The first true detective story was written by Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) in 1841. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" began the tradition of "classic" detective fiction. Classic detective fiction features a highly perceptive detective, a mysterious crime, and obscure clues. By the 1930s, a second type of detective fiction had appeared. This new detective fiction relied more on action than on working out puzzles. Known as "hard-boiled" detective fiction, it began in America and used American settings, especially the cities of Los Angeles, California, and New York City. The hardboiled (tough-guy) detective with his raincoat and low-brimmed hat is a defining figure of the 1930s and 1940s.

The most famous of the great detectives is Sherlock Holmes, created by British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930). Holmes's methods of deduction, his strange lifestyle, and faithful friend Watson are all borrowed from Poe's original story. In Poe's story, the...