The appearance of Sherlock Holmes in The Strand Magazine in 1891 began a stampede of writers who wanted to emulate, build-upon or even satirize Arthur Conan Doyle's work. This book explores the development of detective fiction during the critical period between Conan Doyle's creation of Holmes and the advent of the Golden Age of the detective story during World War I. Both British and American detective writers of the period are surveyed - as well as writers who turned to gentleman burglars and master criminals.