A new critical guide to British and American crime writing from the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. From the mean streets to the country house and from Edgar Allan Poe to Ian Rankin, this book identifies key trends in theorizing crime fiction and thinking about studies of genre. It is divided into three parts: the first part traces the history of the British crime novel from The Newgate Calender and Victorian crime writing to contemporary British crime fiction; the second part deals historically with American crime writing from Edgar Allan Poe through hardboiled crime to contemporary writers such as James Elroy and Patricia Cornwall; while the third part turns to crime fiction, from Georges Simenon to Henning Mankell, published outside of the Anglo-American tradition. The chapters combine a broad discussion of writers, concepts and issues as well as exploring the ways in which such diverse texts as The Leavenworth Case, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Tiger in the Smoke, A Rage in Harlem and Postmortem can be read in the light of current critical approaches. This critical guide also offers a section on approaches to studying crime fiction and a student resources section. Key Features*Clearly identifies the main trends in British and American crime fiction and locates them in their historical and cultural contexts*Provides an informed account of key texts and issues, discussing the work of range of well-known and lesser-known crime writers.*Discusses the diverse contexts in which crime fiction is read and studied*Introduces students to a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to writing about crime fiction*Encourages reflection on questions of literary value and the study of genre fiction