Tartan Noir

Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. It has its roots in Scottish literature but borrows elements from elsewhere, including from the work of American crime writers of the second half of the twentieth century, especially of the hard-boiled genre, and of European authors.

The United States crime writer James Ellroy coined the name when he described Ian Rankin as "the king of tartan noir" for a book cover. Ian Rankin actually gave himself the name when he asked Ellroy to sign a book for him and said "I'm a big fan and I write tartan noir". Tartan noir draws on the traditions of Scottish literature, being strongly influenced by James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner and Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. These works dwell on the duality of the soul; the nature of good and evil; issues of redemption, salvation and damnation amongst others. The Scottish concept of the "Caledonian antisyzygy", the duality of a single entity, is a key driving force in Scottish literature, and it appears especially prominently in the tartan noir genre.

Contemporary crime writers have also been influenced by 1930s and 1940s United States masters of the hard-boiled genre, particularly Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Allan Guthrie's work shows their influence, as does some of Ian Rankin. More recent American authors who have influenced Scottish writing include James Ellroy, whose focus on police and societal corruption has proven especially resonant with Rankin. Ed McBain's use of the police procedural genre has also been influential.

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