Resources for the Bibliographical and Biographical Sleuth

Here are a few starting points for researching the life and works of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century American and British mystery writers.

This list was initially compiled by Dr. Mary Ann Koory, formerly of UC Berkely Extension, and has since been expanded upon by Dr. Heney. It is by no means comprehensive.

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Books and Articles:

• Barzun, Jacques and Wendell Hertig Taylor. A Catalogue of Crime. Harper and Row, 1971.
• Bleiler, E.F. A Treasury of Victorian Detective Stories . 1979.
• Cohen, Michael. Murder Most Fair: the Appeal of Mystery Fiction, 2000.
• Cook, Michael L. and Stephen T. Miller. Mystery, Detective and Espionage Fiction: A Checklist of Fiction in U.S. Pulp Magazines, 1915-1974.
• Contento, William G. with Martin H. Greenberg. Index to Crime and Mystery Anthologies . 1991.
• Cox, Michael, ed. Victorian Detective Stories . 1992.
• Glover, Dorothy and Graham Greene. Victorian Detective Fiction: A Catalogue. The Bodley Head, 1966.
• Goulart, Ron. Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of the Pulp Magazines. Arlington House, 1972.
• Goulart, Ron, ed. The Hardboiled Dicks: An Anthology and Study of Pulp Detective Fiction. Sherbourne Press, 1965.
• Greene, Douglas G., ed. Classic Mystery Stories. Dover Thrift Edition.
• Greene, Douglas G., ed. Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories. Dover Thrift Edition.
• Greene, Hugh, ed. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. The Bodley Head, Pantheon, 1970.
• Greene, Hugh, ed. Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Pantheon, 1973.
• Greene, Hugh, ed. More Rivals of Sherlock Holmes or Cosmopolitan Crimes: Foreign Rivals of Sherlock Holmes . Pantheon, 1971.
• Greene, Hugh, ed. The American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Pantheon, 1976.
• Hackett, Alice Payne and James Henry Burke. 80 Years of Best-Sellers 1895-1975 . Bowker, 1977.
• Hagemann, E. R. A Comprehensive Index to Black Mask 1920—1951. Popular Press, 1982.
• Hagen, Ordean A. Who Done It? A Guide to Detective, Mystery and Suspense Fiction. R. R. Bowker, 1969.
• Haycraft, Howard. Murder for Pleasure: The Life and Times of the Detective Story . Appleton-Century, 1941.
• Haycraft, Howard, Caroll, and Graff, ed. The Art of the Mystery Story. 1946, 1974.
• Heresy, Harold Brainerd. Pulpwood Editor: The Fabulous World of the Thriller Magazines Revealed by a Veteran Editor and Publisher. Stokes, 1937.
• Hubin, Allen J. The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749-1980. University of California, San Diego Extension, 1979. Revised edition, as Crime Fiction 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Garland, 1984.
• Klein, Kathleen Gregory, ed. Great Women Mystery Writers: Classic to Contemporary. 1994.
• Klein, Kathleen Gregory. The Woman Detective: Gender and Genre. University of Illinois Press, 1988, 1995 (2nd ed.).
• La Cour, Tage and Harald Morgensen. The Murder Book: An Illustrated History of the Detective Story. Allen and Unwin, Herder, 1971.
• Madden, David, ed. Tough Guy Writers of the Thirties. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.
• Mundell, E. H. and G. Jay Rausch. The Detective Short Story: A Bibliography and Index. Kansas State University Library.
• Murch, A. E. The Development of the Detective Novel . Philosophical Library, 1958.
• Nevins, Francis M. Jr., ed. The Mystery Writer’s Art. Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1970.
• Nolan, William F., ed. The Black Mask Boys.
• O’Cork, Shannon. How to Write Mysteries. Writer’s Digest Books, 1989.
• Peterson, Audrey. Victorian Masters of Mystery. Ungar, 1983.
• Queen, Ellery. The Detective Short Story: A Bibliography. Little Brown, 1942.
• Ruhm, Herbert, ed. The Hard-Boiled Detective: Stories from Black Mask Magazine, 1920-1951 . Vintage, 1977.
• Shaw, Joseph T. The Hard-Boiled Omnibus: Early Stories from Black Mask. Simon and Schuster, 1946.
• Slung, Michele, ed. Crime on Her Mind: 15 Stories of Female Sleuths from the Victorian Era to the Forties. Pantheon, 1975.
• Smith, Marie, ed. The Mammoth Book of Golden Age Detective Stories . 1994.
• Wright, William Huntington. The Great Detective Stories: A Chronological Anthology. Scribner, 1927.

Guides and Encyclopedias:

• Golden Gate Mysteries: A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CRIME FICTION SET IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, Randal Brandt  http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/sfmystery/
• A Guide to Classic Mystery and Detection, a Web site maintained by Michael E. Grost, contains links to information about many pre-1960 authors of mystery fiction.
• Herbert, Rosemary, ed. The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing. Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Winks, Robin, ed. Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Suspense and Espionage. Scribner’s, 1998.
• Reilly, John M., ed. Twentieth-Century Crime and Mystery Writers, 2nd ed. St. Martin’s Press, 1985.
• Steinbrunner, Chris and Otto Penzler, eds. Encyclopedia of Mystery & Detection. McGraw-Hill, 1976.
• The Oxford Companion to Crime & Mystery Writing. Well-written, concise entries on major authors, characters and topics pertaining to the genre. (Does not include entries for individual titles.) Entries contain cross-references and often include citations for further exploration of the topic Includes Glossary & Index.

Miscellaneous:

• Discover Los Angeles : An informed guide to L.A.’s rich and varied cultural life. Excellent guidebook for information arranged by regions and districts of metropolitian Los Angeles.
• The Eaton Collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror and utopian literature at UC Riverside Library: http://eaton.ucr.edu
• Women Mystery Writers, Special Collections at the University of Arizona: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/collections/women-mystery-writers
• Crime Writers of Color and Podcast: https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/about