Murder Most Foul--Explorations In Crime Writing.

Jay, Mary

Murder Most Foul--Explorations In Crime Writing

Barbara Stanners

Phoenix Education 2010

ISBN 9781921586224

24.95 [pounds sterling] 169 pages A3 size paperback

Order enquiries to info@nate.org.uk

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This is an attractive and absorbing text for any lover of crime and detective fiction. It explores the appeal and timeless fascination of the genre by discussing reasons for its popularity and evaluating themes, stylistic elements and the ways in which the genre has been adapted to reflect changing historical, cultural and other contextual factors.

The audience for this Australian text is somewhat unclear as it lacks an introduction but refers to readership with a reference on the back cover to 'School year user level: 9-12'. This equates to our school years 10 to 13 and so may be appropriate for both GCSE and A Level years. The tasks range from critical appreciation and creative writing and build up to writing a thesis, so this user level may seem somewhat ambitious. Critical and creative writing tasks are included at the end of each section with an indication of word length and total available marks but, as every assignment carries a potential 20 marks and there is no mark scheme, this is not helpful in practical terms.

Any teacher wishing to use the book would need to be aware of this but it is nevertheless a rich source of very good material. The book is organised in nine main sections, each followed by opportunities for personal response in a variety of ways i.e. summarising questions to consolidate knowledge, literary essays, transformations and original creative writing. Extracts are drawn from novels, short stories, film and graphic novels to emphasise the broad range of medium. Sub-genres are explored in detail and succinct studies of seminal writers are included in this chronological survey.

The topic is approached via a number of different strands, e.g. the sub-genres, the evolution of the detective, contrasts between the development of British and American crime writing. Articles by contemporary crime writers add an up to date impact.

An interesting section on Intertextuality explores the translation of the short story It had to be Murder, to Hitchcock's film, Rear Window.

The book is well presented in an attractive A4 paperback and is richly illustrated with black and white photographs, colour cartoons of famous literary detectives, stills from films and theatrical performances. Below is an example of a typical task based on a Sherlock Holmes story:

'Take an exciting section of the novel and rewrite to suit a contemporary audience and changing attitudes and values. Write a reflection statement discussing what main changes were made and why; supporting your choices in deciding which conventions to retain or reject.'