The Technique of the Mystery Story Illustrated

Carolyn Wells was a prolific author of mystery novels. In this detailed book, she teaches the history, types, principles, devices, plots, and structures of mystery writings. She gives advice to would-be authors of this genre, including ghost and riddle stories as well as detective and crime mysteries. This authoritative work begins with a justification of mystery as a legitimate literary art form, with numerous quotations from authorities. Then proceeding systematically through her topics, she explains and illustrates the mystery-writing craft with excerpts from mystery works and quotations of literary critics and notable authors.