Probably because of the drama and an early form of celeb voyeurism, where we are fascinated with "how the other half live" kind of thing. An aspirational appeal maybe?
Is it because the richest people were the first readers of fiction before literacy became widespread?
I think it's more likely the writers were so they wrote about the lifestyle they knew they probably didn't know to much about how the poor or lower classes lived
Because poor people are too dumb to kill others off in an interesting way. What would be discussion worthy if some pheasant whacked another with a bottle of lager? Nothing.
I think it's more likely the writers were so they wrote about the lifestyle they knew they probably didn't know to much about how the poor or lower classes lived
Pretty much this. Go back to the earliest crime fiction writers and they're all upper-middle class. They set their stories in the milieus that they were famiiar with.
Probably because of the drama and an early form of celeb voyeurism, where we are fascinated with "how the other half live" kind of thing. An aspirational appeal maybe?
I'm also thinking these environments are ideal for msteries:
several possible suspects around the house e.g. groundsmen, servants, waiters etc
Grand houses make it plausible for a murder to take place unknown
Mannerisms e.g. Mr Harpinson always has tea at 3pm in the conservatory so he was disturbed when his waiter appeared at 3:01
Because poor people are too dumb to kill others off in an interesting way. What would be discussion worthy if some pheasant whacked another with a bottle of lager? Nothing.
If pheasants were whacking each other with bottles of lager, that would be pretty interesting. Peasants, not so much.
If pheasants were whacking each other with bottles of lager, that would be pretty interesting. Peasants, not so much.
God damn it, I really need to start paying better attention to my spelling:o. But English is not my first language and that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
because it would look silly from a council estate and all the best murders are done in the country and miles awayfrom anyone.
In general in films people get murdered for money or sex .
so big toff with a huge estate gets murdered by his siblings comparfed with an unemnployed council tenant
Probably because of the drama and an early form of celeb voyeurism, where we are fascinated with "how the other half live" kind of thing. An aspirational appeal maybe?
That's sort of what I was going to say.
Thing is, books and movies and TV shows are, all else aside, supposed to be entertainment.
That being the case, it creates a better opportunity to provide entertainment when you can set your story in some glitzy, jet-setting world rather than dull old suburbia.
I suppose that such settings also allow for less moral ambiguity too.
When you've got, say, some rich git who decides to bump off his business partner to keep all the money for himself or some playboy who gets his jollies by murdering women it's much easier to provoke dislike for the character than if it was a story about some poor sod who decided to shoot the manager of Brighthouse because he was in a heap of debt or summat.
I noticed a lot of horror films,like hammer,were always set in mostly upper class houses,or one of the main characters was a ranking officer in the army.Vampires seem to have been moved to the elite industrialists of society.
In the tv world, upper class people are seen as good and moral, and they wouldn't harm others. Lower classes are scummy and are drug addicts. So in order to keep Shameless on channel 4, they insist on this tradition.
Its most likely due to the first novels being set in a higher class environment. Its more interesting to set it with rich people, there are so many more possibilities than there would be in a working class setting. Of course there is also the issue of race, it was not long ago there was some bother with a producer of midsummer murders. (The latest episode seems to have been produced on a lower budget judging by some of the scenes.)
In the tv world, upper class people are seen as good and moral, and they wouldn't harm others. Lower classes are scummy and are drug addicts. So in order to keep Shameless on channel 4, they insist on this tradition.
Midsomer Murders clearly follows this principle, along with Poirot.
Because poor people are too dumb to kill others off in an interesting way. What would be discussion worthy if some pheasant whacked another with a bottle of lager? Nothing.
Comments
I think it's more likely the writers were so they wrote about the lifestyle they knew they probably didn't know to much about how the poor or lower classes lived
Pretty much this. Go back to the earliest crime fiction writers and they're all upper-middle class. They set their stories in the milieus that they were famiiar with.
I'm also thinking these environments are ideal for msteries:
several possible suspects around the house e.g. groundsmen, servants, waiters etc
Grand houses make it plausible for a murder to take place unknown
Mannerisms e.g. Mr Harpinson always has tea at 3pm in the conservatory so he was disturbed when his waiter appeared at 3:01
Didn't someone once say "upper class people are different from you and I"?
If pheasants were whacking each other with bottles of lager, that would be pretty interesting. Peasants, not so much.
In general in films people get murdered for money or sex .
so big toff with a huge estate gets murdered by his siblings comparfed with an unemnployed council tenant
That's sort of what I was going to say.
Thing is, books and movies and TV shows are, all else aside, supposed to be entertainment.
That being the case, it creates a better opportunity to provide entertainment when you can set your story in some glitzy, jet-setting world rather than dull old suburbia.
I suppose that such settings also allow for less moral ambiguity too.
When you've got, say, some rich git who decides to bump off his business partner to keep all the money for himself or some playboy who gets his jollies by murdering women it's much easier to provoke dislike for the character than if it was a story about some poor sod who decided to shoot the manager of Brighthouse because he was in a heap of debt or summat.
this is what made her want to write whodunnits.
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/mystery-of-the-yellow-room-by-gaston-leroux
That's free to download onto Kindle! Thanks Annette.
my pleasure. there`s loads of really good stuff on there.
Rebus is good as well but they dont make the show anymore.
Midsomer Murders clearly follows this principle, along with Poirot.
I'd say that would be pretty remarkable - no?
The novels are set in the town of Houghton-le-Spring, close to Hebburn, of TV fame.
She didn't start writing until she was 57, and she writes in a very natural style.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Quigley