Abstract. For the first time in Russian literary studies the paper introduces “the mother of the detective fiction” A.K.Green and examines her role in the history of the detective genre viewing it in the context of her national and European contemporaries (E. A.Poe, L. M.Alcott, M. F.Victor, W.Collins, E. Gaboriau et al) and “domestic detective fiction”. Special emphasis is made upon the characters of female detectives whom Green was among the forst to introduce into the fiction. The premises for the unquestionable success of the early works of Green and her loss in popularity in the 20th century are studied, sociocultural shifts and idiosyncrasies of her style being main reasons for it.