Faith in Crime Fiction course
This day invites us to consider the place and significance of the Christian faith in popular crime novels.
We will look at how novels can teach us about religion and faith, why clergy seem to make good sleuths, and whether religion is helpful or problematic in fiction.
Session One: Where is faith in Crime Fiction? A general overview of the place and role of faith in popular crime fiction from the Golden Age to contemporary works. This session will examine how crime writers draw on themes such as justice, redemption, innocence, and prophetic voice. We will examine the portrayal of religion and religious belief, noting that strong belief has become increasingly problematic in contemporary fiction, even while the imagery and tropes of faith remain.
Session Two: Case studies. A deep dive into historical crime fiction. We will look particularly at The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco and the Shardlake Series, by C J Sansom and explore what these novels are able to teach us about religious belief and the role religion plays in society and culture.
Session Three: The clerical detective – from Father Brown to Merrily Watkins. What happens when the protagonist (the amateur detective) is a person of faith? What difference does it make? Is clerical life simply another job, or does it add a different dimension to the story?
Participants will benefit from reading C J Sansom, Dissolution, and Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose, before the course but this is not essential.
About the course leader
Dr Georgina Byrne has been a priest since 1998, and variously a vicar, bishop’s chaplain, director of ordinands, and cathedral canon.
She currently teaches Christian doctrine and contextual theology at The Queen’s Foundation, an ecumenical theological centre in Birmingham. She has a degree in theology and a PhD in history. Her academic writing explores the relationship between spiritualism, psychic research, and the teachings of the Church concerning life beyond death.
She writes historical fiction, as Georgina Clarke, and her most recent novel, The Dazzle of the Light, was an Evening Standard Best New Book, and a Good Housekeeping Book of the Year (2022).
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