Very good deduction, this - although some might be tempted to call it far-fetched. The author suggests that the origins of the English detective are imperial in nature and James Mill's History of British India may have provided the basis for this genre. Read fully at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3643/is_200004/ai_n8896850 ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India