Mystery Fun Facts

Explore the history of crime writing through spotlights on the giants of the genre.

To read more, click on the images or select the topic from the Mystery 101 menu above.

Silhouettes of two men, both in overcoats and rimmed hats against a gold background

Detective Story Origins

How crooks, cops, and chemistry created an appetite for crime stories

A Poe black-and-white portrait with a dark background

Poe: Mystery Tale Pioneer

Why Edgar Allan Poe is called the father of the detective story

A white silhouette of a woman against a gold background

Mystery Fashion Fad

The 19th century suspense novel that spawned a fashion trend

Portrait of Poe next to a portrait of Jane Austen

Poe and Jane Austen

Parallels between two authors who wrote dissimilar fictions

Drawings of Poe and Lincoln, both with red ties

Poe and Abraham Lincoln

How Poe's tales inspired Lincoln to write a crime story

An antique table with books stacked on it, a raven, and a candle

Poe and Dickens

How a raven links the two authors

Film stars Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes

Holmes and Dracula

What the brilliant detective and the evil count have in common

Agatha Christie's Clues

How Christie keeps you from knowing whodunit

A neon sign on a theater reading Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap 72nd Year

Christie's Biggest Hit

The story behind the longest running play ever: 28,000 performances

"The detective story is the normal recreation of noble minds" ~ Philip Guedella

"When we want to read of the deeds that are done for love, whither do we turn? To the murder column, and there we are rarely disappointed." ~ George Bernard Shaw

"The detective story differs from every other story in this: that the reader is only happy if he feels a fool." ~Gilbert Keith Chesterton