Literary establishment looks down on crime writers
Sophie Hannah, who has just published the first Poirot continuation
novel, says readers fear their love for crime drama makes them look
"less intelligent"
There is an "enduring snobbery" about crime writing which leaves
people too embarrassed to admit they read it, the author Sophie Hannah
has said.
Hannah, who has just published the first Poirot continuation novel,
said the literary establishment still looked down on the genre, with
readers fearing their love for crime drama makes them look "less
intelligent".
At the Cheltenham Literature Festival she said those who criticised
Agatha Christie for "just writing puzzles" would never apply the same
standards to literary fiction, as authors called for more crime writing
to be included in major book prizes. Hannah, who had the blessing of the
Christie family to write her first continuation novel in 40 years, said
there is still snobbery about crime writing today, despite the fact it
is one of the best-selling genres in Britain.
"Despite all that there is an enduring snobbery," she said. "If you
ask people if they enjoy crime novels they'll say 'oh, my guilty
pleasure is...' then name a really brilliant crime writer. "I get a bit
cross about this. Some people even say 'I don't read crime fiction
unless it's in translation'."
She said the trend "boils down to insecurity", saying, "Either a lot
of people aren't as intelligent as other people or they worry about
their own intelligence - they worry about appearing clever. "Instead of
admitting their favourite kind of books might be crime fiction, they'll
say they've read all the Booker Prize for the last ten years.
"They're anxious that their tastes show them in a certain light."
Hannah added the works of Agatha Christie had also suffered from
intellectual snobbery, saying some critics dismissed her as "just
writing puzzles".
"No highbrow literary type would ever say Moby Dick is good but it's
just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important if she wasn't
just writing about romantic relationships."
Saying Christie has been criticised for writing "cardboard
characters", she said: "Just because someone has stylistic limitations
doesn't necessarily make them a worse writer."
- The Telegraph |