The detective novel . . . is aimed above all at the intelligence; and this could constitute for it a title to nobility. It is in any case perhaps one of the reasons for the favour it enjoys. A good detective story possesses certain qualities of harmony, internal organisation and balance, which respond to certain needs of the spirit, needs which some modern literature, priding itself on being superior, very often neglects.
(Quoted on page 175 of Talking About Detective Fiction, by P. D. James. Knopf, 2009. Originally the quotation appeared in Régis Messac’s Le “detective novel” et l’influence de la pensée scientifique, published in 1929.)
Régis Messac was a French essayist and poet. For images of or relating to him, click here.
For a brief biography of P. D. James, click here. For images of or relating to P. D. James, click here.
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