From the 1840s to the 1950s, every important element of crime fiction was invented, including such archetypal investigators as the police detective, the amateur sleuth, the hard-boiled private eye, and the secret agent. Featuring rare covers and classic illustrations, The Golden Age of Crime Fiction covers this crucial period, with sections on famous writers like Arthur Conan Doyle, Dashiell Hammett, and Agatha Christie. But the book delves deeper, showing how unknown writers and illustrators were responsible for establishing a genre that became a cornerstone of popular culture.