Nor is it any part of my thesis to maintain that it [the detective story] is a vital and significant form of art. There are no vital and significant forms of art; there is only art, and precious little of that.


essay, first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly (November, 1945) - The Simple Art of Murder (1950)


Nor is it any part of my thesis to maintain that it [the detective story] is a vital and significant form of art. There are no vital and significant...

Nor is it any part of my thesis to maintain that it [the detective story] is a vital and significant form of art. There are no vital and significant...

Nor is it any part of my thesis to maintain that it [the detective story] is a vital and significant form of art. There are no vital and significant...

Nor is it any part of my thesis to maintain that it [the detective story] is a vital and significant form of art. There are no vital and significant...