Murder, in Fact - Disillusionment and Death in the American True Crime Novel

With the 1965 publication of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote declared he broke new literary ground. But Capote's "nonfiction novel" belongs to a long Naturalist tradition originating in the work of 19th-century French novelist Emile Zola. Naturalism offers a particular response to the increasing problem of violence in American life and its sociological implications.
This book traces the origins of the fact-based homicide novel that emerged in the mainstream of American literature with works such as Frank Norris's McTeague and flourished in the twentieth century with works such as Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and Richard Wright's Native Son. At their heart is a young man isolated from community who acts out in desperate circumstances against someone who reflects his isolation. A tension develops between how society views this killer and the way he is viewed by the novelist. The crimes central to these narratives epitomize the vast gap between those who can aspire to the so-called "American dream" and those with no realistic chance of achieving it.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

1.¿The Critical Conundrum Launched by In Cold Blood

2.¿The Evolution of American Literary Naturalism

3.¿First-Wave Naturalism and the Homicide Novel, 1899-1925

4.¿Second-Wave Naturalism and the Homicide Novel, 1930-1960

5.¿The Old Naturalism Meets the New Journalism: Capote's In Cold Blood

6.¿Mailer's Big "Non-Book": The Executioner's Song as Faux Naturalism

7.¿"Variations on a Theme by Capote": The 20th Century, Part II

8.¿"The Chickens Come Home to Roost": Naturalism Enters Its Third Century

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Lana A. Whited is a professor of English and director of the Boone Honors Program at Ferrum College, Ferrum, Virginia. She has edited two volumes of essays on the Harry Potter series and one on the Hunger Games trilogy.

Summary

Traces the origins of the fact-based homicide novel tradition that emerged in the mainstream of twentieth-century American literature with works such as Frank Norris's McTeague and Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy.

Product details

• Authors: Lana A. Whited, Whited Lana A.
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.11.2020
• EAN: 9781476672243
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-7224-3
• No. of pages: 261
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 13 mm
• Weight: 354 g
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies; USA, English, TRUE CRIME / Murder / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Mystery & Detective, United States of America, USA, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Naturalism, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Literary companions, book reviews & guides, Literary companions, book reviews and guides