The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Fergus Hume 9781484095966 Books
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The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery fiction novel by English writer Fergus Hume. The book was first published in Australia in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered in a hansom cab, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city. The book was successful in Australia selling 100,000 copies in the first two print runs. It was then published in Britain and the United States and went on to sell over 500,000 copies worldwide, outselling the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, A Study in Scarlet (1887).
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Fergus Hume 9781484095966 Books
There are many fun things about this vintage mystery, first published in 1886... The unusual setting in late nineteenth-century Australia. A dramatic murder trial. The rivalry between two clever detectives who will do anything to discredit each other's findings. The love story between the heiress and the handsome young Irishman accused of murder. The way our suspicions keep shifting from one possible murderer to another. And the crime itself - the daring murder of a young man of fashion on a public road in a hansom cab.The characters have the richness typical of the best Victorian novels. And society itself is an interesting character - frivolous, scandal loving and fickle. There are noble characters for us to admire, dissipated characters for us to despise, quirky detectives, a good old-fashioned lawyer of sterling character, and humorous characters with Dickinsonian eccentricities of speech and appearance.
Ferguson Hume grew up in Australia and worked as a clerk in a law office in Melbourne, but had literary aspirations. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was self-published, but eventually became the best-selling mystery novel of the Victorian age. Arthur Conan Doyle was influenced by it, yet he put it down as "a slight tale." Perhaps he was a bit jealous, because this is an utterly engaging mystery, full of great gaslight atmosphere and replete with romance.
If you're reading the earliest classics of detective fiction, as I am, you won't want to miss this one. There are many editions around, but this one from Resurrected Press is nicely produced and very readable.
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The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Fergus Hume 9781484095966 Books Reviews
I can fully understand how this marvelous murder mystery, Fergus Hume first, was such a huge success! Hume could not get any publisher in Australia to even read the manuscript So he decided to have five thousand copies published at at his own expense. To his astonishment all copies sold in less than two weeks! ( More than 350 thousand copies were sold later in England.)
A barrister practicing law in Melbourne, Hume wanted to try his hand at writing and it was with unexpected success that The Mystery of the Hansom Cab launched his writing career to the joy of thousands of his devoted readers.
One of the best murder mysteries I have read in 80 years!
I've wanted to read this for a long time. A thrilling Victorian crime mystery with all sorts of sensationalism. There are murder and mayhem, mistresses and illegitimate children, poison and blackmail. It's a well-written and easy to read novel from this era. The suspense during the trial and at the unravelling of the mystery are delicious. There is a death scene of a drunken hag which is outrageously overdramatic. In fact, there are a few melodramatic scenes which made me giggle with delight. Written in Australia, this was a huge bestseller there, and I can just envisage how the lurid plot stoked the imaginations of the public at that time.
Okay, true, this book has gaps. Some of the characters (Madge and Brian in particular) are very flat, and some of the characters like Mr. Gorby just inexplicably disappear from the text altogether, but nonetheless, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a surprisingly fast-paced and thrilling read for something marketed as the most popular book of 1885!
Parts of the book remind me of Dickens but parts also remind me of the hard-boiled detective fiction of the 1930's and 40`s. The novel is at one and the same time vintage Victoriana literature and innovative crime fiction. Although, as I said by today`s standards Hume probably could have done better with character development and with more realistic dialogue, it is still easy to see why The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was one of the best selling novels of its time. I`m not ashamed to admit that I couldn`t figure out the plot until the very end and I`m grateful to Resurrected Press for bringing this work back to life in digital e-book form.
Good read for lovers of detective and historical fiction alike!
For a mystery written in 1886, this was really quite good and I say that because the melodrama is not too much as it usually is for this era. Set in Melbourne, this is the story of a wealthy man, his daughter and two men who desire to marry the daughter. One suitor, who has been turned down by the daughter, is later found dead in a hansom cab and the other is accused of the murder. An alibi would save the man but for some reason he refuses to say where he was at the time of the incident and it is this mystery that drives the rest of the story.
At first I was worried that this would be a very simple story but as it unfolds, layers develop and it was really quite good reading. As many books of that era, it also shows the class differences of that time and how society judges those not of their class. The female characters in the book are quite well developed — no weak, fainting, silly "I'm sure I don't know..." as are the main males characters. All in all a much more complex read than I was expecting.
Might not make the top 100 list anymore given the span of time that has passed, but for descriptive locales, rich characters and a well-constructed plot that will keep you guessing it does still deliver the goods and is deserving of having been a best seller in its' heyday. I enjoyed the book for memorable passages like "So many people live in glass houses, that there are few nowdays who can afford to throw stones" and 'Queensland, where the heat is so great that a profane traveler...once fittingly called it, "An amateur hell." ' A fine book to own from a prominent author and if you're looking to stretch your dollar might I suggest a collection containing this work and more such as
1) Detective Novels by Fergus Hume Boxed Set ASIN B00RI48W4W
2) FERGUS HUME - The Ultimate Mystery Collection ASIN B01FY5OC86
Good reads that should give you hours of enjoyment!
There are many fun things about this vintage mystery, first published in 1886... The unusual setting in late nineteenth-century Australia. A dramatic murder trial. The rivalry between two clever detectives who will do anything to discredit each other's findings. The love story between the heiress and the handsome young Irishman accused of murder. The way our suspicions keep shifting from one possible murderer to another. And the crime itself - the daring murder of a young man of fashion on a public road in a hansom cab.
The characters have the richness typical of the best Victorian novels. And society itself is an interesting character - frivolous, scandal loving and fickle. There are noble characters for us to admire, dissipated characters for us to despise, quirky detectives, a good old-fashioned lawyer of sterling character, and humorous characters with Dickinsonian eccentricities of speech and appearance.
Ferguson Hume grew up in Australia and worked as a clerk in a law office in Melbourne, but had literary aspirations. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was self-published, but eventually became the best-selling mystery novel of the Victorian age. Arthur Conan Doyle was influenced by it, yet he put it down as "a slight tale." Perhaps he was a bit jealous, because this is an utterly engaging mystery, full of great gaslight atmosphere and replete with romance.
If you're reading the earliest classics of detective fiction, as I am, you won't want to miss this one. There are many editions around, but this one from Resurrected Press is nicely produced and very readable.
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