TIMELINE EVENTS
Write the letter of the event that coincides with each date. A. Anna Catherine Green becomes the first woman to publish a detective novel.
B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L.
During this decade, Charlie Chan is a popular television detective. The famous detective Sherlock Holmes first appears in fiction in the novel “A Study in Scarlet.” The Golden Age of mystery fiction begins. Allen Lane markets the first paperback versions of popular mystery novels, making them more accessible and popular with the general public. The first fictional detective in history appears in the novel, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” written by Edgar Allen Poe. During this decade, children’s mysteries such as Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Encyclopedia Brown become very popular. Dickens begins to write stories that contain mystery and suspense. Mystery magazines, referred to as pulp fiction, develop. The popular detective Perry Mason is introduced to the public in “The Case of the Velvet Claws.” During this decade, police procedural crime fiction became popular, including “Dragnet” and “Hawaii 5-0.” Dickens, one of the first mystery writers in history, dies leaving his latest mystery unfinished.
M. N. O. P. Q.
Dorothy Sayers publishes her first mystery starring the well-known detective Lord Peter Wimsey. During this decade, radio mysteries such as “The Shadow” became popular. Wilkie Collins writes “Moonstone,” the world’s first English detective novel. The famous detective Sam Spade debuts on the mystery scene in the movie “The Maltese Falcon.” Around this time and into the present, modern writers such as R.L. Stein, who writes the “Goosebumps” series, became popular.
Answer the following questions about your completed timeline.
1. In what form did the earliest mysteries appear?
2. By 1950, through what mediums did people enjoy mysteries?
3. What two kinds of mysteries were popular in the 1940’s?
4. During what decade or decades did the most mystery events take place?