The Love That Dare Not Solve Pre-Victorian Crimes

Bishop, David

Abstract

In recent decades gay and lesbian detectives have emerged as a growing, overt presence in crime fiction. But queer sleuths remain hard to find in historical mystery fiction, especially novels with pre-Victorian settings. Are market considerations or reader expectations a factor? Do authors self-censor themselves from including overt queer detectives in their historical crime narratives? Or is there an inherent conservatism within historical crime fiction? In this paper I will present initial findings from my investigation into the apparent absence of queer sleuths in pre-Victorian settings, and consider why characters solving crimes in the past are so rarely depicted as LGBTQ+.

Citation

Bishop, D. (2017, September). The Love That Dare Not Solve Pre-Victorian Crimes. Paper presented at Criminal Heritage: Crime, Fiction, and History, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Criminal Heritage: Crime, Fiction, and History
• Start Date: Sep 5, 2017
• End Date: Sep 5, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 5, 2017
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2018
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1284299