The man who invented the modern cop novel
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The man who invented the modern cop novel
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Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#2This says 1971, Martin Beck was earlier. I'd argue Maigret counts as well. The author mentions Chandler but I would never have considered those "police procedurals".
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#3This says 1971, Martin Beck was earlier. I'd argue Maigret counts as well. The author mentions Chandler but I would never have considered those "police procedurals".
I enjoy the Wambaugh I’ve read, but I had some issues with this article.
Version_five is right about Martin Beck. (I wouldn’t count Maigret or Chandler as “police procedurals”.)
Also on the list and predating Wambaugh: Ed McBain’s “87th Precinct” novels. First one published in 1956, last one in 2005.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#4This says 1971, Martin Beck was earlier. I'd argue Maigret counts as well. The author mentions Chandler but I would never have considered those "police procedurals".
I enjoy the Wambaugh I’ve read, but I had some issues with this article. Version_five is right about Martin Beck. (I wouldn’t count Maigret or Chandler as “police procedurals”.) Also on the list and predating Wambaugh: Ed McBain’s “87th Precinct” novels. First one published in 1956, last one in 2005.
I've not read McBain, I'll have to take a look.
I'm on the fence about Maigret. There is definitely an element of what I consider police procedural in there, though I agree they wouldn't be exemplars for the genre.
What's the one where there is a killer, I think he ends up being some kind of "architect designer" and they get a female cop to lure him out somehow. That's almost the same story as Roseanna. On the other hand, in some of the books he just sits in a bar all day.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#5This says 1971, Martin Beck was earlier. I'd argue Maigret counts as well. The author mentions Chandler but I would never have considered those "police procedurals".
I enjoy the Wambaugh I’ve read, but I had some issues with this article. Version_five is right about Martin Beck. (I wouldn’t count Maigret or Chandler as “police procedurals”.) Also on the list and predating Wambaugh: Ed McBain’s “87th Precinct” novels. First one published in 1956, last one in 2005.
Do Sherlock Holmes stories not count?
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
I enjoy the Wambaugh I’ve read, but I had some issues with this article. Version_five is right about Martin Beck. (I wouldn’t count Maigret or Chandler as “police procedurals”.) Also on the list and predating Wambaugh: Ed McBain’s “87th Precinct” novels. First one published in 1956, last one in 2005.
Do Sherlock Holmes stories not count?
In spirit, I would agree they should count. But on a technicality, Holmes helps the police but is not part of the police.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#7This says 1971, Martin Beck was earlier. I'd argue Maigret counts as well. The author mentions Chandler but I would never have considered those "police procedurals".
It should probably say “modern American cop novel.”
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
I enjoy the Wambaugh I’ve read, but I had some issues with this article. Version_five is right about Martin Beck. (I wouldn’t count Maigret or Chandler as “police procedurals”.) Also on the list and predating Wambaugh: Ed McBain’s “87th Precinct” novels. First one published in 1956, last one in 2005.
Do Sherlock Holmes stories not count?
> It is a story of police brutality, racism, public unrest, systemic rot, poverty, and the seemingly everlasting tension between American police departments and the communities they are supposed to protect and serve.
Doesn't exactly sound like the Sherlock Holmes I remember. Which is to say that despite both being centered around crime and mystery solving, they're really quite different.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#9Although I have searched to find any mention of Wambaugh’s correspondence with his first publisher, I have failed to find any mention of what was called the “World’s shortest letter,” or something like that.
From memory I recall reading an account of Wambaugh having been invited to submit his first manuscript to a publisher and, after not hearing anything back, he sent a letter to them that consisted entirely of a single question mark typed on a sheet of paper. A few days later, he received a response that consisted of a single exclamation point.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#10Although I have searched to find any mention of Wambaugh’s correspondence with his first publisher, I have failed to find any mention of what was called the “World’s shortest letter,” or something like that. From memory I recall reading an account of Wambaugh having been invited to submit his first manuscript to a publisher and, after not hearing anything back, he sent a letter to them that consisted entirely of a si…
I've seen that story a number of times, attributed to various people.
https://www.countrylife.co.uk/country-life/wars-weddings-boi...
> This has been attributed to both Victor Hugo and Oscar Wilde. In both cases, the writers are said to have telegrammed their respective publishers to ask about sales of their latest published works.
> In both cases, the telegram simply asked ‘?’. The publisher is said to have replied with an equally frugal ‘!’.