Guest blogger Randal S. Brandt is a librarian at The Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley, and the creator of two critically-acclaimed websites: Golden Gate Mysteries, an
annotated bibliography of crime fiction set in the San Francisco Bay Area, and A David Dodge Companion, chronicling the
life and works of mystery/thriller writer David Dodge (1910-1974).
RANDAL S. BRANDT:
In honor the 75th anniversary of the official opening of the
Golden Gate Bridge, The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley is pleased
to present “Shrouded
in Mysteries,” a guided tour of the bridge as depicted on the covers of
mystery, detective, and crime novels.
Within just a few short years of its opening to traffic on
May 28, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge began appearing on the covers of San
Francisco mysteries. The earliest known depiction of the bridge on a mystery
novel occurred in 1940, on the cover of John Mersereau’s Murder Loves
Company. Since then, the span has been featured on dozens of books. With
its grace and beauty, and as the Bay Area’s iconic landmark, the Golden Gate
Bridge immediately connects the reader to the setting of the story. The bridge
is also symbolic danger and death, two elements inherent in crime fiction. Just
as the physical bridge is often shrouded in fog, the image of the bridge is now
shrouded with the stories told in these fictional mysteries.
Following are a few covers.. Be sure and go through the entire tour on the site above.. fabulous covers.
1 comment:
Thank you Randy. I looked at the tour and it is wonderful. Wide variety of covers. They range from works of art to average to kitsch. Very well done.
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