The Choirboys is funny in ways you just can’t imagine seeing in a book these days. It’s a masterpiece, with a Shakespearean mix of comedy, tragedy, and hella good prose. The language is not remotely as sensitive as we expect these days: it’s not racist but everyone is more… frank than we are accustomed to. I’m in my 60s and it was already retrograde in Southern California when it was published. The cops in it sound like New Yorkers, not Angelenos.
The man who invented the modern cop novel
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Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#12Although 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…
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Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#13Earlier 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?
Sherlock Holmes (and Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and others) are the polar opposite of a "modern cop novel":
> The criminals in classic crime novels generally have motives and make plans and think everything through in advance. The crime fighters in those books, on the other hand, generally solve every case. Wambaugh’s cops are faced with a starker reality. They are patrolmen. They don’t investigate murders.
But this dichotomy is visible in most crime literature/media until today. For example, the "Law & Order" franchise (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_%26_Order_(franchise)) is mostly police procedural, but in the "Criminal Intent" spin-off they went back to classic "detective stories".
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#14This 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.”
I agree. Sort of like how Clint Eastwood redefined Westerns from the cleancut western hero to a more morally ambiguous unshaven guy with a different sort of charisma.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#15Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
It should probably say “modern American cop novel.”
Doesn't the word 'cop' do that already? It does for me anyway.
I'm not sure "cop" has American origins.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#17Any chemists around should read his 'Delta Star' set in the CalTech Chemistry Department. Apparently he was buddies with Harry Grey and spent some time around the school. Grey, the only non-fictional character in the book, spoke highly of his work ethic (something like 'he turned up to all of the classes, which is more than most of our students do').
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#18[deleted]
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
It should probably say “modern American cop novel.”
Doesn't the word 'cop' do that already? It does for me anyway.
I reckon quite a few countries with English as an official language will have "cop" as a nickname for "police" - even in places where their police culture might significantly different from US police culture.
Re: The man who invented the modern cop novel
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do Sherlock Holmes stories not count?
Sherlock Holmes (and Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and others) are the polar opposite of a "modern cop novel": > The criminals in classic crime novels generally have motives and make plans and think everything through in advance. The crime fighters in those books, on the other hand, generally solve every case. Wambaugh’s cops are faced with a starker reality. They are patrolmen. They don’t investigate murders. But this…
> For example, the "Law & Order" franchise [...] is mostly police procedural
I think it's worth making more of a distinction between the different shows in the franchise.
One thing I really like about "classic" Law & Order is that it's half police procedural, and half... not just courtroom drama, but the drama behind the courtroom drama. And it follows a case all the way through from discovery to conviction/acquittal.
Whereas I'm not nearly as much of a fan of SVU, as it is mostly just another police procedural. (With the disturbing "unorthodox cops who have to bend the rules to get the job done" vibes, which really should have non-ironically gone out of fashion for good some time in the mid-'90s.)
I'd not checked out Criminal Intent, because I was figured it would just be more like SVU, but if it's more of a "detective story" than "police procedural", I might try to find time to give it a shot.