Classic fiction: Why is it always the butler?
Author: Kyla Sterling, October 2017
While I may be your intrepid Assistant Editor (and occasional Evil Overlord) on the boards, by day I'm a humble librarian. And my library has instituted a program wherein we are required to set "goals" for ourselves to meet - or hopefully exceed - each year to earn a pay raise.
In 2016, one of my goals was to start a book club. And not just any book club - the library already has book clubs for mystery, sci-fi/fantasy, young adult literature, Black writers, and more. But I thought something was missing from each of these groups - foundation. For the most part, the book clubs are reading current bestsellers in their respective genres. But what got those genres started? Why does everybody automatically assume "the butler did it?" Why is there always a beautiful alien princess? And WHY, for goodness' sake, is there always a stupid misunderstanding in the second act that cause the hero and heroine to temporarily break up? I decided to start a book club designed to find all these answers and more.
I hopped in the library Wayback Machine and dug up some of the earliest examples of genre fiction I could find, and got a nice core of people to start coming to the book club. As it's evolved, we've added some later, but still definitive, works of fiction to our reading list. Here's a few of the more interesting (or UNinteresting) ones we've found so far:
- Mystery
The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins - one of the first mystery novels to feature a "detective" unaffiliated with law enforcement
The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie - the first appearance of Hercule Poirot
- Fantasy
The Wyrm Ouroboros, by Eric Eddison - one of the first high fantasy novels, purposely written in an archaic style
Ill Met in Lankhmar, by Fritz Leiber - the introduction of the "sword and sorcery" pulp-style novel
- Science Fiction
A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs - the introduction of John Carter, and the originator of several of the most famous genre tropes
War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells - set the standard for the "alien invasion" plot
- Romance
Far From the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy - proof that guys got upset about the "friendzone" a century and a half ago
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen - still the go-to for classic romance
- Western
Riders of the Purple Sage - the first of the "lone gunman" characters who appear mysteriously to save the day
The Virginian - the first tale of life in the "Wild West."
- Horror
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley - the result of a contest among friends, and one of the original fictional monster tales
The Call of Cthulhu, by H.P. Lovecraft - how often does an author get a subgenre (Lovecraftian horror) named after them?
These are just a few of the titles we read in the first few months of the club. Since then, we've explored further genres - such as dystopian fiction and historical fiction - and added newer works to our reading list. The club is winding down, as members' lives catch up to them. BUT! I am pleased to announce that, if there is enough interest, the book club might be able to live on virtually! Please send me a PM if you're interested in participating!
I hope you enjoy these books, and would love to hear about other genre-defining classics you may have read!
