A glimpse into a blooming genre: the literate and erudite mystery.
Some authors such as Michael Innes, Amanda Cross or Josephine Tey—to cite only a few precursors—mingled their mystery novels with literary references as the investigation unravels, mingling references to a particular literary work throughout the novel (Shakespeare, Joyce, etc). In this particular case, the literary work that is evoked is an active element of detection. Sometimes, a protagonist alone is imbued with a particular culture. Inspector Morse in Colin Dexter's novels often quotes the work of Thomas Hardy. These novels are often, but not always historical. Umberto Eco and Elis Peters wrote of the middle ages. Van Gulik for China. Kai Meyer for the Republic of Weimar, featuring the Grimm Brothers who investigate the mystery of a missing manuscript: Schiller's only novel, the Ghost-Seer. Or more recently, Richard Zimler in the Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and the two Cuban authors Somoza in the Athenian Murders and Chavarria in the Eye of Cybele, two mystery novels set in ancient Greece. The authors of these novels are often scholars who turn to a popular genre.
 Two recommendations for further reading:
In the Bookman's Promise, Cliff Janeway is a former cop turned into a bibliophile investigator—a bookseller of rare first editions—who comes across a rare and unpublished manuscript of the famed nineteenth century explorer Richard Burton. The author, John Dunning, has written a captivating series.
The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman is another stunning oriental thriller, spanning centuries of historic turmoil and crossing many continents to unveil the mystery of a stolen bag containing the precious tools of a geographer.
Forthcoming highlights:
Matthew Pearl, after the acclaimed the Dante Club, turns to the work of Edgar Allan Poe and the mystery of his death in the Poe Shadow (Harvill Secker, May 2006)
A new series set in nineteenth century Istanbul, written by a scholar of Byzantine history and the Ottoman empire, will be published in June (the Janissary Tree, Faber).
 Batya Gur's final novel, Murder in Jerusalem (Harper Collins) will be published in August. Her series, featuring detective Michael Ohayon and highly praised by Amos Oz, is a worthy reading experience, delving into Israeli culture.
At last, Michael Gregorio has written a mystery set in nineteenth century Prussia, featuring Kant (Critique of Criminal Reason, Faber, July 2006) |
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