Does the literary establishment belittle crime writers?

LONDON — There is an enduring snobbery about crime writing which leaves people too embarrassed to admit they read it, author Sophie Hannah has said.

Hannah, who has just published the first Hercule Poirot continuation novel, said the literary establishment still looked down on the genre, with readers fearing their love for crime drama makes them look “less intelligent”.

She said those who criticised Agatha Christie for “just writing puzzles” would never apply the same standards to literary fiction, as authors called for more crime writing to be included in major book prizes. Hannah, who had the blessing of the Christie family to write her first continuation novel in 40 years, said there is still snobbery about crime writing today, despite the fact it is one of the best-selling genres.

“Despite all that, there is an enduring snobbery,” she said. “If you ask people if they enjoy crime novels they’ll say ‘oh, my guilty pleasure is ...’ then name a really brilliant crime writer. I get a bit cross about this. Some people even say ‘I don’t read crime fiction unless it’s in translation’.”

She added that the trend boils down to insecurity, saying: “Either a lot of people aren’t as intelligent as other people or they worry about their own intelligence — they worry about appearing clever.

“So instead of admitting their favourite kind of books might be crime fiction, they’ll say they’ve read all the Booker Prize for the past 10 years. They’re anxious that their tastes show them in a certain light.”

Hannah added that the works of Agatha Christie had also suffered from intellectual snobbery, saying some critics dismissed her as just writing puzzles.

“No highbrow literary type would say Moby Dick is good, but it’s just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important, if she wasn’t just writing about romantic relationships.”

Saying Christie has been criticised for writing “cardboard characters”, she added: “Just because someone has stylistic limitations doesn’t necessarily make them a worse writer.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH