Key Takeaways

• The true crime genre emerged in the 16th century with developments in criminal justice and the rise of the printing press. It was entertainment for the elite and only affordable to people in the upper class.
• According to the writers of the early literature, which underscored morals heavily, each pamphlet aimed to provide a lesson for the reader to avert such a fate as either the offender or the prey.
• Other forms of early true crime writing were execution sermons which were delivered by preachers preceding a criminal’s execution, detective stories which increased the literary value of true crime, and ‘penny dreadfuls’ which were low-cost, easy-to-digest forms of entertainment for busy people. Beyond entertaining the masses, early true crime literature unexpectedly created the conversation around the justice system.
• In 1829, Francois Vidocq, a prominent investigator with a criminal past, published his book of memoirs that influenced real-life police work. Edgar Allen Poe and Victor Hugo were inspired by Vidocq’s work, and Arthur Conan Doyle would later be influenced, to some extent, by Poe’s character Dupin, in the creation of Sherlock Holmes.
• The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was from 1920 to 1939, with Agatha Christie as the queen of this age. Authors from the era created a legacy of detective novels centered around collecting clues in solving crimes, what is now known in modern literature as cozy mysteries.

Introduction

Early History

• The true crime genre began in the 16th century, with the advancement of criminal justice and the printing press, initially in Germany and ultimately throughout Europe and England. They were only affordable to the upper echelons, the class to which they were made available.
• The early literature contained graphic descriptions of gruesome violence and underscored morals heavily, so readers could learn something. According to the writers, each pamphlet aimed to provide a lesson for the reader to avert such a fate as either the offender or the prey. The key moral of the stories was that punishment resulted from sin — emphasizing their religious importance. An example is John Reynold’s published pamphlet which was compiled into six distinct books, such as ‘The Triumph of God’s Revenge Against the Crying’ and ‘Execrable Sinne of Murther.’
• Another type of early true crime writing was execution sermons delivered by preachers preceding a criminal’s execution, with a focus on how their fate was avoidable and their way to destruction. At times, printed copies of the sermons were shared among the audience, after the execution. Even though common for executions between the 1600s and 1800s, these sermons became particularly prevalent for their part in the execution of witches. Evolved versions of the pamphlet included interviews with the condemned, usually with shocking confessions. For example, The Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather and Increase Mather (1692).

 

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• The birth of detective stories in the 1800s reinforced true crime as an official genre and increased its literary significance. This was followed by the influx of ‘penny dreadfuls’ which provided low-cost, mass-produced series for the young, progressively literate working-class male audience. To keep the people entertained weekly, local crime stories were often exaggerated in penny dreadfuls. These easy-to-digest forms of content featured indecent violence to entertain busy people. One such is ‘A Visit to Newgate’ by Charles Dickens, (1836) describing his visit to the infamous London Prison, and meeting with various prisoners.
• While the aim was for penny dreadfuls, crime novels, and local news stories to entertain the masses, they surprisingly created the conversation around the justice system.

 

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Early True-Crime Books

• "The Triumphe of God’s Revenge Against the Crying and Execrable Sinn of Murther" by John Reynolds, briefly mentioned above, is the first true crime book published in English (in 1635). It was a bestseller that had multiple reprints. As hinted above, "it consisted of several dozen accounts of purportedly real-life atrocities, dished up under the pious pretext of demonstrating that such villainies cannot escape 'God’s miraculous detection and severe punishment.'"
• "The Newgate Calendar" had even more enthusiasts. It was released in Britain in several editions from the 1700s to the 1850s. Some scholars say it was among the most written books of the time alongside the Bible. The entries in the book recounted crimes, arrests, and executions of specific perpetrators. An example of a chapter title from the series is, "John Stanley. An insolent puppy who presumed on his swordsmanship. Executed at Tyburn, 23rd of December, 1723, for murdering his mistress."

 

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True Crime as a Genre

• True crime metamorphosed from local information into its own official genre with the rise of detective novels in the early to mid-19th century, after the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. England’s first official police force was implemented with this Act, while the New York City police force came to be in 1845, resulting in more detailed criminal investigations.
• In 1829, Francois Vidocq, a renowned investigator with a criminal past, published his book of memoirs. Real-life police work was influenced by this, as an understanding of the mind of an ex-convict was valuable for establishing possible behaviors in potential criminals. Writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Victor Hugo were inspired by Vidocq’s work in writing about their legendary inspectors Dupin and Javert, respectively. Arthur Conan Doyle would later be influenced, in part, by Poe’s character Dupin, in the creation of Sherlock Holmes, an ageless character in crime fiction.
• 1920 to 1939 was known as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, with Agatha Christie as the queen of this age. Author of sixty-six detective novels and fourteen short story compilations, Agatha Christie was named the best-selling fiction writer of all time by the Guinness World Records in 2018. One of her books And Then There Were None is an all-time bestseller. Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple remain well-known fictional detective characters in literary history.
• Authors from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction created a legacy of detective novels centered around collecting clues in solving crimes. In modern literature, this style has developed into what is known as cozy mysteries. These stories are slightly gentler in nature — the character is almost always an amateur detective, and the violence is never depicted in detail.
• The true crime genre took a new form after the fame of pamphlets and penny dreadfuls. For convenience, the consumption of most true crime is now via television, streaming, and podcasts, even though true-crime books are still published. The invention of ‘Serial’ in 2014, the first mainstream true-crime podcast, led to other such podcasts and astounding true-crime information sources like Morbid in 2018.

Research Strategy