The caper story is a subgenre of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

. The typical caper story involves one or more crimes (especially thefts, swindles, or occasionally kidnappings) perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader. The actions of police or detectives attempting to prevent or solve the crimes may also be chronicled, but are not the main focus of the story. The caper story is distinguished from the straight crime story by elements of humor, adventure, or unusual cleverness or audacity. The main characters often have comical idiosyncrasies and the law enforcement individuals are characterized by ineptitude or inadequacies. The criminals comically plan a crime with details unnecessary for the nature of the crime and humour is created when their personalities clash and their quirks are exposed. For instance, the Dortmunder stories of

Donald E. Westlake Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into ...

are highly comic tales involving unusual thefts by a gang of offbeat characters — in different stories Dortmunder's gang steals the same gem several times, steals an entire branch bank, and kidnaps someone from an asylum by driving a stolen train onto the property. By contrast, the same author's

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida *Parker, Idaho *Parker, Kansas *Parker, Missouri *Parker, North Carolina *Parker, Pe ...

stories (published under the name Richard Stark) are grimly straightforward accounts of mundane crime — the criminal equivalent of the

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

. Others, such as

Lawrence Block Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and the gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Block was named a Grand Mas ...

Bernie Rhodenbarr Bernie Rhodenbarr is the protagonist of the ''Burglar'' series of comic mystery novels by Lawrence Block. He first appeared in ''Burglars Can't Be Choosers'', published in 1977; as of 2013, he has appeared in eleven novels by Block, as well as four ...

novels, feature a role reversal, an honest criminal and crooked cop, and the use of

burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murde ...

Rhodenbarr's criminal talents to solve murders. A caper may appear as a subplot in a larger work. For example, Tom Sawyer's plot to steal Jim out of slavery in the last part of ''

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

'' is a classic caper.

Etymology

The verb ''to caper'' means to leap in a frolicsome way, and probably derives from ''capriole'', which derives from the Latin for

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of ...

('' Capra''). The noun ''caper''Caper; definition 3
from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary means a frolicsome leap, a capricious escapade or an illegal or questionable act.

Examples

Literature

* " The Ransom of Red Chief" (1910) by

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...

: two kidnappers find that the little boy they are holding for ransom is more dangerous than the law * early stories of " The Saint" (beginning in 1928) by

Leslie Charteris Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a List of British Chinese people, British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.

* ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1949) by W. R. Burnett, adapted for film in 1950, 1958, 1963 and 1972 * novels by John Boland such as ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the live ...

'' (1958) and '' The Golden Fleece'' (1961) * '' The Light of Day'' (1962) by

Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books ...

(filmed as '' Topkapi'') * the ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talen ...

'' stories (beginning in 1963) of

Peter O'Donnell Peter O'Donnell (11 April 1920 – 3 May 2010) was an English writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of ''Modesty Blaise'', an action heroine/undercover trouble-shooter. He was also an award-winning gothic hi ...

* the John Dortmunder series (beginning in 1970) and other novels by

* ''Sledgehammer'' (1971) by Walter Wager * ''A Tough One to Lose'' (1972) by Tony Kenrick, who is often compared with Westlake — an entire airplane and hundreds of passengers go missing; how did this happen? * '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1973) by John Godey— a subway car is hijacked and held for ransom * '' The Great Train Robbery'' (1975) by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...

* ''Stealing Lillian'' (1975) by Tony Kenrick — A con artist is enlisted to stage a kidnapping to capture some terrorists (film rights were purchased, according to the dust jacket, but the film was never made) * ''The Seven Day Soldiers'' (1976) by Tony Kenrick — three suburbanites rob a bank by mail, then must battle the mafioso whom they robbed (film rights were purchased, to be directed by

Robert Aldrich Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His notable credits include ''Vera Cruz'' (1954), '' Kiss Me Deadly'' (1955), '' The Big Knife'' (1955), '' Autumn ...

and to star

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

, according to the dust jacket, but the film was never made) * ''Faraday's Flowers'' (1978) — adapted as '' Shanghai Surprise'' * ''Two Lucky People'' (1981) by Tony Kenrick — A man and woman, both with only weeks to live, decide to spend their last days defeating a criminal ... in a farcical way. * ''Glitterbug'' (1991) by Tony Kenrick — An

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

c must deal with the many criminals who made him this way (film rights were purchased by

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

to be a vehicle for

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series '' Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero ...

, but the film was never made) * '' Swindle'' (2008) By

Gordon Korman Gordon Korman (born October 23, 1963) is a Canadian American author. Korman has written 100 children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have app ...

* '' The Lies of Locke Lamora'' (2006) by Scott Lynch * '' Heist Society'' (2010) by

Ally Carter Ally Carter is the pen name of Sarah Leigh Fogleman (born January 1, 1974), an American author of young adult fiction and adult-fiction novels. Pen name Carter chose the pen name "Ally Carter" to distinguish the books she would write under t ...

*Most books by

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Steph ...

Film

Television

* ''Now You See It, Now You Don't'', a 1968 TV-movie about an art expert who is hired by an insurance company to protect a

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally co ...

on loan from the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

and later hatches a scheme to steal it * ''

Hustle Hustle or The Hustle may refer to: Film * ''Hustle'' (1975 film), an American crime film starring Burt Reynolds * ''Hustle'' (2004 film), an American television film about Pete Rose * ''Hustle'' (2008 film), a film starring Bai Ling * ''The H ...

'', a British series created by

Tony Jordan Tony Jordan (born 21 July 1957) is a British people, British television writer. He was listed as the number one television screenwriter in the United Kingdom by ''Broadcast (magazine), Broadcast'' magazine in 2008 and among British broadcastin ...

(2004–2012). * '' Leverage'', a TNT series created by Dean Devlin (2008–2012). * ''

Olsen-banden The ''Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-banden, no, Olsenbanden, german: Die Olsenbande) is a Denmark, Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. T ...

'', a Danish comedy series.

References