Introduction

This book pushes beyond the focus of murder mysteries in British detective fiction to illuminate elements of what is perhaps the next most pertinent subgenre: stories of burglary and theft.

Chapters

Chapters cover work including E. W. Hornung's Raffles stories, Sherlock Holmes's investigation of as well as his own commitment of theft, Agatha Christie's novels, and more.

Focus on Stolen Items

Outside of the thievery itself, Hopkins focuses on the actual stolen items, from jewellery to identity.

Themes

Examining stolen identities as well as stolen objects helps to bring out the extent to which narratives of theft raise issues of class, gender, and race as well as implicitly posing questions about social justice: who has the right to possess what, and on what grounds?