CFS Dementia Article 2.2.pdf (262.11 kB)
Dementia, care and elder abuse in late twentieth-century detective fiction: Reginald Hill's Exit lines and Michael Dibdin's The dying of the light
Dementia-themed detective fiction has become something of a trend. This article extends the critical history of this development to a period often ignored by scholars, considering two noteworthy examples from the late twentieth century: Reginald Hill's (1984) Exit Lines and Michael Dibdin's (1993) The Dying of the Light. Through textual analysis and historical contextualisation, the article shows how these novels raise disturbing questions about dementia care, older people's rights and therefore their citizenship. Both texts make sophisticated use of the distinctive affordances of the detective fiction genre to comment on failings of care in their time, belying common assumptions that the productive engagement of detective fiction with dementia is a recent innovation.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Crime Fiction StudiesISSN
2517-7982Publisher
Edinburgh University PressExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
2Page range
186-202Department affiliated with
- Social Work and Social Care Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2021-04-30First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-04-30First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-04-29Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC