Work

Orwell

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Orwell’s 1946 essay The “Decline of the English Murder” contrasts the emotionally charged “classic” murders of 1850–1925 with postwar crimes shaped by Americanisation and war. Centred on the 1944 Cleft Chin case, it laments lost moral depth. Yet Orwell oversimplifies historical change, overlooking earlier social upheavals, evolving police methods, and new psychological interpretations of crime found in interwar fiction, especially Christie’s. His analysis remains vivid but ultimately descriptive rather than explanatory.

Source: UNICA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Cagliari)

DOI: 10.13125/pan-6782

Author: Black, Jeremy

Language: English

Topic: Crime and Detective Fiction Studies

Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7103995440

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