Detective Fiction and Anti-Intellectualism at the Fin de Siècle
Date of Award
5-1-2025
Degree Name
M.A. in English
Department
Department of English
Advisor/Chair
Laura Vorachek
Abstract
At the turn of the century there was an increase in social concern surrounding intellectualism and the role of the academic in a rapidly industrializing world. While anti-intellectualism is addressed in a variety of literary texts, detective fiction offers a unique insight into the emergent anxieties surrounding intellectualism. The Sign of the Four, published in 1890 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The Man Who Was Thursday, published in 1908 by G.K. Chesterton, both address the increased cynicism surrounding intellectualism. I argue that Conan Doyle attempts to justify the work of the intellectual by proposing that they are necessary to prevent reverse-colonization, while Chesterton critiques the idea that intellectuals are openly planning the downfall of Western society. Chesterton and Conan Doyle’s different approaches to addressing the fears surrounding intellectualism highlight the pervasive distrust of the intellectual through two decades and the efforts of literary authors to emphasize the continued importance of intellectuals in modern times.
Keywords
British and Irish Literature, Literature
Rights Statement
Copyright 2025, author.
Recommended Citation
Thiele, Alexandra, "Detective Fiction and Anti-Intellectualism at the Fin de Siècle" (2025). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7539.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/graduate_theses/7539
