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The Technique of the Mystery Story Carolyn Wells 9781230246390 Books

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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 edition. Excerpt ... INDEX Names of authors are printed in capitals, titles of books and stories are enclosed in quotations, names of fictional characters are italicized, and other topics are set in plain, or "roman," type. Greatest Detectives," 55, 192. Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 41. Amateur Detective, The, 44, 79. 135. Analysis, 93, 94, 113. "Ancient Mystery Tales," 20. Ashton-Kirk, 80, 263. Astro, 80, 86, 143, 163, 232, 239, 261. "Avenger, The," 42. "Abduction of Mary Ellis, The," 177, 231. "Achievements of Luther Trant, The," 84. "Accomplice, The," 175,301, 318. Adams, Samuel Hopkins, 162. Adler, Irene, 242. "Adventure of Black Peter, The," 238, 306. "Adventure of Milverton, The," 209. "Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The," 227. "Adventure of the Five Orange Pips, The," 238, 321. "Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The," 232. "Adventure of the Priory School, The," 232. "Adventure of the Red- Headed League, The," 215. "Adventure of the Speckled Band, The," 236, 321. "Adventures of the World's B Bacon, Francis, 14. Balmer, Edwin, 84. Barbour, A. M., 202, 315. Barnes, 239. Barr, Robert, 229. Barton, George, 55, 192. Bates, Arlo, 12, 125, 290, 322. Beck, Paul, 80. "Beldonald Holbein, The," 19. Bell, Joseph, 109, no, in. Bellamy, Professor Wil- Liam, 18. Besant, Sir Walter, 228. "Big Bow Mystery," 151, 150, 172, 217, 235, 237, 252, 256, 269, 300, 310, 318. "Black Peter, The Adven- ture of," 238,306. "Blue Carbuncle, The Ad- venture of the," 227. Bodkin, M. Mcdonnell, 186. "Boule Cabinet, The," 296. Brady, Cyrus Townsend, 272. Brant, Mason, 296. Bruce, Claude, 161. Bulwer-lytton, Sir Ed- Ward, 42. Burgess, Gelett, 50, 86, 143, 163, 297. Butlerworth, Miss Amelia, 239, 263. Byrnes, Inspector, 82. Cairns, Patrick, 306. "Canterbury Puzzles, The," 1. Carey, Peter, 306....

The Technique of the Mystery Story Carolyn Wells 9781230246390 Books

Quite a few mystery novels by Carolyn Wells are currently available in the Kindle Store, and while she is not up there with the greats of that genre, her mysteries are still very entertaining; I have certainly enjoyed all those I have thus far read. This book, however, is nonfiction. It begins with a relatively disjointed discussion of topics related to human curiosity, the history of the mystery story in myth and legend, mystery stories as literature, and elements of mystery in the works of early non-mystery writers. Wells then treats ghost stories and riddle stories at some length. These preliminary chapters are interesting and a foundational necessity, but she doesn't hit her stride until she finally arrives at the true detective story and Edgar Allan Poe. To me, those earlier chapters read as if the author felt obligated to include them, but really just wanted to get past them to get to "the good stuff." (Or maybe, it was just my own impatience to get there.)

Nevertheless, Carolyn Wells finally gets to Poe and subsequently to authors of the "modern" era (the early 1900's, when this book was written). She does this in a series of chapters each exploring myriad mystery-related topics (some lightly, others in detail, and many overlaping and repetitive). She cites numerous works by Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jacques Futrelle, Emile Gaboriau, Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, Arthur B. Reeve, Anna Katharine Green and other noted mystery writers, often discussing plot elements and providing lengthy excerpts from their writing. Since many, if not most, of the works to which she refers are now in the public domain, this becomes a very handy list of titles for lovers of such (now) old-fashioned mysteries to seek to add to their Kindles. (Comprehensive and inexpensive collections can be inexpensively purchased in the Kindle Store for many of these authors, and a great many of their individual novels are available as public domain freebies.) But be aware that she often reveals plot outcomes, culprits, and other such spoilers in her discussions of given topics. You may wish to be on the lookout for such revelations in order to skip them so as not to ruin your future reading pleasure of those works.

When Wells shifts from DESCRIBING what has hitherto been done, to PRESCRIBING what a mystery writer should and should not do, the book shows its age and may even tend to provoke some unintended mirth (for instance, some of her comments about women). Indeed, many of the things she strongly says should NOT be done when writing a mystery, have since been done quite successfully. To her credit, however, she recognizes exceptions even in her own day which were deliberately done for dramatic effect by skilled writers, but she still warns against their general use. Ironically, her own faithful adherence to the advice and standards she provides in this book resulted in her works being popularly-received (and still enjoyable) but artistically restrained and less than stellar; the "sameness" one perceives in reading them is largely due to the very "formula" she followed and here recommends to others.

Wells presents her views relative to the collective tastes and sensibilities of the reading audience of her day, but obviously much has changed since then. It is for this reason the book, overall, exudes a certain quaintness, not to mention an upperclass, cultural bias. But even though a document strongly reflective of its time, it is not without value to today's budding writers of mysteries so long as Wells' precepts are regarded as suggestions, some better than others, some appropriate and some not, and not a few worthwhile more in the breach than in the observance. In other words, like all advice, it is to be taken cautiously and with a grain of salt.

In conclusion, as a practical manual for how to write today's modern mysteries (both novels and short stories), this book is largely outdated (though, as previously noted, not totally without merit to would-be, but critically discerning, mystery-writers). But while no longer of especial value as a "how-to" book, it is definitely worth reading as an introduction to early mystery writers, their techniques and their works. On that basis I can heartily recommend it. Several editions are currently offered in the Kindle Store at prices as low as $1.75, and it also appears in the otherwise less than stellar 2nd Carolyn Wells Megapack from Wildside (for only $.99), but it may also be obtained online at mnybks.net for free. For a fabulous collection of her mysteries consider the FIRST Carolyn Wells Megapack (for $.99).

Product details Paperback 96 pages Publisher TheClassics.us (September 12, 2013) Language English ISBN-10 1230246398

Tags : The Technique of the Mystery Story [Carolyn Wells] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 edition. Excerpt: ... INDEX Names of authors are printed in capitals,Carolyn Wells,The Technique of the Mystery Story,TheClassics.us,1230246398,FICTION General,General,History - General History,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
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The Technique of the Mystery Story Carolyn Wells 9781230246390 Books Reviews

Very well written. This is the classic that other similarly focused books can emulate but perhaps not surpass in achievement.
The ebook has no formatting at all. There are so many chapters packed with potentially good information and no way to get to them easily. A table of contents is included but doesn't include any links to jump to the relevant chapters. You just have to guess the location repeatedly to try and get to the point you want. There are no page numbers either which isn't unusual for an ebook but would help since the TOC is not linked.

The book has too much potential information in it and it's simply not accessable in an ebook format unless you just love location guessing or endlessly flipping pages forward/backward. I don't know how good the content of the whole book is but the book is impossible to navigate. If the TOC became linked it would probably be great as an ebook but sadly it's not the case. Whoever put this out clearly just dumped a text file into the system without any thoughts to making it a reader friendly experience. I returned it for a refund.
This was written at a time when writers were thorough, as opposed to many of the current books on writing slammed out to make a buck off the backs of aspiring fictioneers.

True you need a bit of a vocabulary to read it, but the research into the mystery makes it worth the read.
Among other things, the book discusses three main categories of mystery 1. Ghost stories; 2. Riddles which must be solved without cheating; and 3. Detective stories, which are solved by a process of inquiry and deduction.

The volume offers a great history on the development of the mystery from Edgar Allan Poe and Lecoq, through Conan Doyle and Holmes. This book is definitely worth reading, and, the knowledge offered is not obselete at all. Just make sure you have a note pad handy to record the nitty gritty found in each chapter. I use OneNote. Recommended.

Hampton Bush, author of Brothers of the Light, a science-fiction thriller-love story
Quite a few mystery novels by Carolyn Wells are currently available in the , and while she is not up there with the greats of that genre, her mysteries are still very entertaining; I have certainly enjoyed all those I have thus far read. This book, however, is nonfiction. It begins with a relatively disjointed discussion of topics related to human curiosity, the history of the mystery story in myth and legend, mystery stories as literature, and elements of mystery in the works of early non-mystery writers. Wells then treats ghost stories and riddle stories at some length. These preliminary chapters are interesting and a foundational necessity, but she doesn't hit her stride until she finally arrives at the true detective story and Edgar Allan Poe. To me, those earlier chapters read as if the author felt obligated to include them, but really just wanted to get past them to get to "the good stuff." (Or maybe, it was just my own impatience to get there.)

Nevertheless, Carolyn Wells finally gets to Poe and subsequently to authors of the "modern" era (the early 1900's, when this book was written). She does this in a series of chapters each exploring myriad mystery-related topics (some lightly, others in detail, and many overlaping and repetitive). She cites numerous works by Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jacques Futrelle, Emile Gaboriau, Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, Arthur B. Reeve, Anna Katharine Green and other noted mystery writers, often discussing plot elements and providing lengthy excerpts from their writing. Since many, if not most, of the works to which she refers are now in the public domain, this becomes a very handy list of titles for lovers of such (now) old-fashioned mysteries to seek to add to their s. (Comprehensive and inexpensive collections can be inexpensively purchased in the for many of these authors, and a great many of their individual novels are available as public domain freebies.) But be aware that she often reveals plot outcomes, culprits, and other such spoilers in her discussions of given topics. You may wish to be on the lookout for such revelations in order to skip them so as not to ruin your future reading pleasure of those works.

When Wells shifts from DESCRIBING what has hitherto been done, to PRESCRIBING what a mystery writer should and should not do, the book shows its age and may even tend to provoke some unintended mirth (for instance, some of her comments about women). Indeed, many of the things she strongly says should NOT be done when writing a mystery, have since been done quite successfully. To her credit, however, she recognizes exceptions even in her own day which were deliberately done for dramatic effect by skilled writers, but she still warns against their general use. Ironically, her own faithful adherence to the advice and standards she provides in this book resulted in her works being popularly-received (and still enjoyable) but artistically restrained and less than stellar; the "sameness" one perceives in reading them is largely due to the very "formula" she followed and here recommends to others.

Wells presents her views relative to the collective tastes and sensibilities of the reading audience of her day, but obviously much has changed since then. It is for this reason the book, overall, exudes a certain quaintness, not to mention an upperclass, cultural bias. But even though a document strongly reflective of its time, it is not without value to today's budding writers of mysteries so long as Wells' precepts are regarded as suggestions, some better than others, some appropriate and some not, and not a few worthwhile more in the breach than in the observance. In other words, like all advice, it is to be taken cautiously and with a grain of salt.

In conclusion, as a practical manual for how to write today's modern mysteries (both novels and short stories), this book is largely outdated (though, as previously noted, not totally without merit to would-be, but critically discerning, mystery-writers). But while no longer of especial value as a "how-to" book, it is definitely worth reading as an introduction to early mystery writers, their techniques and their works. On that basis I can heartily recommend it. Several editions are currently offered in the at prices as low as $1.75, and it also appears in the otherwise less than stellar 2nd Carolyn Wells Megapack from Wildside (for only $.99), but it may also be obtained online at mnybks.net for free. For a fabulous collection of her mysteries consider the FIRST Carolyn Wells Megapack (for $.99).