Joseph Peters

Hatter, Janine

Abstract

Encyclopedia entry

First paragraph:

“[. . .] he was useful, quiet, and steady, and above all, as his patrons said, he was to be relied on, because he could not talk.”

The Trail of the Serpent was Mary Braddon’s first novel, and with it she created what was arguably an entirely new genre: the detective novel. It first appeared in serial form in Beverley, East Yorkshire, as Three Times Dead; or, The Secret of the Heath in 1860, but it was republished in London with much greater success as The Trail of the Serpent in 1861 by Braddon’s publisher and future husband, John Maxwell. This success lies firmly at the door of Joseph Peters, the police detective with a difference. In many ways, Peters is an extraordinary detective: he is mute; communicates using sign language; is adept at disguise; and has an adopted son whom he brings up in the detective line. Taken together these traits make Peters one of the most intriguing, challenging and unique detectives of the genre.

Citation

Hatter, J. (2018). Joseph Peters. In E. Sandberg (Ed.), 100 Greatest Literary Detectives (144-146). Rowman & Littlefield

• Publication Date: 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 22, 2023
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Pages: 144-146
• Book Title: 100 Greatest Literary Detectives
• ISBN: 978-1-4422-7822-6
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4361085
• Publisher URL: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442278226/100-Greatest-Literary-Detectives