It just occurred to me that it's something of a historical accident that the mystery developed as late as it did. There's something very Enlightenment about the classic whodunit, and something Romantic about the hardboiled style. (And note to Seawasp: the Chinese did it first.)
I think it's a tie between romance and science fiction. Neither genre's business model is particularly good at eternal verities.
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I think it's a tie between romance and science fiction. Neither genre's business model is particularly good at eternal verities.