This book explores why crime fiction so often alludes to Shakespeare. It ranges widely over a variety of authors including classic golden age crime writers such as the four ‘queens of crime’ (Allingham, Christie, Marsh, Sayers), Nicholas Blake and Edmund Crispin, as well as more recent authors such as Reginald Hill, Kate Atkinson and Val Mc Dermid. It also looks at the fondness for Shakespearean allusion in a number of television crime series, most notably
Midsomer Murders,
Inspector Morse and
Lewis, and considers the special sub-genre of detective stories in which a lost Shakespeare play is found. It shows how Shakespeare facilitates discussions about what constitutes justice, what authorises the detective to track down the villain, who owns the countryside, national and social identities, and the question of how we measure cultural value.
Table of Content
Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- 1. Wild Justice: Mercy, Revenge and the Detective.- 2. Who Owns the Wood? Appropriating
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.- 3. Border Patrol: Shakespearean Allusions and Social and National Identities.- 4. Stealing Shakespeare: Detective Fiction and Cultural Value.- Conclusion.- Notes.- Bibliography.- Index.
About the author
Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, and co-editor of
Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare Society. She has published widely on Shakespeare, Marlowe and Ford.
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