Literary studies - fiction, novelists & prose writers

The story of Ted Lewis carries historical and cultural resonances for our own troubled times Get Carter are two words to bring a smile of fond recollection to all British film lovers of a certain age. The cinema classic was based on a book called Jack’s Return Home, and many commentators agree…

Originally published by Gryphon Books in 1993, Difficult Lives was one of the earliest attempts to track the legacy of original paperback writers such as Jim Thompson, David Goodis and Chester Himes. The individual essays on these three first appeared in literary magazines. Difficult Lives visits a rare moment when…

Philosophies of Crime Fiction provides a considered analysis of the philosophical ideas to be found in crime literature – both hidden and explicit. Josef Hoffmann ranges expertly across influences and inspirations in crime writing with a stellar cast including Conan Doyle, G K Chesterton, Dashiell Hammett, Albert Camus, Borges, Agatha…