The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917: Deciphering Stories of Detection

Claire Whitehead

The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917
Deciphering Stories of Detection

Claire Whitehead

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Fedor Dostoevskii (1821-81), Russian novelist

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Legenda (General Series)

Legenda

10 September 2018 • 280pp

ISBN: 978-1-781886-87-8 (hardback) • RRP £80, $110, €95

ISBN: 978-1-781886-88-5 (paperback, 7 October 2020) • RRP £13.49, $17.99, €16.49

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Crime fiction enjoys almost unparalleled success in post-Soviet Russia; but what do we know about its origins and development in the nineteenth century? Claire Whitehead's ground-breaking and in-depth study rescues early Russian crime fiction from obscurity and undertakes a detailed examination of how the genre harnesses various storytelling techniques to create its striking effects. The author offers exciting new discussions of works by Fedor Dostoevskii and Anton Chekhov, while directing much of the spotlight towards the significant contribution made by numerous unknown and underrated writers, including Nikolai Sokolovskii, Nikolai Timofeev, Semyon Panov, Aleksandr Shkliarevskii, Aleksandra Sokolova and Andrei Zarin. Beginning with an examination of the generic hybridity of Russian crime fiction at its inception, attention then turns to various aspects of the genre's textual poetics. Chapters focus upon issues of narrative authority, multiplicity of voice, time structure, intertextuality, narrative self-consciousness and, finally, parody, to consider how the texts manipulate the reader's access to knowledge.

Claire Whitehead is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Russian at the University of St Andrews.

Reviews:

‘An intricately researched and fascinating exploration of the origins and development of a forgotten genre... Whitehead’s re- evaluation of Dostoevskii’s novels (including Brothers Karamazov) as crime literature is rewarding and insightful. Even more valuable, however, is her analysis of Dostoevskii’s forgotten peers, who created the landmarks of this fluid and reactive genre.’ — Muireann Maguire, Slavonic and East European Review 90.4, October 2020, 767-69 (full text online)
‘Яркая книга Клер Уайтхед убедительно демонстрирует, что отечественные исто- рики литературы напрасно не обращают внимания на чрезвычайно интересный, причем не только в тематическом плане, но и в идейном, и в плане поэтики, кри- минальный жанр русской литературы. Это (как и игнорирование отечественных фантастики, оккультной прозы, колониального романа, романа о городских жули- ках и мошенниках и т.д.) значительно обедняет картину русской литературы XIX — начала XX в. Кроме того, рассмотрение «Преступления и наказания» Достоевского и «Шведской спички» Чехова в контексте уголовной прозы позволило исследова- тельнице внести ценный вклад в интерпретацию этих произведений. И наконец, для отечественных литературоведов книга может послужить своего рода путево- дителем по современной англоязычной нарратологии.’ — A. I. Reitblat, Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie 175, May/June 2022, 343-50

Contents:

ix-x	Acknowledgements C.W doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.3	Cite
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xi-xii	Note On Translation and Transliteration Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.4	Cite
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1-16	Introduction Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.5	Cite
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18-50	Chapter 1 Blurring the Lines: Fact and Fiction in Early Russian Crime Writing Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.6	Cite
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51-88	Chapter 2 Legal Power: Authority and Its Construction in Early Russian Crime Fiction Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.7	Cite
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90-124	Chapter 3 Sifting For Clues Amongst A Multiplicity of Voice Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.8	Cite
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125-166	Chapter 4 Doing Time: Temporal Organization in Russian Crime Fiction Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.9	Cite
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168-207	Chapter 5 Textual Clues: Intertextuality and Metatextuality Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.10	Cite
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208-248	Chapter 6 Bending the Rules of the Game: Parody in Russian Detective Fiction Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.11	Cite
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249-253	Conclusion Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.12	Cite
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254-262	Bibliography Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.13	Cite
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263-268	Index Claire Whitehead doi:10.2307/j.ctv16km0j7.14	Cite
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Bibliography entry:

Whitehead, Claire, The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917: Deciphering Stories of Detection (Legenda, 2018)

First footnote reference: ³⁵ Claire Whitehead, The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917: Deciphering Stories of Detection (Legenda, 2018), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: ³⁷ Whitehead, p. 47.

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Bibliography entry:

Whitehead, Claire. 2018. The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917: Deciphering Stories of Detection (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Whitehead 2018: 21).

Example footnote reference: ³⁵ Whitehead 2018: 21.

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The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917Deciphering Stories of Detection

Claire Whitehead

The Poetics of Early Russian Crime Fiction 1860-1917
Deciphering Stories of Detection