Kiwi Crime Writing: A Rich Tradition from a Distant Sea

• DOI: 10.1353/wlt.2016.0281
• Publication Date: 2022-01-02T15:01:15Z
• Authors: J. Madison Davis
• Keywords: Aotearoa

16 WLT JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 photo : stephen murphy N ew Zealand is, relatively speaking, a tiny country with population half the size of New York City and in location so remote, commercial flight from Los Angeles takes over fifteen hours to get there. The closest big city, Sydney, is three across almost landless Tasman Sea. Legendary for beauty its landscape fierce Maori culture that has occupied islands since late thirteenth century, Aotearoa, as Maoris called north island, had first European contact 1642, coastline wasn’t mapped extensively crime & mystery Kiwi Crime Writing A Rich Tradition Distant Sea by J. Madison Davis WORLDLITERATURETODAY.ORG 17 until Captain Cook arrived 1769. After that, immigrants began appropriating land, today ethnic about three-quarters European. travel book cliché culturally “most British” former British colonies, we can see influence writers on most literary genres, mystery, very beginnings genre. One earliest best-selling mysteries world was written Fergus Hume, who claimed even though he born 1859 Worcestershire County Pauper Lunatic Asylum England, where his father worked, only lived age twenty-five. In 1861, during Otago gold rush south island , became superintendent Dunedin lunatic asylum. Educated what now Boys’ High School this remote outpost empire, likely isolated more living grounds an asylum, young must have dreamed bigger things. Even Dunedin’s multiplied fivefold 1860s Zealand’s largest city 1865 roughly 1900, it under twenty-five thousand people then. Hume matriculated University Otago, studied law, admitted bar 1883, but prospect steady career lawyer not enough. He wrote poetry anonymous reviews were published local press involved theater. developed reputation dandy, being fish small pond still moved Melbourne, Australia, which lively theater culture, community Melbourne basically closed shop. could any plays read, let alone produced . Determined break into writing, thought perhaps novel would work him. researched selling discovered novels Émile Gaboriau popular. Edgar Allan Poe credited making popular genre, Poe’s French powerful. ’s L’Affaire Lerouge (1866) series pioneering drawing memoirs Eugène François Vidocq (as had) further popularized novel. died 1873, translations inspired write Mystery Hansom Cab, which, like plays, no publisher touch. They faith colonial, told. complicated story publication recently recounted Blockbuster! Lucy Sussex. When privately printed 1886, flew off shelves. publishers came hat hand, didn’t believe be successful Britain America, sold rights fifty pounds. Times reported Hume’s obituary million copies. made money dramatic version, however, death 1932. worth noting, preceded appearance Sherlock Holmes year, thus backwater colonial deserves major credit one influential creators mystery...