The world of literature has a debt to modern life – the urban, crime-filled, poverty-ridden, class distinctions that arose during the mid-1800s.  The rise of large cities during the period came at a time when public reading was also on the rise. The public’s relatively new exposure to crime in their urban neighborhoods both fascinated and scared them, giving rise to the vilified and romanticized criminal and detective and a new literary genre, the detective/crime story.

The beginning of the detective story is usually credited to Edgar Allen Poe and his Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) though the literature type dates earlier. While rooted in the gothic fiction of the early 1800s, the detective type that is the central figure of the genre and the crime associated with it, were introduced in France by Francois-Eugene Vidocq a Frenchman who served as a soldier, privateer, smuggler, inmate, and secret police spy. In 1812, the Paris police availed themselves of his expertise and he established the Surete, a French equivalent of the F.B.I.  Vidocq's Memoirs were published in France in 1828 and soon translated into English.  Authors of the period, including Victor Hugo and Honore de Balzac began to model characters in their stories on him (Les Miserables in1862 and Le Pere Goriot in1833).  Of course, Poe was also a fan.

Detective fiction found popularity in America by 1870. Allan Pinkerton published The Expressman and the Detective in1875, a non-fiction account of his business. Pinkerton's business card showed an unblinking eye with the motto "We never sleep," creating the title for his occupation, "private eye."   By this time, the dime novel had also become popular with the reading public.  After starting with distinctly Western stories, dime novel authors started to fictionalize stories of crime and adventure in urban settings. 

Because of its close association with dime novels and its history in dealing with characters of the lower classes, popular literature like the detective story was considered "sub-literature," of little serious concern, suitable only as entertainment for the masses. But, the years have changed the status of these works in the academic world. Popular culture is now firmly established as a mainstream discipline and the enormous popularity of the genre should not be mistaken for a lack of seriousness. The genre, sub-genres, and authors have received critical attention for many years, as evidenced by the large number of studies and bibliographies published. Most colleges and universities recognize detective/mystery literature as a valid subject of study and include it in their curriculums. Scholars around the world have taken up the study of popular fiction, pursuing their particular interests in the cultural implications of modern works.  These works can provide insight into cultural trends and shed light on particular cultures. Basically, all detective fiction is the same: the criminal act disrupts society, and the detective must use his unique skills to end the disruption and make things right. In the process, good writers in the genre can reveal aspects of a culture most societies ignore or try to keep hidden. 

The recognition of popular literature reached a pinnacle of sorts with a 2004 honorary National Book Award going to author Stephen King.  In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the controversy of selecting a “popular writer” but urged the industry as a whole to pay more attention to readers like himself, saying he had no "use for those who make a point of pride in saying they have never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."  "What do you think," he asked, "you get social academic brownie points for deliberately staying out of touch with your own culture?"

The detective story or crime fiction is one of the most popular literary genres in the world: from Tokyo to Paris, from Moscow to Johannesburg. The stories written in all these diverse places are a unique window into cultures, social systems, and geographies of all kinds. This literary form has been used as a social protest vehicle, a propaganda tool, a societal diagnostic measure, and more. The authors in all these places have plied a genre that is used to protest, boast, accuse, and expose the society’s culture and way of life to a host of readers around the world.

In addition to the introduction of new cultures and mores and the illuminating nature of the literature, the psychological implications are an easy way to justify the genre’s popularity: detective stories keep alive a view of the world that ought to be true. A good story satisfies our need to understand the human condition. They protect the public’s idealistic view of the world where wrongs are righted, and villains are betrayed through their own actions and caught by wily detectives who are able to find the clues that they did not know they were leaving. This is a world in which criminals are caught and punished, and innocent victims are avenged.  Detective stories are wonderful to read and a great diversion but they also feed the public’s hunger for justice when real life justice seems hard to come by. 

During the past quarter century, the number of detective stories published annually and the range and variety has exploded. No longer is the detective a hard-boiled, white, middle-age, male lone wolf.  Three of the best-selling contemporary writers, Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, and Sarah Paretsky, have created detective characters who are hard-boiled and female; bestselling authors Stephen White and Jonathan Kellerman have sensitive, psychologically complex males; Walter Moseley, Barbara Neely, and others have created a tradition of African American detection; writers like Leslie Glass and her Chinese policewoman, Tony Hillerman's best-selling Navajo policemen and Anne Perry’s two Victorian series which feature detective couples, complement the diversity of the genre.  The character diversity is enhanced by a regional diversity with stories set in every conceivable area of the world, from Viper, Kentucky, to Bombay, India, and from South Africa to ancient Greece and Rome. These changes are in keeping with the genre’s growth through the years and its ability to satisfy the reader’s and scholar’s need for new ideas and perspective, and present issues of society, identity, the search for a sense of community in a non-threatening way.