Carolyn Wells

The Technique of the Mystery Story Illustrated Carolyn Wells

A complete practical guide for detective and mystery story writers of today. How to arrange, invent, plot out, develop and narrate ingenious, convincing, and baffling stories of crime. CONTENTS: CHAPTER I-THE ETERNAL CURIOUS1. The Inquisition into the Curious is Universal2. Early Riddles3. The Passion for Solving MysteriesCHAPTER II-THE LITERATURE OF MYSTERY1. The Rightful Place of the Mystery Story in Fiction2. The Mystery Story Considered as Art3. The Claims of Antagonists and ProtagonistsCHAPTER III-THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY1. Ancient Mystery TalesCHAPTER IV-GHOST STORIES1. A Working Classification2. The Ghost Story3. Famous Ghost Stories4. The Humorous Ghost StoryCHAPTER V-RIDDLE STORIES1. Some Notable Riddle Stories2. The Nature of the Riddle Story and Its TypesCHAPTER VI-DETECTIVE STORIES1. What Is a Detective Story2. Rise of the Detective Story3. The Detective-Fictive and Real4. Fiction versus Fact5. The Interest of the Detective Story6. A Summing U