That got me wondering. Why are so few of our contemporary crime/mystery books illustrated?
It’s not like there’s no tradition of illustrated works. The original Sherlock Holmes was heavily illustrated by Sidney Paget. He created more than 300 images, from full-page pictures to detailed spot illustrations.
Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, had several maps and illustrations in its first appearances, but her later ones did not. Early Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books had limited illustrations.
A few more recent works with illustrations come to mind. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon is illustrated. Several popular books, like The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall and The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, are available in illustrated versions in addition to the original, image-free editions.
Illustrations are more common in some other types of genre fiction. Speculative fiction, both sci-fi and fantasy, often use images to augment the text. So does horror. Romance and historical fiction often include pictures.
What do illustrations do?
They serve as a kind of “shorthand” to convey information and atmosphere without the author resorting to elaborate descriptions or “info dumps.”
They enhance character-building, adding additional physical descriptive elements. They can show subtle expressions and body language. Personality traits can be effectively reinforced.
They drop the reader immediately into the setting, whether it’s a familiar small town, a bustling city, or something more exotic.
They can present maps, diagrams, or relationship trees that clarify complex narratives.
>They have an emotional and cognitive impact on the readers, strengthening memory retentions and sparking imagination.
Novels rely on the written narrative to tell the story. A novel with illustrations is not a graphic novel or comic book, which rely on sequential art panels to move the story forward.
Can illustrations provide too much superficial information too easily, thus discouraging the reader from becoming emotionally involved in the story? Possibly. I suspect it would be different for different readers. And different authors. Reader involvement is important. Most of the early Harlequin romances were careful to severely limit even written descriptions of the heroine so that each reader could more easily place herself in that role.
I feel that my Christmas short stories need illustrations, so I am exploring my options. I don’t feel nearly as strongly about my crime/mystery tales.
Are you familiar with crime/mystery works that use illustrations? Do you think illustrations would appeal to today’s readers?
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