Fictional Criminologies

The purpose of this chapter is to distinguish the criminology of narrative fiction from previous criminological engagements with fiction. The chapter begins with an introduction to the cultural criminological framework, focusing on Nicole Rafter’s (2006) Shots in the Mirror. The chapter then discusses the critical realist framework in Vincenzo Ruggiero’s Crime in Literature (2003) and Jon Frauley’s Criminology, Deviance, and the Silver Screen (2010). The chapter distinguishes the criminology of narrative fiction from both the cultural criminological and critical realist frameworks on the basis that the latter two are concerned with the semiotic and pedagogic roles of fiction whereas the former is concerned with the aetiological role. The chapter concludes by distinguishing the criminology of narrative fiction from the author’s previous work.