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Novel vs Short Stories

TheMole 19 Jul 09 at 3:14 p.m. GMT

WINNEBAGO & I were having a little discussion over in the GUESS THAT QUOTE game about what constitutes a novel vs a short story. Take for instance Three Blind Mice and Other Stories where there are a compilation of various detectives & settings i.e scenerys. And then take a book like Partners in Crime w/ Tommy & Tuppence, where there are several short stories (except 2, which winne pointed out) that are not the same. My theory is this ( I post what I put up from the guess that qoute section) if you take a book like "Three Blind Mice and other stories" it's a compilation of other detectives in different settings, as opposed to let's say "The Tuesday Club Murders"; they are all different stories but they share a common link which is that all of the characters are sitting around relaying their stories to each other. That's what I meant by short stories as opposed to a novel...

It woul be interesting to see everyone's opinion on this. And thanks to WINNE for this idea topic, he always manages to think up great topic discussions!

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6 replies

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go_leafs_nation 19 Jul 09 at 11:17 p.m. GMT

I consider them as short story collections, basically. The Big Four, however, is interesting. It was hastily put together, and somewhat sloppy as a novel, so that the individual short stories stuck out by a mile. (In fact, "A Chess Problem" has even been published, I believe, without the rest of the novel). I don't consider Partners in Crime or The Thirteen Problems (I prefer that title) as novels-- they are still short story collections, but with a common theme. A common theme for short story collections is common in the realm of detective fiction-- G.K. Chesterton's The Club of Queer Trades, for instance, has short stories that involve-- well, queer trades. You could consider it a novel (it's continuous and such), but chapters and such betray it for what it is-- a short story collection.

TheMole 20 Jul 09 at 10:17 a.m. GMT

I heard that The Big Four isn't so good. I think I'll save that book for one of my last to read of AC's.

And I see what you mean and I am willing to accept it....Except why was'nt The Tuesday Club Murders/ The Thirteen Problems labeled as a collection of short stories? But then again why wasn't Murder in the Mews??

Tommy_A_Jones 20 Jul 09 at 10:59 a.m. GMT

Towards the end of the book it is obvious 'The Big Four' isn't a book of short stories I personally think AC would have been better of taking the stories that can be read alone and putting them in the same volume as other short stories and not includ the rest of the book.

Mole I thought 'The Thirteen Problems' was labled as a book of short stories but I do like the idea of 6 people forming as club to trell stories, perhaps the thirteenth story should be in the volume I have suggested but that would mean the book was called The twelve Problems which doesn't have the same ring has it?

go_leafs_nation 20 Jul 09 at 11:43 a.m. GMT

If my memory serves me correctly, The Big Four BEGAN as a short story collection, but at the insistence of (I forget who), it was hastily put together as a novel. I believe Charles Osbourne wrote this in his examination of AC's work.

Boomcoach 20 Jul 09 at 11:59 a.m. GMT

The big four was cobbled into a novel because of monetary needs at a difficult time in AC's life.  After this period, she wrote a novel and put it aside in case of similar circumstances.  I do not remember what work she "put back" for a rainy day.

Tommy_A_Jones 20 Jul 09 at 1:19 p.m. GMT

How exciting, I hope it comes to light one day, Maybe it was another Bobby and Lady Derwent book, that would be great as they are 2 very under-used Characters.