodunit,"
he said. "What Fm interested in is the sense
of place, the sense of character that the best detective
fiction develnns
"I am interested also in the Americanness of
hard-boiled detective writing. It was developed in
America, it flourished in America, and nobody else
is very good at it. The Brits try very hard. They
can't get it right."
A different kind of mystery has been done well
by the British, according to music professor G.B.
Lane. Lane is a lover of Arthur Conan Doyle's novels,
featuring the famous Sherlock Holmes. In
Holmes, Doyle created the model for the omniscient,
rational detective. Doyle's work spawned numermm
mmmm,
y13
i
Be an original with ^
ADD AM'S
OOKSTOK
NEW
torn Greek Clothing She
Quick Service - 4 days or less.
You decide what vnn want
Use your materials/clothes or use 01
for all your sewn on lettering.
No hassles or long waits.
. Available 7 days a week.
iBg&g
PHONE: 256 - 6666
i reading
Wljk
:^B
^^HBB ^Bi:j:j:j:;. ^
nn >
Ethan Myerson GAMECOCK GRAPHICS
e ous imitators and was a precursor to the "Golden
l" Age" of detective fiction.
Lane was one of the people who, in 1977, helped
3 revive an organization called the Hansom Wheels
- in Columbia. Hie group's name is taken from the
horse-drawn cabs of the Victorian era. They are an
8 off-shoot of an organization first founded in New
l" York.
l
, "There are groups like this all over the country,"
. Lane said. "The Baker Street Irregulars got start
ed back in the 1930s in New York. A few people got
^ together, a lot of them were mystery writers, and
they started a drinking society. Then they got inf
terested in studying Sherlock Holmes and began
to meet every year. As the numbers grew, people
' left the city and began to spread it."
The Hansom Wheels meet once a month for a
dinnef. They present papers and plays, which are
. usually parodies of Holmes and the Victorian era.
i The group also studies Doyle's work, referring to it v.
as the "canon" since they see it as a standard and |
important part of detective fiction. ?
In her study of detective fiction, Kay has concluded
that no one work stands apart from all others
as being the best. She said detective novels are \
entertaining but few approach the level of being
great literature. |
"I have sensed with the class a real desire to *
?v
know that they are reading the King Lear* of mys- |
tery novels" she said. "There is no King Lear' of f
mystery novels. There are 50 novels I like a lot, |
but I refer to them as disposable literature?Kleenex
in the literary world. You read one and then grab |
another one."
MM
- ! I
>pl!l I 11|
I CHTTJ $ REG SIZE 1/8 LB 1
I T,V.giLl l r,Hiunnr. a
PI i-?U IVVTHiIX 0 WITH MUSTARD, CHILI ? :
WITH MUSTARD, CHILI it AND ONIONS *
AND ONIONS REG. $1.59 It
I REG. $1.89 J| ;;
990 | 990 ||
Limit 1 per coupon || Limit 1 per coupon
add slaw 10(J p add slaw or kraut 10ti g
J 1 2 ^PPED
| LUW r/\l l:;:j
Chicken | Yogurt 1
i Gumbo | \ ywuIevkral: 0f |1
Sill ^ J* FLAVORS - TASTES LIKE 1
? oOUP 9 1CK CREAM...REALLY! |
kiddie dip i
i ^990 |:reg$119 j
!. ! Limit 1 If Linlitl 99 i
SmMAeBsSaftAAaaAaaAAAflAflJHAaflMnKMHnHAtflkAriMMMMMBaMJf
: SUPER : SUPER I
CHILI DOG ;i KRAUT DOG i
I 1/4 POUNDER i i W E EEEEFI
kg- mini lyiuoinjw, l?
H ANY BEEF WITH || SECRET RECIPE CHILI I
II DELIO^SSECRIT I ONIONS AND MOUNDS J
H CHILI RECIPE ? OF KRAUT! |
I $1.59 | ^ $1.59 I
Limit 2 per coupon M .
||| add slaw 10<? add cheese 200 ||p Limit^z per coupon j|;
?, ^^fc^a/Saves| -~^A^fe./Save \]
I PfP^SlPwl
SMALL SIZE I S?pr,L
CREAM | |
i cfJSS I
> fud^^strawberry| ii ptnf.apptp op hot te
j UKFINEAFFLE || FUDGE~6AKE* ^ |J
ir?5? $1.59 |s $1,591
$8? H? ' ?
T i in if" 1 l-iv
i jj
! /Savell ? ? ,a&,..?i,
1 ?pliv50mi hpw $2.691
? Save {.:
i Chicken i v^f
I Salad IBar-B-Que i
i Sandwich | Pork i
$ WITH LETTUCE, # O 4 *
% MAYONNAISE & PICKLE $ sandwich !
| ON A BUN # EXTRA LEAN! 1
i RF.G m -I AA I i
i ?? $i.yyi si.99
1 i* #i|
I Limit 1 || Limit 1 |f|
%-m, J fT -.rn mm ?,' ? ?, m ^ ^ ^ ^ m tgl:
! ICE CREAM J DELI ll
SUNDAE l| Q A TSTT-VTlTTpTT t!
! MADE WITH GOURMET ji JJ VV l^rl ||
. OR REGULAR ICE || 95% FAT FREE
? CREAM CHOCOLATE, #1 OSCAR MAYER MEATS f
STRAWBERRY OR # ?
! PINEAPPLfe I!
MED SIZE - 14 oz Jj REG. (tj "I QQ J
! REG. (tj -| AA |I $269 tpJ-.i/c/ |j
i $2.69 tpi.yy ji a
' #
1 Limit 1 ip Limit 1 per coupon ||:|
1 # i|$
? mmm.m