Who was the first person in the world to write detective novels, that is, to invent detective novels? William Gothe's detective novels (1809-1849) are the product of the gradual improvement of the fu

Who was the first person in the world to write detective novels, that is, to invent detective novels? William Gothe's detective novels (1809-1849) are the product of the gradual improvement of the functions of the state machine, and are also a vivid reflection of the development of the capitalist economy in the history of world literature and art. Marxism believes that the state is a certain class of gay organs, including state power organs, state administrative organs, judicial organs, procuratorial organs, military, police, prisons, etc. In human social life, with the development of economy and the pursuit of personal life, it is bound to happen, and one of the measures they take is to fight crime. The police are tools to safeguard the interests of the rulers. They first play detective. But people didn't like the police at first. French writer Victor Hugo portrayed Javert, a policeman who pursues criminals, in "Les Misérables." Javert is a representative figure of national law, but his image is not loved by the broad masses of the people, so the people place their hopes on knights and detectives. Just as the Chinese love knights, detectives have become an increasingly popular role in Western society. In the mid-19th century, police and detective agencies were established in some large cities in the West, such as London, Paris, and New York. In addition to the official detectives, four detectives later emerged, a product of social polarization. Some nobles and upper-class people have privacy, but they are blackmailed by criminals for their privacy, or they are jealous of property by thugs. They often refrain from seeking help from state police departments out of fear of identity and instead go to detectives who can keep their private lives secret. This interesting social phenomenon is similar to the escort agencies that were born in China in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In ancient China, businessmen would rather spend a large sum of money to hire an escort to transport their belongings thousands of miles than seek government protection. After being blackmailed, a Western noble commissioned a private detective to catch the criminal. They value personal intelligence and martial arts. But the difference between the two is that Chinese businessmen turn to knight-errants before their property is stolen, while Western aristocrats only bow to the detective after an unfortunate incident occurs. Due to the differences in social, political and economic development and concepts between the East and the West, knights and detectives have formed different artistic images, occupying an important position in the history of literature. Christopher Dupin, Ellery Quinn, Sherlock Holmes, and Poirot in the West are as famous as Zhu Jiajian, Hong Fu, Bai Yutang, Gan Fengchi, and Thirteen Sisters in China. Before the emergence of detective novels, some novels adopted the structure of detective novels or shaped the prototype of detective novels. For example, the British writer William Godwin (1756-1836) in 1774 was a radical anarchist. He is also a philosopher and novelist. His daughter Mary married the great British poet Shelley (Mary once wrote a novel called "Frankenstein", which is considered the world's first modern science fiction novel). As it stands, this is a political novel promoting anarchism. The novel is about a young man from a poor background who discovers that his boss murdered a neighbor several years ago, resulting in the innocent tenants and their son being unfairly treated and executed. The master persecuted the young man for fear that his secret would be revealed. The novel adopts the form of flashbacks, interspersed with details of murder, reconnaissance, pursuit and other details, making it very exciting to read. Later, people regarded this unsuccessful political novel as the first attempt at a detective novel. Because of its structure and plot, it has the prototype of a detective novel. Of course, William Godwin did not deliberately write detective novels; he simply explained the unfairness of the legal and political system through narrative. This kind of political propaganda did not have much repercussions at the time, and it did not attract the attention of readers. In 1841, the British novelist Dickens published the novel "Bleak House" (Barnaby Lucci). This novel, with its theme of describing people's uprisings, shaped Sheriff Barkat: a man who is alert, brave, and full of empathy; he understands all religions. He is Dickens' idea of ??a good police officer, and he also has some qualities of a detective. It was because of the experience gained in this attempt that Dickens wrote the detective novel "The Case of Adre Trudeau" in his later years. This novel was published in 1870 and serialized in the magazine for six issues. It is a pity that the author passed away before completing this work, and the mystery in the book has become an unsolved mystery for eternity. In the same year (1841), American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) published "Murder in the Rue Morgue". This novel is full of suspense: the case took place in a room with locked doors and windows. How the murderer entered the secret room leaves people guessing. It turns out to be a big accident, but the perpetrator is actually... The novel is a bit of a mystery, animal crime akin to a fun outing. Despite this, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" still vividly demonstrates Poe's artistic style. It is the first time that a murder scene has been written so horrifically and mysteriously. After that, Poe wrote four detective novels: "The Mysterious Case of Mary Roger" (1842), "The Scarab" (1843), "You Are the Murderer" (1844) and "The Stolen Letter" (1844). These five novels show that detective novels have begun to take shape, and it is not an exaggeration to call Edgar Allan Poe "the originator of detective novels in the world". Edgar Allan Poe's great achievements in the history of world fiction can be cited from at least three aspects. First of all, Poe was the first writer to consciously create detective novels. He took the detective story as the theme of the novel and murder as the main factor of the novel. Secondly, Poe created the world's first detective image, Auguste Dupin. The Dupins were a famous French family. Due to repeated setbacks in his career, he relied on his inheritance to survive. His only interest is in the company of books. He likes fantasy, likes to think quietly in the dark, and is particularly interested in the mysteries that arise in life. He has the analytical skills and rich imagination that a detective should have. He pays special attention to people's psychological activities and links criminal activities with people's greed. Dupin was the first detective to appear on the stage of world literature. Poe also designed a dull, self-righteous reporter to serve as a foil to Dupin. Third, Poe created five different models of crime. The atmosphere of death and murder in his work makes one feel at home. Detectives use the traces left behind by criminals to uncover the truth. For example, "Scarab", by breaking codes. "You Are the Murderer" adopts the so-called psychological tactics of dead chat. Marie Roger's mysterious case relies entirely on material for reasoning. Although Edgar Allan Poe did not admit that he was a detective novelist and regarded these five detective novels as "games", his detective novels undoubtedly played a leading role in the formation of future detective novels. British detective novel master Conan Doyle inherited and developed Edgar Allan Poe's detective novels. Conan Doyle's golden partners Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were also transformed from Dupin and his reporter partner. The description of the murder atmosphere and the narrative mode of psychological reasoning have extremely valuable revelations for Conan Doyle. Poe was an American writer and literary critic. His novels include Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and The Black Cat. Poems include "To Helen," "Ambella Lee" and "The Raven." There are also essays "The Philosophy of Writing" and "On Poetry." His works are deeply influenced by the decadent faction of the Western bourgeoisie, advocating "art for art's sake", advocating aestheticism and mysticism, with bizarre plots and dark and terrifying colors. After Poe, another detective novelist, William Wilkie Collins, appeared in the history of British literature. Collins (1824-1889) was born in London. His father is a painter. He studied at Haibao Private School in his early years, and moved to Italy with his parents at the age of 12. At the age of 15, he returned to London, England, to study law and later became a lawyer. Began writing at the age of 23 (1847). His first book was "The Life of William Collins", describing his father's life. Collins wrote prolifically throughout his life, and many of his works were published in Household Talk, the most popular magazine of the Victorian era. Representative works include "The Woman in White", "Moon Stone", and "Xinji Liangsuo". Others, such as "Poor Miss Fenqu", "The Life of a Gangster", "The Black Robe", etc. "The Moonstone" is Collins' masterpiece of detective novels. It depicts the indifference of the British bourgeois upper class society in the 19th century, exposes the hypocrisy of religion, reveals the truth about charity, and condemns the crimes committed by the British invading army in India. This detective novel successfully created a vivid image of Inspector Foucault: through the detection of the Moonstone case, it fully demonstrated the exquisiteness of detective art and his ability to foresee everything. Other characters in the book are also vivid, such as Rachel's elegant manners, Wang Chen Yixian's obsession, Clark's hypocrisy and Seagrave's ignorance. After reading the entire book, readers called Inspector Foucault their hero. According to Collins, the police cuff he created already has a prototype. He used the true story of a detective from the Criminal Department of the British Police as a model for literary imagination, thus making the characters in the work flesh and blood. If you compare Officer Foucault with Officer Javert written by Hugo in the early 19th century, Foucault's image is undoubtedly more lovable, which also illustrates the changes in society and people's ideas about the image of police officers. Collins met the then British writer Dickens in 1854. There is no doubt that Dickens influenced his detective novels, but he wrote the detective novel "The Moon Stone" two years before Dickens. In terms of the order in which detective novels were published, Collins's detective novels also inspired Dickens. Dickens published The Case of Adre Trudeau two years after The Moonstone (1870). If Edgar Allan Poe pioneered the detective novel, Collins's contribution is that he led the detective novel from short stories to novels. Moonstone has 400,000 words. In the process of solving the case, different stories are told separately and then connected together, scattered but not chaotic, and intricate, which shows the author's superb literary skills. Collins's second contribution highlights the basic creative principle of "literature is the study of humanity". While writing and solving crimes, he created various characters, highlighted the character and psychological characteristics of detective Foucault, and greatly improved the literary nature of detective novels. Therefore, through the efforts of British and American writers such as William Godwin, Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, and Wilkie Collins. , detective novels move from prototype to maturity, fully demonstrating the artistry and literature of detective novels. Looking back at this stage is extremely important for us to understand the origin and development history of detective novels.