Out of the Woodpile: Black Characters in Crime and Detective Fiction

Contending that a mythology of race consisting of themes of sex and savagery exists in the United States and is perpetuated in popular culture, Frankie Y.Bailey identifies stereotypical images of blacks in crime and detective fiction and probes the implied values and collective fantasies found there. Out of the Woodpile is a socio-historical study of the evolution of black detectives and other African American characters in genre fiction. The volume’s three divisions reflect the evolution of the status of African Americans in American society. The results of survey questions carried in The Third Degree , the newsletter of the Mystery Writers of America, as well as the views of 14 crime writers on the creation of black characters in genre fiction are followed by the Directory , which includes a sampling of cases featuring black characters, a list of black detectives, relevant works of fiction, film and television.