000			nam a22 4500
999			_c32856 _d32856
008			240219b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9789354423826
082			_a891.4393009 _bNAI
100			_aNaim, C. M
245			_aUrdu crime fiction, 1890-1950 : an informal history
260			_bOrient BlackSwan, _aHyderabad : _c2023
300			_axiv, 282 p. ; _bill. , _c22 cm
365			_b875.00 _c₹ _d01
504			_aIncludes indexes and bibliographical references.
520			_aHumankind, I like to believe, can be divided into two groups: one group swears by science fiction, the other cherishes only mysteries. I belong to the latter.' Thus begins C. M. Naim's homage to the writers who once provided generations of Urdu-speaking mystery-lovers hours of sleepless delight. Meticulously researched, this 'informal history' unravels how crime fiction first originated in Europe and North America in the nineteenth century, how Urdu writers responded to this new stimulus, and the rapid emergence of what then became the jāsūsī adab in Urdu. Described as 'wonder-inducing' and 'sleep-depriving, ' bearing titles like Khūnī Chhatrī (The Murderous Umbrella), Tilismī Burj (The Magic Turret), and Mistrīz af Dihlī (The Mysteries of Delhi), Urdu thrillers sold in the thousands. Aficionados of the Netflix series Lupin may be surprised to learn that a century ago, Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, was adored by Urdu readers in his desī avatār, Bahram, 'transcreated' by Zafar Omar in a 1916 bestseller that made Bahram a household name. We discover Tirath Ram Ferozepuri, the prodigious translator of mysteries and thrillers--114-odd titles, spanning 60,000 pages. We meet Nadeem Sahba'i, of unfettered imagination, who produced masterpieces of Urdu pulp fiction.
650			_aHistory and criticism
650			_aDetective and mystery stories
942			_2ddc _cBK