I just realized that I failed to include the essential question that I intend to be able to answer at the completion of this project. So here it is: How does the academic setting contribute (or detract from) a mystery and why do you believe this particular setting is used?
Post any other questions or ideas that you think qould be useful in my quest to understand this genre better.
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4 comments:
Good question to start with.
I'm also wondering if there are any other factors that contribute to a story being classified as an academic mystery, other than just the setting. Definitely a way to do this would be to notice any noticeably significant similarities between the books you read.
Thanks, for the input. I'll be sure to look for any key elements that might classify these novels as academic mystery.
Hey Alisha!!
I was going to do that exact same question, but with historical background inhstead...
So, just wondering... what exactly is an "academic mystery"? -Did i ask this already? I'm still fuzzy on it.
Well, so far I have concluded that academic mystery is a mystery staged in an academic setting. Writers might choose to stage a mystery here because there is so much potential to make a lengthy detailed story with several suspects. Plus, schools and universities have a great deal of space and therefore make it difficult to determine who caused such a big disturbance/murder, especially with so many places to hide. Plus, mysteries at these instituions add another layer to the story because these people may be of higher intelligence and therefore smarter than the average criminal. (For more, see the Gaudy Night blog.) I'm still searching for academic mystery elements in my reading to help better understand the genre, but it the meantime, why do you think authors would stage a mystery in an academic setting?
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