Courtesy of Brigham Young University Library, a lovely annotated bibliography of the campus mystery novel from 1920 to 2000. Maybe I'll start with the intriguing but gory-sounding Off With Her Head by the Coles (1938) or Aaron Marc Stein's The Case of the Absent-Minded Professor (1943) or Scott Keech's Ciphered (1980).
Showing posts with label Academic Novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Academic Novels. Show all posts
February 22, 2018
June 12, 2017
First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Deans @chronicle
Ms. Mentor, channelled through Emily Toth, Professor of English and Women's Studies at LSU, offers her annual-ish list of academic list of novels for summer reading here for the Chronicle of Higher Education. This year, the theme is nasty deans. I wouldn't have thought there were all that many to choose from. I am so naive.
Alfred Alcorn, Murder in the Museum of Man (1997).
Saul Bellow, The Dean’s December (1982).
Willa Cather, The Professor’s House (1925).
David Fleming, It’s All Academic (2000).
John Gardner, Mickelsson’s Ghosts (1982).
Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Devil and Webster (2017).
Bernard Malamud, A New Life (1961).
Bourne Morris, The Red Queen’s Run (2014).
Cathy Perkins, The Professor (2012).
Joanne Rendell, The Professors’ Wives’ Club (2008).
Kim A. Smith, The Cora Crane School of Journalism: a Novel of Academic Shenanigans (2016).
To the list I suggest looking at film and tv deans: check out the Dean Bitterman trope in TV Tropes. See also the Perry Mason episode The Case of the Decadent Dean (s7, ep. 5).
From my own wonderful dean, Tom Galligan, (definitely not a candidate for literary extermination and who provided the title for this post: "Out, out, damned deans!"
To the list I suggest looking at film and tv deans: check out the Dean Bitterman trope in TV Tropes. See also the Perry Mason episode The Case of the Decadent Dean (s7, ep. 5).
From my own wonderful dean, Tom Galligan, (definitely not a candidate for literary extermination and who provided the title for this post: "Out, out, damned deans!"
July 6, 2016
Summer Reading: Some Academic Mystery Novels
Ms. Mentor (the nom d'academe of retired LSU English professor Emily Toth) has published her annual academic novel summer reading list here, and as usual, I wonder which academic mystery novels I would compile for such a list.
Carolyn Heilbrun (Amanda Cross)'s Kate Fansler's wonderful novels are obvious choices, but what to add? There are Alfred Alcorn's mysteries set in an academic museum, a couple of Stephen Carter's novels, and (my favorites) those of Pamela Thomas-Graham. Here's a list to get started.
Alcorn, Alfred, Murder in the Museum of Man, Zoland Books, 1997.
Carter, Stephen L., The Emperor of Ocean Park, Penguin, 2003.
Carter, Stephen L., New England White, Borzoi, 2007.
Cross, Amanda, Death in a Tenured Position, Dutton, 1981.
Cross, Amanda, The Edge of Doom, Ballentine, 2002.
Cross, Amanda, Honest Doubt, Ballentine, 2000.
Cross, Amanda, The James Joyce Murder, Virago Press, 1989.
Cross, Amanda, An Imperfect Spy, Ballantine, 1995.
Cross, Amanda, In the Last Analysis, Thorndyke Press, 1979.
Cross, Amanda, No Word From Winifred, Dutton, 1986.
Cross, Amanda, The Players Come Again, Random House, 1990.
Cross, Amanda, Poetic Justice, Knopf, 1970.
Cross, Amanda, Puzzled Heart, 1998.
Cross, Amanda, The Question of Max, Dutton, 1984.
Cross, Amanda, Sweet Death, Kind Death, Dutton, 1984.
Cross, Amanda, A Trap For Fools, Dutton, 1989.
Dexter, Colin, Last Bus to Woodstock, Ivy Books, 1995 (paperback edition). The Inspector Morse novels are set in Oxford and often have a substantial connection to the university. Filmed with John Thaw as the taciturn Inspector; available streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix and on DVD. A prequel, Endeavour, is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
MacLeod, Charlotte, Rest You Merry, Otto Penzler Books, 1993. The Peter Shandy mysteries by Charlotte MacLeod are set at fictional Balaclava Agricultural College. Ten in the series.
Martinez, Guillermo, The Oxford Murders, Penguin, 2006. Adapted for film; available for streaming on Amazon Prime and on DVD.
Thomas-Graham, A Darker Shade of Crimson, Simon and Schuster, 1998. Set at Harvard.
Thomas-Graham, Pamela, Blue Blood, Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Thomas-Graham, Orange Crushed, Simon and Schuster, 2004.
Also check out the substantial listing of Oxford-Cambridge-Harvard related mystery novels here. The BYU Libraries have compiled a listing of mystery novels in their own collections involving universities, faculty and/or students here.
Carolyn Heilbrun (Amanda Cross)'s Kate Fansler's wonderful novels are obvious choices, but what to add? There are Alfred Alcorn's mysteries set in an academic museum, a couple of Stephen Carter's novels, and (my favorites) those of Pamela Thomas-Graham. Here's a list to get started.
Alcorn, Alfred, Murder in the Museum of Man, Zoland Books, 1997.
Alcorn, Alfred, The Love Potion Murders in the Museum of Man, Zoland Books, 2009.
Alcorn, Alfred, The Counterfeit Murder in the Museum of Man, Zoland Books, 2010.
Carter, Stephen L., The Emperor of Ocean Park, Penguin, 2003.
Carter, Stephen L., New England White, Borzoi, 2007.
Cross, Amanda, Death in a Tenured Position, Dutton, 1981.
Cross, Amanda, The Edge of Doom, Ballentine, 2002.
Cross, Amanda, Honest Doubt, Ballentine, 2000.
Cross, Amanda, The James Joyce Murder, Virago Press, 1989.
Cross, Amanda, An Imperfect Spy, Ballantine, 1995.
Cross, Amanda, In the Last Analysis, Thorndyke Press, 1979.
Cross, Amanda, No Word From Winifred, Dutton, 1986.
Cross, Amanda, The Players Come Again, Random House, 1990.
Cross, Amanda, Poetic Justice, Knopf, 1970.
Cross, Amanda, Puzzled Heart, 1998.
Cross, Amanda, The Question of Max, Dutton, 1984.
Cross, Amanda, Sweet Death, Kind Death, Dutton, 1984.
Cross, Amanda, A Trap For Fools, Dutton, 1989.
Dexter, Colin, Last Bus to Woodstock, Ivy Books, 1995 (paperback edition). The Inspector Morse novels are set in Oxford and often have a substantial connection to the university. Filmed with John Thaw as the taciturn Inspector; available streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix and on DVD. A prequel, Endeavour, is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
MacLeod, Charlotte, Rest You Merry, Otto Penzler Books, 1993. The Peter Shandy mysteries by Charlotte MacLeod are set at fictional Balaclava Agricultural College. Ten in the series.
Martinez, Guillermo, The Oxford Murders, Penguin, 2006. Adapted for film; available for streaming on Amazon Prime and on DVD.
Thomas-Graham, A Darker Shade of Crimson, Simon and Schuster, 1998. Set at Harvard.
Thomas-Graham, Pamela, Blue Blood, Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Thomas-Graham, Orange Crushed, Simon and Schuster, 2004.
Also check out the substantial listing of Oxford-Cambridge-Harvard related mystery novels here. The BYU Libraries have compiled a listing of mystery novels in their own collections involving universities, faculty and/or students here.
June 8, 2015
Academic Novels For Summer 2015
Ms. Mentor (the academic etiquette-ish alter ego of Emily Toth, Professor of English at Louisiana State University) has published her annual list of academic novels for the Chronicle of Higher Education. A number of them are wonderfully criminologically inclined. Enjoy!
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