Death
Death is a theme that features consistently in literary beach scenes throughout the long
twentieth century, illustrating the dual role of the beach as both a site of relaxation and play
as well as potential danger. Its transient nature, ideal for hiding traces and obscuring
evidence, makes the beach a compelling setting for crime fiction and murder mysteries. The tides
can pull people into the water and also wash death ashore, for example in the form of
shipwrecked bodies and beached whales. This underscores the agential capacity of the beach in
narratives, as well as its ability to foreground issues of increasing relevance, such as
environmental degradation and pollution. As such, this theme highlights the function of the
beach as a liminal setting where life, death and decay intersect.