35 The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK
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Ian R. Cook
Abstract
This chapter explores ‘dark destinations’ associated with crime fiction. It focuses on Ian Rankin’s Rebus detective novels, set in Edinburgh, and the guided tour of Edinburgh that is inspired by the novels. In doing this, the chapter reflects on the portrayal of urban life, crime and policing in the novels and tour.
Cities are important settings – and arguably characters too – within crime fiction. Think, for instance, of Brighton in Peter James’ Roy Grace series, Chicago in Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski novels or Reykjavík in Arnaldur Indriðason’s Erlendur series. Like their equivalents in crime drama and crime film, cities are usually depicted in a negative light, frequently as ‘[d]angerous, violent and squalid’ places (Willett, 1996: 4), replete with social harm (not limited to murder) and threatening atmospheres (cf Cook and Ashutosh, 2018; Plain, 2018; Sandberg, 2020). Readers of crime fiction can ‘visit’ these cities using their imagination without physically travelling there.
The Edinburgh in the Ian Rankin’s long-running John Rebus series is vividly painted. It features many real streets, neighbourhoods, police stations and pubs – for instance, Rebus’s haunt The Oxford Bar and the street that Rebus and Rankin have lived on, Arden Street – alongside a few fictional places in the city such as the estates of Knoxland and Pilmuir. It portrays Edinburgh as a complicated, confusing and claustrophobic city (Marshall, 2018) where social, economic and political divisions are ingrained.
The tourist plays an important role in Rankin’s vision of Edinburgh. For Rankin, the city has been beautified for tourists, disadvantaged groups have been ushered away from the tourist hotspots, and tourists remain ignorant of the city’s social problems – problems that Rebus knows only too well.
Abstract
This chapter explores ‘dark destinations’ associated with crime fiction. It focuses on Ian Rankin’s Rebus detective novels, set in Edinburgh, and the guided tour of Edinburgh that is inspired by the novels. In doing this, the chapter reflects on the portrayal of urban life, crime and policing in the novels and tour.
Cities are important settings – and arguably characters too – within crime fiction. Think, for instance, of Brighton in Peter James’ Roy Grace series, Chicago in Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski novels or Reykjavík in Arnaldur Indriðason’s Erlendur series. Like their equivalents in crime drama and crime film, cities are usually depicted in a negative light, frequently as ‘[d]angerous, violent and squalid’ places (Willett, 1996: 4), replete with social harm (not limited to murder) and threatening atmospheres (cf Cook and Ashutosh, 2018; Plain, 2018; Sandberg, 2020). Readers of crime fiction can ‘visit’ these cities using their imagination without physically travelling there.
The Edinburgh in the Ian Rankin’s long-running John Rebus series is vividly painted. It features many real streets, neighbourhoods, police stations and pubs – for instance, Rebus’s haunt The Oxford Bar and the street that Rebus and Rankin have lived on, Arden Street – alongside a few fictional places in the city such as the estates of Knoxland and Pilmuir. It portrays Edinburgh as a complicated, confusing and claustrophobic city (Marshall, 2018) where social, economic and political divisions are ingrained.
The tourist plays an important role in Rankin’s vision of Edinburgh. For Rankin, the city has been beautified for tourists, disadvantaged groups have been ushered away from the tourist hotspots, and tourists remain ignorant of the city’s social problems – problems that Rebus knows only too well.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures x
- About the editors xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
- Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
- Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
- From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
- Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
- The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
- The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
- The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
- The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
- The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
- Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
- Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
- Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
- Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
- The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
- The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
- The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
- Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
- Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
- Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
- ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
- Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
- Magaluf: Majorca 147
- ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
- Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
- The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
- Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
- The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
- The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
- Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
- The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
- Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
- The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
- The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
- The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
- Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
- The staycation: home 230
- The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
- Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
- Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
- Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
- The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
- The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
- Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
- Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
- Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
- Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
- One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
- Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
- Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
- Conclusion 322
- References 325
- Index 394
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures x
- About the editors xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
- Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
- Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
- From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
- Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
- The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
- The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
- The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
- The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
- The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
- Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
- Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
- Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
- Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
- The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
- The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
- The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
- Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
- Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
- Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
- ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
- Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
- Magaluf: Majorca 147
- ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
- Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
- The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
- Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
- The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
- The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
- Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
- The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
- Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
- The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
- The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
- The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
- Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
- The staycation: home 230
- The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
- Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
- Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
- Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
- The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
- The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
- Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
- Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
- Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
- Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
- One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
- Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
- Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
- Conclusion 322
- References 325
- Index 394
