The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories

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Twenty-five years ago, when I was a first novelist on a visit to my editor, I had the occasion to read the galley proofs of «A Catalog of Crime,» now a bible of the detective-fiction genre. My editor, who was also editing the «Catalog,» was called away to deal with another problem. The author of the «Catalog» was due to pick up his proofs, I was told. Why didn't I take a look to see if my book had made it into the volume?

I found it on page 247. The author had recommended "less routine plots" and said that "unbelievable feats of survival and retaliation by people badly wounded and haemorrhaging make the reader impatient." I checked the title page to find the author of this affront. Jacques Barzun! I knew the name: a giant of the humanities, former dean and provost of Columbia University, and author of «House of the Intellect» and other weighty books. Until then, I had no idea that he was also an eminent critic of detective fiction. In fact, I knew almost nothing about the field.

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