Swedish Crime Fiction ― Novel, Film, Television

Swedish Crime Fiction became an international phenomenon in the first decade of the twenty-first century, starting first with novels but then percolating through Swedish-language television serials and films and onto English-language BBC productions and Hollywood remakes. This book looks at the rich history of 'Scandinavian noir', examines the appeal of this particular genre and attempts to reveal why it is distinct from the plethora of other crime fictions.

Examining the popularity of Steig Larsson's international success with his Millennium trilogy, as well as Henning Mankell's Wallander across the various media, Peacock also tracks some lesser-known novels and television programmes. He illustrates how the bleakness of the country's 'noirs' reflects particular events and cultural and political changes, with the clash of national characteristics becoming a key feature.

It will appeal to students and researchers of crime fiction and of film and television studies, as well as the many fans of the novels and dramatic representations.

Steven Peacock is Reader in Film and Television Aesthetics at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. He is the author of Hollywood and Intimacy: Style, Moments, Magnificence (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2011), and Colour (Manchester University Press, 2010). He is the editor of The Television Series (Manchester University Press) and the editor/author of collections Television Aesthetics and Style (with Jason Jacobs, Bloomsbury, 2013), Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Nordic Noir (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2012) and Reading 24: TV against the Clock (I B Tauris, 2007). He has written extensively on film and television style, and has published articles in New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film (Intellect), Critical Studies in Television (Manchester University Press), Film Studies: an International Review (Manchester University Press), and the Journal of British Cinema and Television (Edinburgh University Press). He co-ordinates the MA in Film and Television Aesthetics at the University of Hertfordshire, and is currently writing a monograph on the works of Aaron Sorkin for MUP.