{"product_id":"9783031298486","title":"Ocular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction","description":"\u003ch3\u003eCrime Files\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eOcular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLisa Hopkins\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eLiterary Criticism \/ Modern \/ 20th Century\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eFrom Sherlock Holmes onwards, fictional detectives use lenses: \u003ci\u003eOcular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e argues that these visual aids are metaphors for ways of seeing, and that they help us to understand not only individual detectives’ methods but also the kinds of cultural work detective fiction may do.  It is sometimes regarded as a socially conservative form, and certainly the enduring popularity of ‘Golden Age’ writers such as Christie, Sayers, Allingham and Marsh implies a strong element of nostalgia in the appeal of the genre.  The emphasis on visual aids, however, suggests that solving crime is not a simple matter of uncovering truth but a complex, sophisticated and inherently subjective process, and thus challenges any sense of comforting certainties.  Moreover, the value of eye-witness testimony is often troubled in detective fiction by use of the phrase ‘the ocular proof’, whose origin in Shakespeare’s \u003ci\u003eOthello\u003c\/i\u003e reminds usthat Othello is manipulated by Iago into misinterpreting what he sees.  The act of seeing thus comes to seem ideological and provisional, and Lisa Hopkins argues that the kind of visual aid selected by each detective is an index of his particular propensities and biases.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eLisa Hopkins\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor Emerita of English at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. She has published widely on Renaissance drama (particularly Shakespeare, Marlowe and Ford), adaptation studies, and more recently crime fiction. She is co-editor of \u003ci\u003eShakespeare\u003c\/i\u003e, the journal of the British Shakespeare Association, and of the Arden Guides to Early Modern Drama. Her previous books include \u003ci\u003eShakespearean Allusion in Crime Fiction: DCI Shakespeare\u003c\/i\u003e (Palgrave, 2016) and \u003ci\u003eBurial Plots in British Detective Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e (Palgrave, 2021).\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e01 June 2023\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer Nature Switzerland\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePalgrave Macmillan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9783031298486\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e193\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Springer Nature Switzerland","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52319745605772,"sku":"9783031298486","price":116.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9783031298486","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}