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Sunday 24 February 2013

What is Tartan Noir?


(This post was originally published on the Authors Electric site "Do Authors Dream of Electric Books?)


You’ve probably come across references to Tartan Noir on the internet and various other places, and if you walk into a bookstore in Scotland, the chances are you’ll see a display labelled Tartan Noir. But what is Tartan Noir?

The name is an odd mix. The tartan part of the name smacks of tourism, kilts, heather and bagpipes, all the stuff that attracts people to Scotland, although it is not all that relevant in today’s modern world. The second part of the title –Noir – is more reminiscent of blood and gore, and all the horrible things that happen in the darkest of crime fiction. So it is an odd mix indeed.

It was actually James Ellroy who coined the name when he referred to Ian Rankin as the King of Tartan Noir in the 1990s. Since then it seems to have been taken up to describe Scottish crime fiction in general, and has now been given historical antecedents.

The origins of Tartan Noir in Scottish literature are claimed to be rooted in the works of James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson and William McIlvaney.
 

James Hogg’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, written in 1824, seems to be the earliest influence. This novel has been variously described as a psychological case study; a gothic novel with elements of horror; a satire of extreme theology; plus an early example of crime fiction. It is said to be the earliest example of a novel using an alter-ego, and involves a battle between good and evil. It is considered to be an influence on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, as well as James Robertson’s novel, The Testament of Gideon Mack, and various others.

Jekyll and Hyde, written by Stevenson in 1886 uses split personality, and continues the theme of the battle between good and evil. He claims the idea came to him in a nightmare and he called it ‘a fine bogy tale’. In her essay The Dark Threads of Tartan Noir, Carole E. Bannerman writes –

‘Like every noir writer since then, Stevenson situates evil in the heart of man, and then places that man in the heart of a city. The city becomes a manifestation of the moral hypocrisy and the mock respectability that the noir writer attacks.’

Tartan Noir was also heavily influenced by American writers such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James Ellroy, who were all writing hard-boiled detective fiction, and many Scottish authors followed in their footsteps, probably beginning with William McIlvaney, who has been termed the Godfather of Tartan Noir, a title that bemuses him. When he wrote Laidlaw, he said he had no intention of writing a crime novel. He wanted to write a story that was real, not one where the book was taken up with a murder and whodunit. It just happened that the character he chose was a detective with a troubled past and present.

Many Scots have a fascination for gruesome events, particularly those that have happened in the past, therefore it is not surprising that Burke and Hare, the body snatchers who operated in Edinburgh between 1827-1828, and Deacon Brodie, a respectable town councillor by day and a housebreaker at night, are considered influential in the rise of the type of dark writing labelled noir. In fact, Deacon Brodie is considered to be one of the influences behind the writing of Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde.

So where does that take us in defining Tartan Noir? Is it the broad sweep of Scottish crime fiction, or is it a subset of hard-boiled and dark crime, that takes the reader to a dark and scary place?

Maybe if we look at the issues Tartan Noir novels explore, that will help us decide. These include psychological and socio-economic issues, hard-boiled crime, and dark crime. The characters are invariably flawed, often with split personalities and they are anti-heroes rather than heroes. So does this rule out cosy crime? And how dark does dark crime have to be? Or is it safer to include all Scottish crime? I don’t know. Do you have an opinion?

Oh, and before I go, would anyone like to comment whether I fit into the Tartan Noir category with my Dundee crime series of books? I’d love to know.








6 comments:

Rena George said...

What a fascinating post, Chris. I love Tartan Noir. The phrase brings to mind the gritty, dark fiction of Scottish crime writers such as Denise Mina and Stuart MacBride. Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels and the incredible
Taggart TV series are also up there amongst my favourites.
It’s interesting to see Amazon is now listing some Scottish crime novels with the Tartan Noir tag. I think its here to stay.

Chris Longmuir said...

Yes, I like all those authors as well, but have you tried Alex Gray, Caro Ramsay and Val McDermid. All good Scottish crime writers. and, of course, I like to think I fit into the Tartan Noir category as well.

Melanie said...

You're in the Tartan Noir category, Chris, with your Dundee crime series. Most definitely.

I can't say I've read Alex Gray or Caro Ramsay so I'll have to rectify that situation.

Janice said...

Interesting post Chris. I was familar with the name 'Tartan Noir' but not the description. Yes, I would say you could certainly class yourself in the Tartan Noir genre.

Janice xx

Joan Fleming said...

Yes, Chris, you certainly do fit into the Tartan Noir category alongside the other Scottish crime writers you mention. The Bloody Scotland! conference illustrated that the genre is alive and well in Scotland.

Chris Longmuir said...

I think we Scots must be a bloodthirsty lot.