Mysteries of Winterthurn (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1984
- Type of Plot: Detective and mystery
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
- Setting: Winterthurn, a town in New York State
- Principal Characters: Xavier Kilgarvan, Perdita Kilgarvan, Thérèse Kilgarvan, Georgina Kilgarvan, Valentine Westergaard, Elery Poindexter
- Genres: Long fiction, Mystery and detective literature
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Nineteenth century, Good and evil, Human behavior, Personality
- Locales: New York
The Novel
Mysteries of Winterthurn is divided into three parts, each several chapters in length. Although the principal characters remain the same, each part is centered on a different murder mystery occurring at three crucial points in the life of Xavier Kilgarvan, a detective cast in the mold of such nineteenth century masters as Sherlock Holmes.
Emulating narrative techniques of the nineteenth century, Oates presents her tale through an “Editor,” a first-person omniscient narrator who not only tells the story but also comments directly to the reader. This...
[The entire page is 2041 words long]
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