Sleuths, Inc.: Studies of Problem Solvers, Doyle, Simenon, Hammett, Ambler, Chandler

by Hugh Eames

A fine copy in fine dust jacket. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0397012942
• ISBN13: 9780397012947
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Length: 228 Pages

Customer Reviews

The psychology of the writer and the detective he created

The great detective is a mainstay of modern literature. However, few people know that Edgar Allen Poe, who also established the principle that the best writers had to be unusual personalities, invented the genre. This book is a series of studies of five of the best known writers: Arthur Conan Doyle, Georges Simenon, Dashiell Hammett, Eric Ambler and Raymond Chandler, as well as their most famous literary creations. The descriptions of their work move along two simultaneous and interlocking tracks. One is about the man, his life, loves, failures and motivations for writing. The second is a description of the main character(s) in his stories. Eames tries to use one to explain the other, developing simultaneous psychological profiles of both. For example, I found the explanations of Sherlock Holmes' drug use to be intriguing. He argues that Holmes was forced into drug use out of utter boredom. His mind is so active, that when he finds himself in a position of idleness, he must stimulate it artificially. There is also an emphasis on the different methods that the fictional detectives use to solve their crimes. However, throughout all the explanations, there is one underlying theme, that of the problem solver. When involved in a case, the detective is presented with a series of "facts", not all of which are accurate and sometimes even those known to be true seem contradictory. He must also deal with humans who, sometimes inadvertently and other times deliberately, tell stories that are not quite true or complete. The emphasis on the personality differences of the characters and the writers that lead to contrasting methods of solving the problems makes it interesting. I also found the historical backgrounds of the settings where the authors worked to be a powerful part of the story. Everyone is a product of their context, reading about Los Angeles at the turn of the century, the life of an English public school product and the Pinkerton detective agency really improves the quality of the psychological studies. The writers profiled in this book were all extraordinary individuals, in some ways their personal lives were more interesting than those of their fictional creations were. In this book, you can learn about both, it is one of the best case studies of the fictional detective that you will ever find.