Short stories by Sławomir Sierecki. A forgotten link in retro crime fiction in the era of the People’s Republic of Poland

Abstract

The main thesis of the article is an attempt to prove the existence of a forgotten element of retro crime fiction in the era of the People’s Republic of Poland on the example of Sławomir Sierecki’s stories. In this context, the author interprets the works published under the joint title Tomorrow before midnight. We find there an intertextual discourse with the works of Conan Doyle, Arsene Lupin and American crime fiction. Within them, the author refers to three types of detective novels, presenting his criminal stories from the end of 19^th century to 1929. What the three stories have in common is the formula of pastiche references to the above-mentioned artists and the accompanying scenery of the Tri-City (Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia). History is not only a decoration here, but it is ideologized as part of the presentation of historical politics, most visible in Memory of Hongkong. In her interpretation of the stories, the author focuses primarily on reading the character of the criminal discourse, as it is the main determinant of this retronovel. And thanks to him, Sierecki’s stories can be considered the starting point of retro crime fiction in Polish literature. It is no coincidence that this flight into the past is connected with the crisis of the militia novel in the declining period of the People’s Republic of Poland.