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Best-selling author Mary Higgins Clark, the Queen of Suspense, uses a popular literary genre, the novel of mystery and suspense, to explore contemporary social issues and the reality of evil in the lives of ordinary people. This first critical study of her work reveals the serious intent of a popular writer of popular fiction. It examines common themes-the consequences of crime on innocent victims, how crime forces its victims to confront their deepest psychological fears and the terror of the past-and explores Clark's treatment of current social issues from capital punishment to child abuse. The study provides close textual analysis of each novel in turn, revealing the surprising depth of Clark's work and her extraordinary gift for working within a number of literary genres under the guise of popular fiction.
This study analyzes all of Clark's fiction including her most recent
Remember Me and
The Lottery Winner. Pelzer places Clark's fiction in the context of its genre and provides close textual analysis of each novel. In addition she provides alternative critical perspectives that offer additional insight. For ease of use by the reader, each chapter is devoted to a single novel and is subdivided into sections on narrative strategies (plot, time, and setting), thematic development, character development, and alternative perspectives on the novel. Pelzer also analyzes Clark's use of generic conventions as well as her distinctive style. This study helps the reader to understand the deeper and richer aspects of Clark's fiction and to appreciate why her reputation is so well deserved. A key purchase for secondary school, public, and community college library collections.
Table des matières
Series Foreword by Kathleen Gregory Klein
Introduction
"The Queen of Suspense"
Mary Higgins Clark and the Novel of Suspense
Where Are the Children? (1975)
A Stranger Is Watching (1978)
The Cradle Will Fall (1980)
A Cry in the Night (1982)
Stillwatch (1984)
Weep No More, My Lady (1987) and The Lottery Winner (1994)
While My Pretty One Sleeps (1989)
Loves Music, Loves to Dance (1991)
All Around the Town (1992)
I'll Be Seeing You (1993)
Remember Me (1994); and The Anastasia Syndrome (1989)
Bibliography
Index
A propos de l'auteur
LINDA C. PELZER is Associate Professor of English at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. A specialist in American literature, she is a former Fulbright scholar. She is currently at work on a study of the work of Gail Godwin.
Résumé
A critical study of the work of Mary Higgins Clark who uses the literary genre of mystery and suspense to write popular fiction. This text examines common themes in Clark's work, such as the consequences of crime on innocent victims, and explores her treatment of current social issues.
