| Why people read detective fiction? Mostly for the pleasure of reading. Though the same is almost true of why they read novels proper, actually these two kinds of pleasures differ significantly from each other. Here the novels proper refer to those which have rather serious style and theme, which make them unique in literary history. Most of the enduring works by imaginative writers belong to this category. But detective fiction should be classified into a different group, because many principles and pursuits of detective writers are alien to writers of the former category. However, literary critics tend to evaluate all novels by a single literary standard-a standard that should be applied only to the novels proper. It is obvious that all novels do not belong to a single group, and so it is apparently unfair to judge them by a standard their creators deliberately ignored.The purposes of the novel proper are pure esthetic stimulation, whereas detective novels are designed mainly for entertainment. These two categories would surely achieve sort of opposite psychological results, so they are unable to fulfill each other's function. Thus the reader can never substitute this one for the other. Since mankind has always been keen to solve a riddle; and detective stories appeal right to this human desire. As its reader participates in the succeeding steps that lead to the solution, he is actually experiencing an adventure in his mind. This dissertation is a genre study of detective fiction in general, a study of Agatha Christie's classic detective novels in particular.Back in the 1940s, when the craze for detective stories was at its height, Edmund Wilson, the critic, retorted the general chorus of praise and fascination in his essay entitled "Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?" Before answering this question, it is revelatory to know that paperback Christie has sold well over four hundred million around the world, and that she is the world's second best-selling author-only after the Bible. Many of Christie's works were adapted into plays and most are well received. Among them, The Mousetrap has an extraordinary long run inLondon; it has celebrated its ten thousandth performance now. The numerous adaptations of broadcast series and movies contribute further to her continuing popularity. Although her popularity with readers is obvious, she has received remarkably little sustained attention from literary critics.General studies on detective fiction tend to emphasize its ideological elements or its sociological insights. Studies of Christie-either those who defend, or those who accuse of, her creation-are all more or less subjective. Whether they like or dislike her is a matter of their own taste and has little to do with her true art. The present author's view is that no other approach can tell much about Christie's distinction as a detective writer, but to go deeper into her fictional world and examine her artistic construction. With this in mind, this dissertation focuses on her narrative strategies as plotting, suspense, characterization, and language. Then one of the oldest question about Christie-whether her works really worth serious critical attention-is to be answered.In the Introduction, the studies of detective fiction over the first half of 20th century are surveyed and summarized first in order to defend this genre's literary merits. Then studies after 1950s are retrospected briefly, for they have greatly developed and obtained more dimensions. For the convenience of analysis in later chapters, Agatha Christie's life and career are accounted briefly. Her several productive writing periods are discussed; important works of each period listed.In the First Chapter, Agatha Christie's achievements in plotting are discussed and demonstrated with examples. Her books are constructed largely upon three main narrative strategies. At the beginning of her writing career, as many other detective writers of the day, Christie also based her writing mostly on "the-least-likely-person ploy" and produced ma...
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