Name:______Date:______Block:______
History of Mystery Webquest
Directions: Go to and in the “View Track #” box, type “333625”. Once you have opened the track, use the provided websites to answer the following questions.
You can also find the information at these websites:
Vocabulary- I have provided these for you. Make sure you study them as they will be on your test.
- Alibi- a plea offered by an accused person of not having been at the scene of a crime
- Clue- something that appears to give information toward solving the crime
- Deduction- collecting the facts and drawing a possible conclusion
- Evidence- someone or something that proves who committed the crime
- Means- item or device used to commit the crime (gun, poison, knife)
- Motive- the reason a crime is committed
- Opportunity- the time or chance needed to commit a crime
- Red herring- a false lead that throws the investigator off track
- Sleuth- an investigator or detective; this person does not need to be a professional
- Suspects- people who appear to have a motive to have committed the crime
- Witness- person who has personal knowledge about the crime
Types of Mysteries
- Locked Room Mysteries- the murder victim is found inside an apparently sealed or locked room
- Cozy Style Mysteries- popular in the 1920’s in Britain, features a small village setting and an aristocratic (upper class) hero; has many red herrings; weapons are wealthy pieces like jeweled-handled letter openers or imported poisons
- Hard-Boiled Mysteries- also popular in the 1920’s, featured “tough guys who lived by strict codes of honor” (Mystery.net)
History
Ancient Greeks:
Cicero-Born ______.Had great skill as an ______, which he displayed in ______. If he were still alive today, what profession would he have? ______
Early Modern Mystery:
Edgar Allan Poe- Created the first fictional detective, named ______, in the short story “______”, published in ______.
Charles Dickens: Influenced Poe, wrote “______” (1853) and “______” (1870), which is the ______mystery because it was left unfinished by his death.
Wilkie Collins: Wrote “______” (1868), which is considered the first ______.
Anna Katherine Green: Wrote “______” (1878), and was the first ______.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Created the famous detective ______in the story “______” (1887). Holmes’ ______was formidable, and he turned crime into a ______. His sidekick ______had a soothing ______.
British Mysteries- 1920’s- Golden Age of Mystery Fiction
______mystery most popular
Agatha Christie: Queen of the Golden Age. Wrote over ______novels in a career spanning over ______years. Created two of mystery fiction’s most popular characters- ______, introduced in ______and ______.
Dorothy L. Sayers: Created detective ______in ______.
Manfred B. Lee/Frederic Dannay: Used the pseudonym ______, and had the detective solve mysteries with ______. Brought the Golden Age to ______during the 1930s and 40s.
Black Mask/ Pulp Mysteries
Dashiell Hammett/Raymond Chandler: detectives were ______and reflected ______
Mickey Spillane: Published “______” in 1947, and focused on ______and ______.
TV Mysteries
Many famous characters such as ______, Simon Templar, ______, Jim Rockford, and ______.
Children’s Mysteries
______, The Hardy Boys, and ______.
Agatha Christie
Has been outsold only by ______and ______.
Born in ______on ______.
Used the pseudonym ______to write ______novels.
Made a Dame on ______.
Died on ______.
Influences (under “How She Wrote”)
What did Christie write about?
Name three movies made from Christie’s novels:
Choose one of Christie’s two most famous detectives, and give me 5 facts about them:
Search for And Then There Were None and tell me:
Where and when does it take place:
Give me a description of what happens:
History
Ancient Greeks:
Cicero- Born Jan 3, 106 BC
Had great skill as an orator which he displayed in the public forum.
If he were still alive today, what profession would he have? Lawyer, judge, politician
Early Modern Mystery:
Edgar Allan Poe- Created the first fictional detective, named Auguste C. Dupin in the short story “Murder in the Rue Morgue”, published in 1841.
Charles Dickens: Influenced Poe, wrote “Bleak House” (1853) and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (1870), which is the perfect murder mystery because it was left unfinished by his death.
Wilkie Collins: Wrote “The Moonstone” (1868), which is considered the first true English detective novel.
Anna Katherine Green: Wrote “The Leavenworth Case” (1878), and was the first female to write a detective novel.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Created the famous detective Sherlock Holmes in the story “A Study in Scarlet” (1887). Holmes’ intelligence was formidable, and he turned crime into a science. His sidekick Dr. Watson had a soothing voice of reason.
British Mysteries- 1920’s- Golden Age of Mystery Fiction
Cozy style mystery most popular
Agatha Christie: Queen of the Golden Age. Wrote over 80 novels in a career spanning over 50 years. Created two of mystery fiction’s most popular characters- Hercule Poirot, introduced in 1920 and Jane Marple.
Dorothy L. Sayers: Created detective Lord Peter Wimsey in 1923.
Manfred B. Lee/Frederic Dannay: Used the pseudonym Ellery Queen, and had the detective solve mysteries with hisfather. Brought the Golden Age to America during the 1930s and 40s.
Black Mask/ Pulp Mysteries
Dashiell Hammett/Raymond Chandler: detectives were hard-edged men and reflected life in America at the time.
Mickey Spillane: Published “I, the Jury” in 1947, and focused on sex and violence.
TV Mysteries
Many famous characters such as Perry Mason, Simon Templar, Lt. Columbo, Jim Rockford, and Jessica Fletcher.
Children’s Mysteries
Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Encyclopedia Brown.
Agatha Christie
Has been outsold only by Shakespeare and The Bible.
Born in Torquay, England on Sept 15, 1890.
Used the pseudonym Mary Westmacott to write romance novels.
Made a Dame in 1971.
Died on Jan 12, 1976.
Influences (under “How She Wrote”)
What did Christie write about?
The world she knew and saw
Name three movies made from Christie’s novels:
The Secret Adversary, And Then There Were None, Witness for the Prosecution
Choose one of Christie’s two most famous detectives, and give me 5 facts about them:
Jane Marple- doesn’t look like a detective, tall & thin, knitting needles, St. Mary Mead, familiar with biblical things
Hercule Poirot- Belgian, escaped to England in WWI, psychology of murderer, dramatic finish, wheel chair when older
1939, Devon, England
10 strangers show up on an island, don’t know their host, start to die one by one
Mysterynet-
Agatha Christie Website-