Mystery Genre for Senior Year

[RubyPenn]

I asked my son what type of literature he would like to focus on for his senior year and he said mysteries.  So what would the literature lovers recommend as the best books in this genre? 

[ScoutTN]

Some of the Golden Age Queens of Crime for sure. Dorothy Sayers surely counts as Literature! So many allusions.

You could stretch into gothic novels a bit - mysterious, but not  detective fiction. Rebecca comes to mind.

There is a great podcast on why we love mystery stories very early on The Literary Life podcast. Spring of 2019. Fun listen and may have suggestions. All the books they mention are in the show notes.

@Lori D. will hopefully chime in with ideas!

[freesia]

Definitely Sayers and Christy. Maybe Father Brown and Sherlock.  Hopefully someone will have some non-English recommendations. Oh, I know one—the Alexander Mc Call Smith one set in Africa—those are very different. He is Scottish, but I believe he grew up in Botswana. 

[regentrude]

 Murder in the Rue Morgue by Poe, which is considered the first detective story. He basically invented the genre.

[Lori D.]

What are you overall learning goals for this course? There are so many options of things to read that it might be easier to suggest things if you have a "scope and sequence" of topics you want to touch on in the semester, and see how the different works fit in with your literature topics.

Examples:
- trace the roots/origin and history of the genre
- explore the impact of mysteries/detective fiction on other genres or literature literature
- learn about literary elements used in the genre (suspense, plot, irony, etc.)
- compare with films -- either compare literature with key mystery/detective films OR, compare same book vs. film version

Mystery & Suspense Fiction -- maybe use this Great Course series as your spine of topics?

Or outsource, if not wanting to make your own?
Indiana University High School: Mysteries (Genres of Literature) = 1 credit; $291


But, just to get you started in coming up lit., here are some ideas:

1841 = "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (Poe) -- (US); first modern detective short story!
1860s = The Moonstone, or, The Woman in White (Collins) -- (British) first modern mystery novels!
1890s = Sherlock Holmes short mysteries (Doyle) -- (British); Study in Scarlett (novella) is his first work and introduces the character; the short stories of "A Scandal in Bohemia"; "Red-Headed League"; "The Copper Breeches"; "The Dancing Men"; "The Final Problem" all represent different "types" of mysteries; and Hound of the Baskervilles is another novella, with a strong supernatural atmosphere
1905 = Club of Queer Trades (Chesterton) -- (British) parody of Sherlock Holmes, plus Chesterton's trademark of paradox
1910s = Father Brown short mysteries (Chesterton) -- (British) do the 1st 4 short stories together, as they are linked with an overall arc ("The Blue Cross"; "The Secret Garden"; "The Queer Feet"; "The Flying Stars")
1920s/1930s = a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery by Dorothy Sayers (British)
1930s = Murder on the Orient Express, or, And Then There Were None (Christie) -- (British) queen of the old age of British mysteries
1930 = The Maltese Falcon (Hammett) -- (US) hard-boiled detective -- and watch the movie version

Some interesting variation mysteries
1938 = Rebecca (Du Maurier) -- (British) atmospheric, slightly supernatural feeling gothic novel
1951 = The Daughter of Time (Tey) -- (British) contemporary (1950s) detective solving a mystery from Medieval times
1958 = Anatomy of a Murder (Traver) -- (US) courtroom mystery -- and compare to the film
1960s/70s = The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, or, Tailer Tinker Soldier Spy (La Carre) -- (British/Irish) espionage/thriller mystery
1977 = A Morbid Taste for Bones (Peters) -- (British) an early entry in using historical setting for detective novels; this is set in the 1100s England, so political intrigue comes into some of the stories, and the detective is a monk who knows about herbs, and prior to joining the order was a sailor and a soldier
1991 = Ides of April (Ray) -- (British) solid entry in the historical-setting detective fiction (Ancient Rome), with a sort-of "wrong man" theme (innocent and naive person accused of the crime, who is plunged into having to investigate in order to clear their own name); Christian author, but not "beat you over the head" Christianity screaming out from every page
2001 = The Eyre Affaire (Fforde) -- (British) speculative fiction blended with detective fiction
2003 = The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Haddon) -- (British) NOT that great in the writing, but a unique "twist" in that the 1st person narrator trying to solve the mystery in an autistic teenager; note: some 4-letter language
2014 = Death Comes for the Deconstructionist (Taylor) -- US; see this short review for a clear view of the direction of the book; it is almost more "literary fiction" than detective, and is quite well-written, although a teen may not connect with the middle-aged character; Christian author, but another does NOT "beat you over the head" with the Bible -- rather, the main character is really in an angry/pushed away from God spot, which makes him complex and interesting

non US/British protagonists/settings:
- A Thief of Time (Hillerman) -- set in contemporary (1990s) Native American culture
- The Full Cupboard of Life (Smith) -- book #5 in the The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency; I recommend starting here, further into the series, as the first book or two were a bit rough in the writing
- Finding Nouf (Ferraris) -- adult; 1st of a trio of books set in fascinating contemporary Saudi Arabia; graphic crime-story/detective fiction with a bloody serial killer 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Lori D.

[RubyPenn]

9 hours ago, Lori D. said:

What are you overall learning goals for this course? There are so many options of things to read that it might be easier to suggest things if you have a "scope and sequence" of topics you want to touch on in the semester, and see how the different works fit in with your literature topics.

. 

Lori D., this is fantastic.  Thank you so much!

My goal for his entire senior year is to make the learning as enjoyable as possible while still maintaining high standards. Otherwise, I am going to lose my mind because he hates school, I am worn out, and I have another one starting high school.  We are considering sending him to school because of this.

[Lori D.]

29 minutes ago, RubyPenn said:

...My goal for his entire senior year is to make the learning as enjoyable as possible while still maintaining high standards. Otherwise, I am going to lose my mind because he hates school, I am worn out, and I have another one starting high school.  We are considering sending him to school because of this.

Gotcha.

I have 2 seniors in my Lit. & Writing co-op class who have "senior-itis" so badly that I actually suggested to the mom of one of them that we let him drop the writing part of my class and I'll help her find a way of filling out the rest of the English credit in some other way, from things they are currently doing or have done in past years. 😬 

They are both older seniors (18-turning-19 in senior year), and are SO ready to move on...

BEST of luck in finding what is the best path with your up-and-coming high schooler! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Lori D.