Great mysteries: the origins
other glorious mysteries
Medieval mysteries
Victorian mysteries
don't forget spy books
It all started with Edgar Allan Poe (b. 1809) who wrote the first detective stories and influenced all the authors coming after him in the 19th century.
The Cask of Amontillado is a story of revenge told by the murderer
The Murders in the Rue Morgue a real detective story with the first hero: Dupin
The Premature Burial In the 19th century, people were afraid to be buried alive, because there was no technology to differentiate death from coma. My own grandmother, born in the 1880s used to tell me that if she looked dead, I had to pierce her finger with a needle to confirm that blood did not flow anymore.
Wilkie Collins (b.1824) was a close friend of Dickens. He wrote many books including The Moonstone which is the first British detective fiction. Collins was addicted to opium and did not remember writing large portions of the book; personally, I think it is unreadable, and it is very rare that I abandon a book, but a lot of people still find it enjoyable because characters are well developed and the book is well written.
Gaboriau (b. 1832), a French writer, was the secretary of Paul Feval and created the first scientific detective in The Lerouge Case with a police inspector, Monsieur Lecoq, who inspired the creation of Sherlock Holmes. A prolific writer (you can enjoy three more Lecoq enquiries), Gaboriau died very young. Most of his books can be downloaded from archive.org or the Gutenberg project.
Arthur Conan Doyle (b. 1859) remains the best known mystery writer of the 19th century. There are 60 Sherlock Holmes stories in the canon***. And then thousands of imitators and hundreds of pastiches (the site schoolandholmes.com is at 301 novels!) Sherlock enjoys his own museum at 221B Baker street, pubs, hotels, statues, commemorative plaques, stamps and of course his own cookbooks, seriously! To name a few: Dining With Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Cookbook by Julia Rosenblatt, The Sherlock Holmes Cookbook by Charles A. Mills, Sherlock Holmes Cookbook by Sean Wright and John Farrell.
The best pastiche I read (of course I did not read all of the 301 ones) is by Nicholas Meyer The 7% solution based on the fabulous idea to have Sherlock meeting Sigmund Freud. The book was made in a perfect movie***, one of these Victorian charmers where everything is right: the actors, the action, the set, the costumes, the music. It is a delight, but it has become expensive because DVDs of the film are rare. Meyer wrote two other books starring Sherlock. Another author who tackled Holmes in the most amusing way is Laurie King (the first phrase of her first Holmes novel is quoted on the next page).
Two French authors tried to compete with Doyle. Maurice Leblanc (b. 1864)with a series about an investigator who is also a thief, starting with Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Thief. the book exists on kindle with apparently a better translation, judging from the title: Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar.
Gaston Leroux (b. 1868) is the author of a classic locked room mystery: The Mystery Of The Yellow Room. It is a good read, but the enduring glory of the author comes from The Phantom of the Opera. I have seen the opera with one of my favorite students, but I don't remember in what country.
other glorious mysteries
Medieval mysteries
Victorian mysteries
don't forget spy books
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