“Let’s play deduction!”: Analysis of the conventions of Detective fiction in E. Nesbit’s The Bastable Series and E. Blyton’s The Famous Five Series

Abstract

From the second half of the Nineteenth century on, Detective fiction for young readers has become one of the most appreciates genres of children’s literature, especially thanks to the growing attention that has been shown through the years, both on the part of authors and editors and of the juvenile audience. This dissertation is composed of three main chapters, each of them exploring different aspects of detective fiction in children’s literature. The first chapter focuses on the development of the detective genre both in adult and children literature, exploring the main points that have made the success of the genre possible, from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter. The second chapter analyses the conventions of detective fiction applied to children’s literature, starting with the structure of the novel and with the role of the child and the narrator. Three works of fiction are used as reference: The Case of the Baker Street Irregular by Robert Newmann ,The Bastables series by Edith Nesbit and The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton, the focus being in particular on the last two. The third and last chapter deals with the innovations typical of detective fiction for young readers that cannot be found in adult literature in the two novels previously analysed: the relationship between the child protagonist and the family, the importance of the environment in which the child lives, and the influence of gender in the development of the story.