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Melbourne Trilogy #1
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, the best selling mystery of the nineteenth century. When a man is found dead in a hansom cab one of Melbourne’s leading citizens is accused of the murder. He pleads his innocence, yet refuses to give an alibi. It falls to a determined lawyer and an intrepid detective to find the truth, revealing long kept secrets along the way. Fergus Hume’s first and perhaps most famous mystery... The Mystery Of A Hansom Cab.
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1886
About the author
Fergus Hume
531 books47 followersFergusson Wright Hume (1859–1932), New Zealand lawyer and prolific author particularly renowned for his debut novel, the international best-seller The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886).
Hume was born at Powick, Worcestershire, England, son of Glaswegian Dr. James Collin Hume, a steward at the Worcestershire Pauper Lunatic Asylum and his wife Mary Ferguson.
While Fergus was a very young child, in 1863 the Humes emigrated to New Zealand where James founded the first private mental hospital and Dunedin College. Young Fergus attended the Otago Boys' High School then went on to study law at Otago University. He followed up with articling in the attorney-general's office, called to the New Zealand bar in 1885.
In 1885 Hume moved to Melbourne. While he worked as a solicitors clerk he was bent on becoming a dramatist; but having only written a few short stories he was a virtual unknown. So as to gain the attentions of the theatre directors he asked a local bookseller what style of book he sold most. Emile Gaboriau's detective works were very popular and so Hume bought them all and studied them intently, thus turning his pen to writing his own style of crime novel and mystery.
Hume spent much time in Little Bourke Street to gather material and his first effort was The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), a worthy contibution to the genre. It is full of literary references and quotations; finely crafted complex characters and their sometimes ambiguous seeming interrelationships with the other suspects, deepening the whodunit angle. It is somewhat of an exposé of the then extremes in Melbourne society, which caused some controversy for a time. Hume had it published privately after it had been downright rudely rejected by a number of publishers. "Having completed the book, I tried to get it published, but everyone to whom I offered it refused even to look at the manuscript on the grounds that no Colonial could write anything worth reading." He had sold the publishing rights for £50, but still retained the dramatic rights which he soon profited from by the long Australian and London theatre runs.
Except for short trips to France, Switzerland and Italy, in 1888 Hume settled and stayed in Essex, England where he would remain for the rest of his life. Although he was born and lived the latter part of this life in England, he thought of himself as 'a colonial' and identified as a New Zealander, having spent all of his formative years from preschool through to adulthood there. Hume died of cardiac failure at his home on 11 July 1932.
Hume was born at Powick, Worcestershire, England, son of Glaswegian Dr. James Collin Hume, a steward at the Worcestershire Pauper Lunatic Asylum and his wife Mary Ferguson.
While Fergus was a very young child, in 1863 the Humes emigrated to New Zealand where James founded the first private mental hospital and Dunedin College. Young Fergus attended the Otago Boys' High School then went on to study law at Otago University. He followed up with articling in the attorney-general's office, called to the New Zealand bar in 1885.
In 1885 Hume moved to Melbourne. While he worked as a solicitors clerk he was bent on becoming a dramatist; but having only written a few short stories he was a virtual unknown. So as to gain the attentions of the theatre directors he asked a local bookseller what style of book he sold most. Emile Gaboriau's detective works were very popular and so Hume bought them all and studied them intently, thus turning his pen to writing his own style of crime novel and mystery.
Hume spent much time in Little Bourke Street to gather material and his first effort was The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), a worthy contibution to the genre. It is full of literary references and quotations; finely crafted complex characters and their sometimes ambiguous seeming interrelationships with the other suspects, deepening the whodunit angle. It is somewhat of an exposé of the then extremes in Melbourne society, which caused some controversy for a time. Hume had it published privately after it had been downright rudely rejected by a number of publishers. "Having completed the book, I tried to get it published, but everyone to whom I offered it refused even to look at the manuscript on the grounds that no Colonial could write anything worth reading." He had sold the publishing rights for £50, but still retained the dramatic rights which he soon profited from by the long Australian and London theatre runs.
Except for short trips to France, Switzerland and Italy, in 1888 Hume settled and stayed in Essex, England where he would remain for the rest of his life. Although he was born and lived the latter part of this life in England, he thought of himself as 'a colonial' and identified as a New Zealander, having spent all of his formative years from preschool through to adulthood there. Hume died of cardiac failure at his home on 11 July 1932.
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May 4, 2018
3.5★
I wanted to read this novel as soon as I found out that;
☞ Although Hume was born & died in England and wrote his most famous work (this one) while living in Australia, his time in NZ obviously meant a lot to him and he identified as a Kiwi for the rest of his life.
I can relate to that. I am still a Canadian citizen but I always feel 100% like a New Zealander. Home is where your heart is. ♥
☞ This book supposedly inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write his first Sherlock Holmes book.
And I really enjoyed the start. Hume's style was initially fast paced and far more fresh and lively than most Victorian authors. I really engaged with the characters.
But I have to go on my own reading experience and for me the pace fell off and I had to read the ending twice to figure out the killer's motivation.
3.5★ is a good rating from me - it does mean I want to read more by this author. And I am tougher on the murder mystery genre as I read so many of them
I wanted to read this novel as soon as I found out that;
☞ Although Hume was born & died in England and wrote his most famous work (this one) while living in Australia, his time in NZ obviously meant a lot to him and he identified as a Kiwi for the rest of his life.
I can relate to that. I am still a Canadian citizen but I always feel 100% like a New Zealander. Home is where your heart is. ♥
☞ This book supposedly inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write his first Sherlock Holmes book.
And I really enjoyed the start. Hume's style was initially fast paced and far more fresh and lively than most Victorian authors. I really engaged with the characters.
But I have to go on my own reading experience and for me the pace fell off and I had to read the ending twice to figure out the killer's motivation.
3.5★ is a good rating from me - it does mean I want to read more by this author. And I am tougher on the murder mystery genre as I read so many of them
September 12, 2019
3,5/5 αστεράκια
October 9, 2015
I would have known nothing about this novel and its author had it not been for listening to an interview with the author of this book. The interview left me intrigued. At the time I was about to spend a weekend in Melbourne, so downloading the work, which is well and truly in the public domain, seemed like a good idea.
The fact that it took me quite a few weeks to read, even though it's a relatively short work is an indication that I found it less than compelling. However, there wasn't a time when I considered abandoning it. The backstory of the author, the fact that the novel was a 19th century bestseller that out sold Conan Doyle's first work and its setting in a city I know all made me push through.
As the title suggests, this is a whodunnit. There's a murder, a police officer or two, a falsely accused hero, a loyal heroine and some shady characters from the Melbourne underworld. It has the requisite number of red herrings, some rather stilted dialogue and a resolution that can't really be worked out from clues in the narrative.
Crime fiction fans with an interest in the beginnings of the genre will be more interested in this work than others. It's not really something for the casual reader.
December 29, 2017
The bottom line is that I really liked this book -- another ahhhhh read in my history-of-mystery project for 2017. It is yet another one, like The Leavenworth Case that comes right down to the wire in unmasking the killer, and yet another that belongs in the category of classic mystery fiction.
The story itself is a mix of crime, investigations, courtroom drama, melodrama, and elements of sensation fiction, complete with dark secrets from the past. The novel begins with a report from the Argus on "Saturday, the 28th of July, 18--" telling its readers of an "extraordinary murder" that occurred in a most unlikely place -- a hansom cab:
"...committed by an unknown assassin, within a short distance of the principal streets of this great city, ... surrounded by an impenetrable mystery. Indeed, from the nature of the crime itself, the place where it was committed, and the fact that the assassin has escaped without leaving a trace behind him, it would seem as though the case itself had been taken bodily out of one of Gaboriau's novels, and that his famous detective Lecoq would only be able to unravel it."
While it can be thought of as a detective novel in the sense that there are two men who are working on the case of the man who was murdered in the hansom cab in Melbourne, it is much more. True, there are detectives: the police detective, who eventually follows the small amount of clues to make an arrest, as set against the detective hired by the accused man's attorney to prove him innocent. At the same time, others are also doing their own bit of detection in this story, so to limit it by giving it the label of detective fiction isn't exactly right. It also delivers some pretty strong commentary and criticism on society of the time, which is, I think, one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. The book is also notable for its view of contemporary Melbourne -- it takes the reader through the city streets, from the gentility of the city's gentlemen's clubs down into its darker dens of vice. Add to that the elements of sensation fiction (which I love) and the characterizations; putting aside the melodrama, it all made for a couple of days of reading pleasure. It also really messes with reader expectations in a very big way.
recommended for those who are into this older stuff.
http://www.crimesegments.com/2017/12/...
The story itself is a mix of crime, investigations, courtroom drama, melodrama, and elements of sensation fiction, complete with dark secrets from the past. The novel begins with a report from the Argus on "Saturday, the 28th of July, 18--" telling its readers of an "extraordinary murder" that occurred in a most unlikely place -- a hansom cab:
"...committed by an unknown assassin, within a short distance of the principal streets of this great city, ... surrounded by an impenetrable mystery. Indeed, from the nature of the crime itself, the place where it was committed, and the fact that the assassin has escaped without leaving a trace behind him, it would seem as though the case itself had been taken bodily out of one of Gaboriau's novels, and that his famous detective Lecoq would only be able to unravel it."
While it can be thought of as a detective novel in the sense that there are two men who are working on the case of the man who was murdered in the hansom cab in Melbourne, it is much more. True, there are detectives: the police detective, who eventually follows the small amount of clues to make an arrest, as set against the detective hired by the accused man's attorney to prove him innocent. At the same time, others are also doing their own bit of detection in this story, so to limit it by giving it the label of detective fiction isn't exactly right. It also delivers some pretty strong commentary and criticism on society of the time, which is, I think, one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. The book is also notable for its view of contemporary Melbourne -- it takes the reader through the city streets, from the gentility of the city's gentlemen's clubs down into its darker dens of vice. Add to that the elements of sensation fiction (which I love) and the characterizations; putting aside the melodrama, it all made for a couple of days of reading pleasure. It also really messes with reader expectations in a very big way.
recommended for those who are into this older stuff.
http://www.crimesegments.com/2017/12/...
January 16, 2019
Το μεγάλο πλεονέκτημα του βιβλίου είναι ότι έχει χαρακτηρισθεί ως το πρώτο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα. Ναι αυτός είναι ένας σημαντικός λόγος. Από εκεί και πέρα διαβάζουμε μια τυπική αστυνομική ιστορία η οποία αναμφισβήτητα σε κρατάει σε αγωνία μέχρι το τέλος αν και σε κάποια σημεία δείχνει λίγο ανιαρό.
May 12, 2019
Πολύ ωραίο βιβλίο, η ροή είναι πολύ καλή, διαβάζεται ευχάριστα χωρίς να το βαριέσαι.
March 14, 2014
Malcolm Royston, a cabman, was driving in Collins Street East, Melbourne at 1am on the 27th July 18-- when he was hailed by a gentleman who appeared to be supporting another man, presumably under the influence of too much liquor. When he pulled over, he was told to take the gentleman home, as he was “awfully tight”. He stated that he had found the man slumped by a lamp post and though he didn’t know him, thought he’d send him safely home. But suddenly the good Samaritan appeared to recognise the drunken man, and allowing him to slump to the ground, rushed off in disgust.
Rousing him with difficulty Royston finally managed to make out that the man wanted to go to St Kilda – after navigating him into his cab, which turned out to be a bit of a struggle, he was about to drive off when the original man returned. He declared he would see the drunk home after all and entered the cab, seating himself next to the gentleman – Royston then proceeded to head for St Kilda.
But a little later Royston found himself heading to the Police Station – the following investigation had the police convinced they had found their murderer; the ease of the arrest thrilled the investigative officer, Mr Gorby, immensely. Mr Calton on the other hand wasn’t so convinced – his investigation was intense and thorough. What would he find? How would the lives of the participating players of this drama be affected?
What an entertaining mystery! Written back in the 1880s it covers everything needed for a good mystery, with a number of characters, eccentric and otherwise. It was a little tedious to read at times, but I suppose that might have to do with the time it was written. For anyone who would like a glimpse into Australia’s past, especially Melbourne’s inhabitants of the 1800s this could interest you a lot!
Rousing him with difficulty Royston finally managed to make out that the man wanted to go to St Kilda – after navigating him into his cab, which turned out to be a bit of a struggle, he was about to drive off when the original man returned. He declared he would see the drunk home after all and entered the cab, seating himself next to the gentleman – Royston then proceeded to head for St Kilda.
But a little later Royston found himself heading to the Police Station – the following investigation had the police convinced they had found their murderer; the ease of the arrest thrilled the investigative officer, Mr Gorby, immensely. Mr Calton on the other hand wasn’t so convinced – his investigation was intense and thorough. What would he find? How would the lives of the participating players of this drama be affected?
What an entertaining mystery! Written back in the 1880s it covers everything needed for a good mystery, with a number of characters, eccentric and otherwise. It was a little tedious to read at times, but I suppose that might have to do with the time it was written. For anyone who would like a glimpse into Australia’s past, especially Melbourne’s inhabitants of the 1800s this could interest you a lot!
June 21, 2021
3.5/5
Αρκετά ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία και έκανα πολλές υποθέσεις ως προς τον ένοχο διαβάζοντας την αν και όπως αποδείχθηκε η πρώτη μου ήταν και η σωστή!
Σε μερικά σημεία φλύαρη όμως και δε μου άρεσε στη μετάφραση η χρήση ντοπιολαλιάς μιας και το θεώρησα άτοπο!
Αρκετοί χαρακτήρες ήταν μπλεγμένοι που είχαν κάτι να συνεισφέρουν στην ιστορία και οι περισσότεροι μου ήταν συμπαθείς και άλλους τους βρήκα αρκετά ιδιαίτερους χωρίς όμως να καταφέρω να συμπαθήσω!
A quiet interesting story and I theorized a lot as to who the murderer was but as it resulted my first guess was the right one!
At some points there were unnecessary details which I didn't like much and I didn't like something in the translation of my greek copy!
Many characters were involved in the story with each one of them having something to contribute in the mystery part and intrigue and most of them I liked and some I found interesting but didn't like!
Αρκετά ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία και έκανα πολλές υποθέσεις ως προς τον ένοχο διαβάζοντας την αν και όπως αποδείχθηκε η πρώτη μου ήταν και η σωστή!
Σε μερικά σημεία φλύαρη όμως και δε μου άρεσε στη μετάφραση η χρήση ντοπιολαλιάς μιας και το θεώρησα άτοπο!
Αρκετοί χαρακτήρες ήταν μπλεγμένοι που είχαν κάτι να συνεισφέρουν στην ιστορία και οι περισσότεροι μου ήταν συμπαθείς και άλλους τους βρήκα αρκετά ιδιαίτερους χωρίς όμως να καταφέρω να συμπαθήσω!
A quiet interesting story and I theorized a lot as to who the murderer was but as it resulted my first guess was the right one!
At some points there were unnecessary details which I didn't like much and I didn't like something in the translation of my greek copy!
Many characters were involved in the story with each one of them having something to contribute in the mystery part and intrigue and most of them I liked and some I found interesting but didn't like!
Read
November 29, 2021Published in 1886 (a year before Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance), The Mystery of a Handsom Cab by Fergus Hume is a murder mystery set in Melbourne of the time. While Hume was English, his family had relocated to New Zealand when he was 3, and he himself moved to Melbourne after he graduated, and worked as a barrister’s clerk.
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab opens somewhat differently from the usual murder mystery, with a set of newspaper accounts from the ‘Argus’ newspaper reporting a baffling murder mystery. A drunk man in evening dress is put on to a handsom cab by another man in evening dress and a light coat, who leaves soon after only to return and say that he changed his mind will escort his ‘friend’ home. But after a while the man in the light coat alights, and says the man will direct the cab driver himself, but the cab driver when asking for directions finds the drunken man is dead—murdered! But there is no clue as to the identity of the dead man or the man in the light coat who has to have been the murderer. Detective Sam Gorby gets on the case, and following the few clues that he can find manages to identify the victim and the man in the light coat. The latter is arrested. But is the matter quite so simple?
Well, probably not as we soon find for when one of the leading lawyers in the city, Calton takes up the case of the arrested man, he finds there is far more to it than meets the eye. The accused man may be hiding something, but it may not have anything to do with the murder. He begins to look into the matter and alongside employs another detective, Kilsip, a sort of rival to Gorby to assist him. As they look into the matter, plenty of clues come to light and secrets are revealed. This fairly complex story plays out almost entirely in Melbourne taking us to both the homes and clubs of the rich (such as to St Kilda where some of the characters live) and also some of the more squalid quarters (Little Bourke Street at the time) in the city (besides a brief sojourn into the country).
What stands out right at the start in the book as I sort of mentioned in my description above is the very different way the story is structured. Rather than beginning with a narrative, we are introduced to the story through newspaper reports, inquest transcripts, and a reward announcement, which comprise the first three chapters. In later parts of the book too, though not continuously, letters and newspaper reports are used to carry forward the story and tie together the narrative.
Another aspect that made this story different was the detective himself or should I say themselves. There is no one detective who solves this mystery before us. The matter is started off by Gorby who finds the identity of the deceased and the man in the light coat, but then the barrister Calton and the other detective Kilsip carry forward the matter, so the solution is the effort of all these persons together rather than one ‘detective’.
The writing was very enjoyable, with references aplenty to mystery stories (for instance, The Leavenworth case to the stories of Gaboreau (whose works it seems inspired Hume to write a mystery), De Quincey’s ‘Murder Considered as One of the Fine Art��, Macbeth and various other works), besides music and poetry. There is also plenty of humour in Hume’s writing; for instance, describing a character’s enthusiastic but far from perfect rendition of a piece ‘Over the Garden Wall’ which is nonetheless praised by the character courting her, Hume writes:
So, when the fair Dora had paralysed her audience with one final bang and rattle, as if the gentleman going over the garden wall had tumbled into the cucumber-frame, Felix was loud in his expressions of delight.
The mystery I thought was fairly well done, and not one that I could immediately guess at; not having read the author before I wasn’t sure what sort of twists and turns we will encounter. Even the secret at the centre of it was one I could only partly work out, and then too, not quite the exact explanation. In fact, the answer is not absolutely confirmed till the very end. This definitely kept me reading, though perhaps getting to it was a bit more stretched than I’d have liked. Some of those scenes could have been shorter.
But a very enjoyable read for me overall for the writing, mystery and setting!
4.25 stars
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab opens somewhat differently from the usual murder mystery, with a set of newspaper accounts from the ‘Argus’ newspaper reporting a baffling murder mystery. A drunk man in evening dress is put on to a handsom cab by another man in evening dress and a light coat, who leaves soon after only to return and say that he changed his mind will escort his ‘friend’ home. But after a while the man in the light coat alights, and says the man will direct the cab driver himself, but the cab driver when asking for directions finds the drunken man is dead—murdered! But there is no clue as to the identity of the dead man or the man in the light coat who has to have been the murderer. Detective Sam Gorby gets on the case, and following the few clues that he can find manages to identify the victim and the man in the light coat. The latter is arrested. But is the matter quite so simple?
Well, probably not as we soon find for when one of the leading lawyers in the city, Calton takes up the case of the arrested man, he finds there is far more to it than meets the eye. The accused man may be hiding something, but it may not have anything to do with the murder. He begins to look into the matter and alongside employs another detective, Kilsip, a sort of rival to Gorby to assist him. As they look into the matter, plenty of clues come to light and secrets are revealed. This fairly complex story plays out almost entirely in Melbourne taking us to both the homes and clubs of the rich (such as to St Kilda where some of the characters live) and also some of the more squalid quarters (Little Bourke Street at the time) in the city (besides a brief sojourn into the country).
What stands out right at the start in the book as I sort of mentioned in my description above is the very different way the story is structured. Rather than beginning with a narrative, we are introduced to the story through newspaper reports, inquest transcripts, and a reward announcement, which comprise the first three chapters. In later parts of the book too, though not continuously, letters and newspaper reports are used to carry forward the story and tie together the narrative.
Another aspect that made this story different was the detective himself or should I say themselves. There is no one detective who solves this mystery before us. The matter is started off by Gorby who finds the identity of the deceased and the man in the light coat, but then the barrister Calton and the other detective Kilsip carry forward the matter, so the solution is the effort of all these persons together rather than one ‘detective’.
The writing was very enjoyable, with references aplenty to mystery stories (for instance, The Leavenworth case to the stories of Gaboreau (whose works it seems inspired Hume to write a mystery), De Quincey’s ‘Murder Considered as One of the Fine Art��, Macbeth and various other works), besides music and poetry. There is also plenty of humour in Hume’s writing; for instance, describing a character’s enthusiastic but far from perfect rendition of a piece ‘Over the Garden Wall’ which is nonetheless praised by the character courting her, Hume writes:
So, when the fair Dora had paralysed her audience with one final bang and rattle, as if the gentleman going over the garden wall had tumbled into the cucumber-frame, Felix was loud in his expressions of delight.
The mystery I thought was fairly well done, and not one that I could immediately guess at; not having read the author before I wasn’t sure what sort of twists and turns we will encounter. Even the secret at the centre of it was one I could only partly work out, and then too, not quite the exact explanation. In fact, the answer is not absolutely confirmed till the very end. This definitely kept me reading, though perhaps getting to it was a bit more stretched than I’d have liked. Some of those scenes could have been shorter.
But a very enjoyable read for me overall for the writing, mystery and setting!
4.25 stars
December 29, 2018
Ο Σέρλοκ Χολμς και ο βοηθός του Δρ. Τζον Γουότσον δημιουργήθηκαν από τον Κόναν Ντόιλ το 1887, συνεπήραν με τις περιπέτειές τους εκατομμύρια αναγνωστών οι οποίοι διαβάζουν τις υποθέσεις τους με μανία μέχρι και σήμερα, και νομίζω δε χρειάζεται να αναφέρουμε την επίδρασή τους στο σύνολο της αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας, αφού δίδαξαν με συνέπεια την επίλυση εγκλημάτων βάσει της ενδελεχούς παρατήρησης και επηρρέσαν εκατοντάδες συγγραφείς από τω καιρώ εκείνο μέχρι και σήμερα.
Ε λοιπόν τι θα σκεφτόσασταν αν σας έλεγα πως 24 μήνες πρίν την πρώτη τους εμφάνιση σε χαρτί, ένας γραφιάς από την Αυστραλία εισήγαγε το ίδιο ακριβώς μοτίβο γραφής με ένα μυθιστόρημα που με την πρώτη του και μόνο ανάγνωση μοιάζει να γράφτηκε χτες, πούλησε τις μέρες εκείνες πάνω από 750.000 αντίτυπα (!), και σελίδα τη σελίδα του σκέφτεσαι «δε μπορεί, τώρα θα εμφανιστεί πίσω από κάνα καδράκι ο ντετεκτιβ που είχε πάθος με το βιολί και έμενε στη Baker Street».
Εν έτει λοιπόν 1885, ο Φέργκου Χουμ μας συστήνει τον ντετεκτιβ του Σάμιουελ Γκόρμπι ρίχνοντας φως στις προσπάθειές του να λύσει ένα έγκλημα που έχει συγκλονίσει όλη την Αυστραλία η οποία και παρακολουθεί έναν φέρελπι νεαρό μπονβιβέρ, να χάνει τη ζωή του μέσα σε μία άμαξα λίγες μόλις μέρες πριν το γάμο του με πάμπλουτη νυφάρα της γης των Καγκουρό.
Το διάβασα μέσα τρεις μερούλες, η Aldina παραμένει με διαφορά η αγαπημένη μου σειρά βιβλίων από Gutenberg μιας και δε με έχει απογοητεύσει κυριολεκτικά ΠΟΤΕ, το συστήνω χωρίς κανένα δισταγμό.
Ε λοιπόν τι θα σκεφτόσασταν αν σας έλεγα πως 24 μήνες πρίν την πρώτη τους εμφάνιση σε χαρτί, ένας γραφιάς από την Αυστραλία εισήγαγε το ίδιο ακριβώς μοτίβο γραφής με ένα μυθιστόρημα που με την πρώτη του και μόνο ανάγνωση μοιάζει να γράφτηκε χτες, πούλησε τις μέρες εκείνες πάνω από 750.000 αντίτυπα (!), και σελίδα τη σελίδα του σκέφτεσαι «δε μπορεί, τώρα θα εμφανιστεί πίσω από κάνα καδράκι ο ντετεκτιβ που είχε πάθος με το βιολί και έμενε στη Baker Street».
Εν έτει λοιπόν 1885, ο Φέργκου Χουμ μας συστήνει τον ντετεκτιβ του Σάμιουελ Γκόρμπι ρίχνοντας φως στις προσπάθειές του να λύσει ένα έγκλημα που έχει συγκλονίσει όλη την Αυστραλία η οποία και παρακολουθεί έναν φέρελπι νεαρό μπονβιβέρ, να χάνει τη ζωή του μέσα σε μία άμαξα λίγες μόλις μέρες πριν το γάμο του με πάμπλουτη νυφάρα της γης των Καγκουρό.
Το διάβασα μέσα τρεις μερούλες, η Aldina παραμένει με διαφορά η αγαπημένη μου σειρά βιβλίων από Gutenberg μιας και δε με έχει απογοητεύσει κυριολεκτικά ΠΟΤΕ, το συστήνω χωρίς κανένα δισταγμό.
April 23, 2013
I asked a Goodreads friend from Down Under what Australian and New Zealand books she’d recommend to an ignorant Yank like me. I’d only read Australian Kerry Greenwood and Germaine Greer and Kiwi Ngaio Marsh up to that point. Magda was kind enough to send me a long list of excellent authors, including Fergus Hume. The English-born Hume grew up in New Zealand before relocating to Melbourne. Unable to get his plays even looked at — much less staged — he instead turned out his first mystery, The Mystery of the Hansom Cab, in 1886. It became an international sensation and inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes and pen A Study in Scarlet.
The novel begins in colonial Australia with a cabbie picking up two gentlemen in evening dress, one of whom was falling-down drunk. The first gets out early, and, when the cabbie opens the door to let out the second at that gent’s home, the cabbie discovers that the drunk fellow’s been murdered. How can the authorities track down the accompanying gentleman, who must surely be the murderer?
Mr. Gorby, a Melbourne police detective, discovers the victim’s identity and arrests a suspect about halfway through the novel. But Mr. Gorby’s rival on the police force, Mr. Kilsip, has very different ideas. As with any good 19th century mystery, more evidence will emerge that leads Mr. Gorby to reopen the case, and the two rivals will vie — along with the defense attorney Duncan Calton — to be the one to bring the true murderer to justice. Many modern readers decry 19th century mystery novels as dry and contrived, but The Mystery of the Hansom Cab proves as exciting as any by Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, Tony Hillerman, Elizabeth Peters, Laurie R. King, or P.D. James. I couldn’t put it down until I got to the very last chapter!
The Mystery of the Hansom Cab provides readers with a taste of an Australian classic, indeed, one that predates the Australian federation by 15 years. While the novel provides a fun read in its own right, it’s also nice to see the mystery that inspired the greatest fictional detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes.
The novel begins in colonial Australia with a cabbie picking up two gentlemen in evening dress, one of whom was falling-down drunk. The first gets out early, and, when the cabbie opens the door to let out the second at that gent’s home, the cabbie discovers that the drunk fellow’s been murdered. How can the authorities track down the accompanying gentleman, who must surely be the murderer?
Mr. Gorby, a Melbourne police detective, discovers the victim’s identity and arrests a suspect about halfway through the novel. But Mr. Gorby’s rival on the police force, Mr. Kilsip, has very different ideas. As with any good 19th century mystery, more evidence will emerge that leads Mr. Gorby to reopen the case, and the two rivals will vie — along with the defense attorney Duncan Calton — to be the one to bring the true murderer to justice. Many modern readers decry 19th century mystery novels as dry and contrived, but The Mystery of the Hansom Cab proves as exciting as any by Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, Tony Hillerman, Elizabeth Peters, Laurie R. King, or P.D. James. I couldn’t put it down until I got to the very last chapter!
The Mystery of the Hansom Cab provides readers with a taste of an Australian classic, indeed, one that predates the Australian federation by 15 years. While the novel provides a fun read in its own right, it’s also nice to see the mystery that inspired the greatest fictional detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes.
June 9, 2018
Una ambientación exquisita del Melbourne del siglo XIX, que te transporta a los bajos fondos como si estuvieras en una peli; unos personajes, bien trabajados y una trama que no decae. Sin aportar nada nuevo,me ha sorprendido gratamente, me metí de lleno en la historia y no sabía salir......
Todo lleno de misterio, en especial el señor White.
Buen descubrimiento.
Todo lleno de misterio, en especial el señor White.
Buen descubrimiento.
December 2, 2018
Ένα από τα κλασικότερα μυθιστορήματα μυστηρίου και μπεστ σέλερ την εποχή που κυκλοφόρησε (λένε ότι ήταν πιο δημοφιλές και από τις ιστορίες με ήρωα τον Σέρλοκ Χολμς!), επιτέλους στα ελληνικά, από τις εκδόσεις Gutenberg. Την χρονιά που κυκλοφόρησε (1886), σίγουρα θα ήταν ένα αρκετά πρωτοποριακό και μοντέρνο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα, το οποίο θα καθήλωσε εκατομμύρια αναγνώστες, πλέον, όμως, πάνω από εκατόν τριάντα χρόνια από τη συγγραφή του, δύσκολα θα καθηλώσει τους σύγχρονους αναγνώστες με την πλοκή και το μυστήριο του. Όμως, χωρίς αμφιβολία, πρόκειται για ένα ενδιαφέρον, αρκετά καλογραμμένο και εντέλει ψυχαγωγικό μυθιστόρημα μυστηρίου, που θα κρατήσει καλή παρέα στους λάτρεις των κλασικών βιβλίων του είδους.
Είναι ένα βιβλίο που συνδυάζει το μυστήριο, το δικαστικό δράμα, την κοινωνική κριτική και το μελόδραμα, με διακριτούς χαρακτήρες και ωραία ατμόσφαιρα. Η γραφή είναι κλασική, κάποιος μπορεί να τη βρει επίπεδη, σε σημεία ίσως μάλιστα κάπως μελοδραματική και πομπώδη, εμένα όμως γενικά μου άρεσε. Μάλιστα, διέκρινα μια ωραία λεπτή αίσθηση του χιούμορ και μια κάποια ειρωνεία ως προς την κοινωνική κριτική. Επίσης όλες οι περιγραφές σκηνικών και γεγονότων κατάφεραν να με μεταφέρουν στην Μελβούρνη του 19ου Αιώνα, από τα κοσμικά σαλόνια της υψηλής κοινωνίας μέχρι τις κακόφημες φτωχογειτονιές, καθώς και να με κάνουν ένα με το δράμα των πρωταγωνιστών.
Ξέροντας τι να περιμένω, τελικά δηλώνω άκρως ευχαριστημένος. Η πλοκή είναι αρκετά καλή και γενικά ικανοποιητικά δοσμένη, αν και φυσικά οι όποιες εκπλήξεις και αποκαλύψεις που υπάρχουν, μάλλον δεν θα συγκλονίσουν και τόσο τον σύγχρονο και μυημένο αναγνώστη ιστοριών μυστηρίου. Προσωπικά, πάντως, η πλοκή με κράτησε από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος. Και αυτό το ταξίδι στην Μελβούρνη του 19ου Αιώνα -με όλες τις παρελκόμενες λεπτομέρειες σχετικά με τη ζωή και την κοινωνία-, σίγουρα μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ. Όσον αφορά την ελληνική έκδοση, είναι πολύ καλή, με προσεγμένη μετάφραση και πολύ όμορφο εξώφυλλο. Δεν το συζητάω, πρόκειται για ένα απαραίτητο ανάγνωσμα για τους λάτρεις των μυθιστορημάτων μυστηρίου παλαιότερων εποχών.
Είναι ένα βιβλίο που συνδυάζει το μυστήριο, το δικαστικό δράμα, την κοινωνική κριτική και το μελόδραμα, με διακριτούς χαρακτήρες και ωραία ατμόσφαιρα. Η γραφή είναι κλασική, κάποιος μπορεί να τη βρει επίπεδη, σε σημεία ίσως μάλιστα κάπως μελοδραματική και πομπώδη, εμένα όμως γενικά μου άρεσε. Μάλιστα, διέκρινα μια ωραία λεπτή αίσθηση του χιούμορ και μια κάποια ειρωνεία ως προς την κοινωνική κριτική. Επίσης όλες οι περιγραφές σκηνικών και γεγονότων κατάφεραν να με μεταφέρουν στην Μελβούρνη του 19ου Αιώνα, από τα κοσμικά σαλόνια της υψηλής κοινωνίας μέχρι τις κακόφημες φτωχογειτονιές, καθώς και να με κάνουν ένα με το δράμα των πρωταγωνιστών.
Ξέροντας τι να περιμένω, τελικά δηλώνω άκρως ευχαριστημένος. Η πλοκή είναι αρκετά καλή και γενικά ικανοποιητικά δοσμένη, αν και φυσικά οι όποιες εκπλήξεις και αποκαλύψεις που υπάρχουν, μάλλον δεν θα συγκλονίσουν και τόσο τον σύγχρονο και μυημένο αναγνώστη ιστοριών μυστηρίου. Προσωπικά, πάντως, η πλοκή με κράτησε από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος. Και αυτό το ταξίδι στην Μελβούρνη του 19ου Αιώνα -με όλες τις παρελκόμενες λεπτομέρειες σχετικά με τη ζωή και την κοινωνία-, σίγουρα μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ. Όσον αφορά την ελληνική έκδοση, είναι πολύ καλή, με προσεγμένη μετάφραση και πολύ όμορφο εξώφυλλο. Δεν το συζητάω, πρόκειται για ένα απαραίτητο ανάγνωσμα για τους λάτρεις των μυθιστορημάτων μυστηρίου παλαιότερων εποχών.
July 20, 2022
A long , involved mystery but satisfying in the end.
I recommend.
I recommend.
March 15, 2021
I discovered 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab' by Fergus Hume recently and just finished reading it.
A man comes out of a bar in the middle of the night. He is drunk. Another man accompanying him hails a hansom cab and asks the can driver to drop him home and leaves. While the cab driver is trying to get the drunk man into the cab, the companion turns up again and says he will also accompany his friend. But halfway to the destination, he gets out and leaves. When the cab reaches the rough destination, the cab driver tries to wake up the drunk man, but discovers that he is dead. He doesn't have any identity papers, his address is not known, the identity of his erstwhile companion is not known and everything is a mystery. Who is this man? Why was he killed? Who was his companion who probably killed him? You have to read the story to find out.
'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab' was published in 1886 and it was one of the first crime mysteries to be published by an Australian writer. (Wikipedia says that he is an English writer. I think we can just ignore that. The author himself says in the preface to the book – "I may state in conclusion, that I belong to New Zealand, and not to Australia...") When it first came out, it outsold Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel 'A Study in Scarlet'. There is a reason for that. It is because it is good, it is really good. After the initial shocking murder, the action moves at a rapid pace (rapid by 19th century standards), and the detective uses logical reasoning and clues to find the answers. When we are one-third into the book, we are convinced about the identity of the murderer, but that is too easy, and things are not what they seem. There are many false clues, some true ones, and the mystery is unfurled slowly and we discover the real truth only in the end. I loved the way the detective uses logical reasoning to find out who the suspect is. It is not some out-of-the-world thing which requires esoteric knowledge, but simple everyday logic, which most of us won't use, but which looks simple in retrospect.
One of the things I loved in the book was Fergus Hume's rich descriptions – he sometimes delves into mythology, into literature, into poetry, into philosophy, into history. It is such a pleasure to read. This was one of my favourite descriptions from the book.
"Mr. Gorby was shaving, and, as was his usual custom, conversed with his reflection. Being a detective, and of an extremely reticent disposition, he never talked outside about his business, or made a confidant of anyone. When he did want to unbosom himself, he retired to his bedroom and talked to his reflection in the mirror. This method of procedure he found to work capitally, for it relieved his sometimes overburdened mind with absolute security to himself. Did not the barber of Midas when he found out what was under the royal crown of his master, fret and chafe over his secret, until one morning he stole to the reeds by the river, and whispered, "Midas, has ass's ears?" In the like manner Mr. Gorby felt a longing at times to give speech to his innermost secrets; and having no fancy for chattering to the air, he made his mirror his confidant. So far it had never betrayed him..."
This one is another favourite.
"The last thing before dropping off to sleep is the thought of trouble, and with the first faint light of dawn, it returns and hammers all day at the weary brain. But while a man can sleep, life is rendered at least endurable; and of all the blessings which Providence has bestowed, there is none so precious as that same sleep, which, as wise Sancho Panza says, "Wraps every man like a cloak.""
Hume's style is definitely not spare, like in today's crime novels. It is the opposite of spare. I miss this kind of writing in crime fiction. I think one of the last writers to write like this was Alistair MacLean.
Another thing that I loved about the book is the way Hume evokes the atmosphere of Melbourne of his time. We feel that we are there, we can breathe the Melbourne air, we can experience the hot weather of December. For example, this passage –
"If there is one thing which the Melbourne folk love more than another, it is music. Their fondness for it is only equalled by their admiration for horse-racing. Any street band which plays at all decently, may be sure of a good audience, and a substantial remuneration for their performance. Some writer has described Melbourne, as Glasgow with the sky of Alexandria; and certainly the beautiful climate of Australia, so Italian in its brightness, must have a great effect on the nature of such an adaptable people..."
We can observe the contrast between the elegant and sophisticated Melbournians and the poor Melbournians who live in the less flashy parts of the city. (One of them is Mother Guttersnipe (aka Mrs.Rawlings). Mother Guttersnipe is fearless, doesn't care a damn about anyone, swears in every sentence she speaks. She is cool, almost Dickensian, and is one of my favourite characters from the story.) The city of Melbourne is almost a character in the book.
Fergus Hume says this interesting thing in his preface –
"Having completed the book, I tried to get it published, but every one to whom I offered it refused even to look at the manuscript on the ground that no Colonial could write anything worth reading. They gave no reason for this extraordinary opinion, but it was sufficient for them, and they laughed to scorn the idea that any good could come out of Nazareth—i.e., the Colonies. The story thus being boycotted on all hands, I determined to publish it myself, and accordingly an edition of, I think, some five thousand copies was brought out at my own cost. Contrary to the expectations of the publishers, and I must add to my own, the whole edition went off in three weeks, and the public demanded a second. This also sold rapidly, and after some months, proposals were made to me that the book should be brought out in London. Later on I parted with the book to several speculators, who formed themselves into what they called "The Hansom Cab Publishing Company." Taking the book to London, they published it there with great success, and it had a phenomenal sale, which brought in a large sum of money...I may here state that I had nothing to do with the Company, nor did I receive any money for the English sale of the book beyond what I sold it for..."
It made me smile. It made me sad. Nothing much has changed. Publishers sucked then, in the 19th century. They suck now.
I enjoyed reading 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'. The mystery was interesting, but what I liked more was the story, the characters, the evocation of Melbourne, the descriptions, the prose. This is my first ever Australian crime fiction book, I think, and I am glad I read it.
Have you read 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'? What do you think about it? Have you read any Australian crime fiction?
A man comes out of a bar in the middle of the night. He is drunk. Another man accompanying him hails a hansom cab and asks the can driver to drop him home and leaves. While the cab driver is trying to get the drunk man into the cab, the companion turns up again and says he will also accompany his friend. But halfway to the destination, he gets out and leaves. When the cab reaches the rough destination, the cab driver tries to wake up the drunk man, but discovers that he is dead. He doesn't have any identity papers, his address is not known, the identity of his erstwhile companion is not known and everything is a mystery. Who is this man? Why was he killed? Who was his companion who probably killed him? You have to read the story to find out.
'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab' was published in 1886 and it was one of the first crime mysteries to be published by an Australian writer. (Wikipedia says that he is an English writer. I think we can just ignore that. The author himself says in the preface to the book – "I may state in conclusion, that I belong to New Zealand, and not to Australia...") When it first came out, it outsold Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel 'A Study in Scarlet'. There is a reason for that. It is because it is good, it is really good. After the initial shocking murder, the action moves at a rapid pace (rapid by 19th century standards), and the detective uses logical reasoning and clues to find the answers. When we are one-third into the book, we are convinced about the identity of the murderer, but that is too easy, and things are not what they seem. There are many false clues, some true ones, and the mystery is unfurled slowly and we discover the real truth only in the end. I loved the way the detective uses logical reasoning to find out who the suspect is. It is not some out-of-the-world thing which requires esoteric knowledge, but simple everyday logic, which most of us won't use, but which looks simple in retrospect.
One of the things I loved in the book was Fergus Hume's rich descriptions – he sometimes delves into mythology, into literature, into poetry, into philosophy, into history. It is such a pleasure to read. This was one of my favourite descriptions from the book.
"Mr. Gorby was shaving, and, as was his usual custom, conversed with his reflection. Being a detective, and of an extremely reticent disposition, he never talked outside about his business, or made a confidant of anyone. When he did want to unbosom himself, he retired to his bedroom and talked to his reflection in the mirror. This method of procedure he found to work capitally, for it relieved his sometimes overburdened mind with absolute security to himself. Did not the barber of Midas when he found out what was under the royal crown of his master, fret and chafe over his secret, until one morning he stole to the reeds by the river, and whispered, "Midas, has ass's ears?" In the like manner Mr. Gorby felt a longing at times to give speech to his innermost secrets; and having no fancy for chattering to the air, he made his mirror his confidant. So far it had never betrayed him..."
This one is another favourite.
"The last thing before dropping off to sleep is the thought of trouble, and with the first faint light of dawn, it returns and hammers all day at the weary brain. But while a man can sleep, life is rendered at least endurable; and of all the blessings which Providence has bestowed, there is none so precious as that same sleep, which, as wise Sancho Panza says, "Wraps every man like a cloak.""
Hume's style is definitely not spare, like in today's crime novels. It is the opposite of spare. I miss this kind of writing in crime fiction. I think one of the last writers to write like this was Alistair MacLean.
Another thing that I loved about the book is the way Hume evokes the atmosphere of Melbourne of his time. We feel that we are there, we can breathe the Melbourne air, we can experience the hot weather of December. For example, this passage –
"If there is one thing which the Melbourne folk love more than another, it is music. Their fondness for it is only equalled by their admiration for horse-racing. Any street band which plays at all decently, may be sure of a good audience, and a substantial remuneration for their performance. Some writer has described Melbourne, as Glasgow with the sky of Alexandria; and certainly the beautiful climate of Australia, so Italian in its brightness, must have a great effect on the nature of such an adaptable people..."
We can observe the contrast between the elegant and sophisticated Melbournians and the poor Melbournians who live in the less flashy parts of the city. (One of them is Mother Guttersnipe (aka Mrs.Rawlings). Mother Guttersnipe is fearless, doesn't care a damn about anyone, swears in every sentence she speaks. She is cool, almost Dickensian, and is one of my favourite characters from the story.) The city of Melbourne is almost a character in the book.
Fergus Hume says this interesting thing in his preface –
"Having completed the book, I tried to get it published, but every one to whom I offered it refused even to look at the manuscript on the ground that no Colonial could write anything worth reading. They gave no reason for this extraordinary opinion, but it was sufficient for them, and they laughed to scorn the idea that any good could come out of Nazareth—i.e., the Colonies. The story thus being boycotted on all hands, I determined to publish it myself, and accordingly an edition of, I think, some five thousand copies was brought out at my own cost. Contrary to the expectations of the publishers, and I must add to my own, the whole edition went off in three weeks, and the public demanded a second. This also sold rapidly, and after some months, proposals were made to me that the book should be brought out in London. Later on I parted with the book to several speculators, who formed themselves into what they called "The Hansom Cab Publishing Company." Taking the book to London, they published it there with great success, and it had a phenomenal sale, which brought in a large sum of money...I may here state that I had nothing to do with the Company, nor did I receive any money for the English sale of the book beyond what I sold it for..."
It made me smile. It made me sad. Nothing much has changed. Publishers sucked then, in the 19th century. They suck now.
I enjoyed reading 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'. The mystery was interesting, but what I liked more was the story, the characters, the evocation of Melbourne, the descriptions, the prose. This is my first ever Australian crime fiction book, I think, and I am glad I read it.
Have you read 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'? What do you think about it? Have you read any Australian crime fiction?
July 5, 2020
Una novela de misterio decimonónica que resulta muy cordial y que ha aguantado el paso del tiempo más bien que mal
October 31, 2020
Fergus Hume's 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab', first published in Australia, was one of the most successful of Victorian mystery novels and when it was published in England, it became a phenomenal seller. Hume made no money from the venture, however, for he sold the rights of the book for just £50 and, even though he went on to write more than 140 novels, none of them gained the success of this one.
It begins very promisingly with a body discovered in an otherwise empty hansom cab and the descriptions of Victorian Melbourne are lifelike and very readable. But as the mystery unfolds the narrative becomes somewhat tedious, plenty of melodrama but nothing significant happening. And the style of writing sometimes leaves the reader bewildered as, for instance, one paragraph often goes on for four pages and towards the end there is a seven-page paragraph ... the reader is exhausted at the end of it!
There are a number of suspects, one of whom is strongly suspected and indeed is arrested, but as the sometimes bumbling detectives interview potential suspects a number of red herrings emerge that put the investigation into a sharp decline. In fairness this leaves the reader wondering who the heck did commit the crime, which is no bad thing.
And the book continues in this vein, with a little controversial romance thrown in, until near the end when one of the detectives has obviously had enough of this rambling around and decides that he knows exactly what has happened. And he gathers together the various personnel from the book and outlines his ideas, which turn out to be correct and the criminal is exposed.
It is high Victorian melodrama at its best, with good Melbourne ambience, while working around a plot that slumbers at times.
It begins very promisingly with a body discovered in an otherwise empty hansom cab and the descriptions of Victorian Melbourne are lifelike and very readable. But as the mystery unfolds the narrative becomes somewhat tedious, plenty of melodrama but nothing significant happening. And the style of writing sometimes leaves the reader bewildered as, for instance, one paragraph often goes on for four pages and towards the end there is a seven-page paragraph ... the reader is exhausted at the end of it!
There are a number of suspects, one of whom is strongly suspected and indeed is arrested, but as the sometimes bumbling detectives interview potential suspects a number of red herrings emerge that put the investigation into a sharp decline. In fairness this leaves the reader wondering who the heck did commit the crime, which is no bad thing.
And the book continues in this vein, with a little controversial romance thrown in, until near the end when one of the detectives has obviously had enough of this rambling around and decides that he knows exactly what has happened. And he gathers together the various personnel from the book and outlines his ideas, which turn out to be correct and the criminal is exposed.
It is high Victorian melodrama at its best, with good Melbourne ambience, while working around a plot that slumbers at times.
June 14, 2016
3.5 stars for the LibriVox audiobook narrated by Sibella Denton.
A fun mystery - parts were a little predictable but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment. Hume managed to keep me wondering about who the culprit was right to the end.
A fun mystery - parts were a little predictable but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment. Hume managed to keep me wondering about who the culprit was right to the end.
July 29, 2021
Malcolm Royston, Melbourne cabman, is shocked to find that his drunken passenger has been murdered--poisoned with a chloroform-soaked handkerchief while the cabbie drove through the night unawares. According to his story, the man (very much alive, but also very drunk) was bundled towards his cab by a gentleman in a light-colored coat and felt hat (drawn low over the face). The gentleman claimed not to know the drunk and was merely playing good Samaritan to send him home. But when the man slumps to the ground and the gentleman gets a good look at his face, he says "You!" and walks off. He then returns hastily, saying he had changed his mind, and rides about half-way to the St. Kilda. At this point, he stopped the cab, said the man refused to have him travel the rest of the way, gave the cabbie vague directions and a half-sovereign, and walked off into the night. When Royston later stops the cab to get more precise directions, he finds his fare huddled in a corner with handkerchief across his face...dead.
And so begins the Hansom Cab mystery. The dead man has nothing about his person to identify him. The cabbie can give no distinct description of the gentleman in the light-colored coat. And with just a few meagre pointers, police detective Samuel Gorby must try and find out who the dead man was, why he was killed, and who that killer is. This all leads to a falsely accused hero, a loyal heroine, a dramatic trial with an eleventh hour witness to save the day, a dark family secret, blackmail, a search through the seedy slums of Melbourne, and a startling confession. And then Gorby isn't even the detective who solves the case. Our hero's lawyer Calton and a second detective, Kilsip, are the ones who bring the truth to light.
A few thoughts:
For as much as I heard about this being a run-away best-seller in the 19th Century (outselling Sherlock Holmes at the time) and as long as it had been, first, on my "To Be Found" list and, second when found, on my "To Be Read" stacks, you'd think this would be a much more interesting book. If for no other reason than because it had such early influence. It is, I agree, very interesting in its portrayal of Melbourne and the outlying stations in Australia--very atmospheric and great detail. It also has some memorable characters such as Mother Guttersnipe. However, much is made of the fact that the detective has an "unknown" corpse on his hands. Like this is a really BIG thing in the book. And yet--it takes Gorby (who quite frankly is no great shakes as a detective) 26 pages (and only four of them spent in actual detecting) out of 254 to discover the identity of the dead man.
And, even though Gorby completely misses it and latches onto the obvious [wrong] suspect, as soon as a certain character was introduced to us I was certain we'd just met the murderer. I didn't know the motive yet, but I was sure. There is an effort to distract the reader with a rather interesting red herring, but I stuck with my first thought and was rewarded in the end by being correct.
Hume uses a lot of Victorian melodrama which is entertaining in and of itself and the writing is quite good and typical for the period. As a novel it is enjoyable--just not the knock-out early mystery that I'd anticipated. ★★★ and 1/4.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
And so begins the Hansom Cab mystery. The dead man has nothing about his person to identify him. The cabbie can give no distinct description of the gentleman in the light-colored coat. And with just a few meagre pointers, police detective Samuel Gorby must try and find out who the dead man was, why he was killed, and who that killer is. This all leads to a falsely accused hero, a loyal heroine, a dramatic trial with an eleventh hour witness to save the day, a dark family secret, blackmail, a search through the seedy slums of Melbourne, and a startling confession. And then Gorby isn't even the detective who solves the case. Our hero's lawyer Calton and a second detective, Kilsip, are the ones who bring the truth to light.
A few thoughts:
For as much as I heard about this being a run-away best-seller in the 19th Century (outselling Sherlock Holmes at the time) and as long as it had been, first, on my "To Be Found" list and, second when found, on my "To Be Read" stacks, you'd think this would be a much more interesting book. If for no other reason than because it had such early influence. It is, I agree, very interesting in its portrayal of Melbourne and the outlying stations in Australia--very atmospheric and great detail. It also has some memorable characters such as Mother Guttersnipe. However, much is made of the fact that the detective has an "unknown" corpse on his hands. Like this is a really BIG thing in the book. And yet--it takes Gorby (who quite frankly is no great shakes as a detective) 26 pages (and only four of them spent in actual detecting) out of 254 to discover the identity of the dead man.
And, even though Gorby completely misses it and latches onto the obvious [wrong] suspect, as soon as a certain character was introduced to us I was certain we'd just met the murderer. I didn't know the motive yet, but I was sure. There is an effort to distract the reader with a rather interesting red herring, but I stuck with my first thought and was rewarded in the end by being correct.
Hume uses a lot of Victorian melodrama which is entertaining in and of itself and the writing is quite good and typical for the period. As a novel it is enjoyable--just not the knock-out early mystery that I'd anticipated. ★★★ and 1/4.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
August 21, 2014
Fergus Hume was born in England in 1832. His family emigrated to Australia, where he became a barrister and aspired to be a writer. His early efforts were met with complete disinterest, and so, unwilling to admit defeat, he asked a local bookseller what type of book was most popular. The answer was detective novels, and so Hume bought and studied all of the works of the popular crime writer Emile Gaboriau that the bookstore had to offer.
The result was ‘The Mystery of a Hansom Cab’, the first of some 130 books that the author would publish between 1886 and his death in 1932. That first book though was his only success. And it was a huge success; quite probably the best-selling detective story of the eighteenth century.
Other books of the period may have stood the test of time better, may speak for their times more eloquently; other authors may have left a greater body of work; but this book has much to hold the interest.
The book opens with a newspaper account of a murder. A drunken man had been put into a cab by another man, who instructed the driver to take him home. And when the driver stopped to ask his fare for directions not long afterwards, his passenger was dead, suffocated with a chloroform soaked handkerchief bearing the initials OW. There was nothing else that gave any clue to the dead man’s identity, and nothing at all to indicate who the man who had put him into the cab – the man who must surely be his murderer – might be.
Mr Gorby, the police detective at the head of the investigation, was very capable, and he was quick to establish that the dead man was Oliver Whyte, a newcomer to Melbourne society.
It was interesting that Whyte had been courting Madge Frettlby, who was the only child of Mark Frettlby, one of the richest men in the city. Madge was in love with Brian Fitzgerald, an Irishman who had come to Melbourne to make his fortune; her father knew that, and yet he was encouraging Whyte’s suit.
Whyte and Fitzgerald were, understandably, on very bad terms. Gorby learned that Fitzgerald has been heard to threaten Whyte at his lodgings; he learned that Fitzgerald wore a light coat & wide brimmed hat, just like the man who had put Whyte into the cab; he learned that Fitzgerald had been out in the city that night. He was convinced that he had his man.
Fitzgerald pleaded innocence, but herefused to provide an alibi for the time of the murder. He had one, but he would not use it because he knew that to do so would cause irreparable damage.
It was fortunate that his lawyer, Mr Calton believed him, and prepared to investigate. Another police detective, Mr Kilslip, was convinced that his old rival, Mr Gorby, had got things wrong; and so the two men set out to uncover the truth.
They came to understand why Fitzgerald wanted to keep a secret that he wished he had never been told, a terrible secret, with roots in England and Australia, involving some of the highest and some of the lowest of Melbourne society …..
The plot rattled along nicely, from crime, to investigation, to trial, to aftermath. And as it did that it shifted from crime story to sensation story. Hume did better with the former than the latter, and though I enjoyed most of the journey in the end I could see how things were going to play out and ready for the journey to be over.
But I had found much to appreciate along the way:
I admired the professionalism of the police and lawyers, and I was pleased that they all proved to be capable. I liked that there was some moral ambiguity in the way the story played out. And I found it easy to believe in these people, to believe in their world, and to enjoy spending time there.
A hint of misogyny was disappointing, but Madge did develop into a credible heroine – albeit a woman of her time – after a shaky start, and this was a story about plot much more than characters. The characters did their job but no more.
The very best thing though was the wealth of literary references that peppered the story, the many times when the characters mentioned something they’d read about: I spotted Gaboriau, De Quincy, Zola, Braddon, and I suspect that there were others that I didn’t recognise. Sometimes it felt a little contrived but it was lovely, and I loved the author’s generosity of spirit.
The authors I didn’t see mentioned but whose influence I was sure I saw were Charles Dickens – in the slums – and Wilkie Collins – in the melodrama.
Fergus Hume is nowhere near their class, but he has left the world a rather nice period entertainment, pitched at a very interesting point in the evolution of crime fiction.
The result was ‘The Mystery of a Hansom Cab’, the first of some 130 books that the author would publish between 1886 and his death in 1932. That first book though was his only success. And it was a huge success; quite probably the best-selling detective story of the eighteenth century.
Other books of the period may have stood the test of time better, may speak for their times more eloquently; other authors may have left a greater body of work; but this book has much to hold the interest.
The book opens with a newspaper account of a murder. A drunken man had been put into a cab by another man, who instructed the driver to take him home. And when the driver stopped to ask his fare for directions not long afterwards, his passenger was dead, suffocated with a chloroform soaked handkerchief bearing the initials OW. There was nothing else that gave any clue to the dead man’s identity, and nothing at all to indicate who the man who had put him into the cab – the man who must surely be his murderer – might be.
Mr Gorby, the police detective at the head of the investigation, was very capable, and he was quick to establish that the dead man was Oliver Whyte, a newcomer to Melbourne society.
It was interesting that Whyte had been courting Madge Frettlby, who was the only child of Mark Frettlby, one of the richest men in the city. Madge was in love with Brian Fitzgerald, an Irishman who had come to Melbourne to make his fortune; her father knew that, and yet he was encouraging Whyte’s suit.
Whyte and Fitzgerald were, understandably, on very bad terms. Gorby learned that Fitzgerald has been heard to threaten Whyte at his lodgings; he learned that Fitzgerald wore a light coat & wide brimmed hat, just like the man who had put Whyte into the cab; he learned that Fitzgerald had been out in the city that night. He was convinced that he had his man.
Fitzgerald pleaded innocence, but herefused to provide an alibi for the time of the murder. He had one, but he would not use it because he knew that to do so would cause irreparable damage.
It was fortunate that his lawyer, Mr Calton believed him, and prepared to investigate. Another police detective, Mr Kilslip, was convinced that his old rival, Mr Gorby, had got things wrong; and so the two men set out to uncover the truth.
They came to understand why Fitzgerald wanted to keep a secret that he wished he had never been told, a terrible secret, with roots in England and Australia, involving some of the highest and some of the lowest of Melbourne society …..
The plot rattled along nicely, from crime, to investigation, to trial, to aftermath. And as it did that it shifted from crime story to sensation story. Hume did better with the former than the latter, and though I enjoyed most of the journey in the end I could see how things were going to play out and ready for the journey to be over.
But I had found much to appreciate along the way:
I admired the professionalism of the police and lawyers, and I was pleased that they all proved to be capable. I liked that there was some moral ambiguity in the way the story played out. And I found it easy to believe in these people, to believe in their world, and to enjoy spending time there.
A hint of misogyny was disappointing, but Madge did develop into a credible heroine – albeit a woman of her time – after a shaky start, and this was a story about plot much more than characters. The characters did their job but no more.
The very best thing though was the wealth of literary references that peppered the story, the many times when the characters mentioned something they’d read about: I spotted Gaboriau, De Quincy, Zola, Braddon, and I suspect that there were others that I didn’t recognise. Sometimes it felt a little contrived but it was lovely, and I loved the author’s generosity of spirit.
The authors I didn’t see mentioned but whose influence I was sure I saw were Charles Dickens – in the slums – and Wilkie Collins – in the melodrama.
Fergus Hume is nowhere near their class, but he has left the world a rather nice period entertainment, pitched at a very interesting point in the evolution of crime fiction.
September 11, 2011
If asked to name the bestselling mystery novel of the 19th century, most people would probably suggest something by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, possibly The Hound of the Baskervilles. In fact the biggest selling 19th century mystery novel was Fergus Hume’s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. Hume was born in England but brought up in New Zealand, and was living in Australia when he wrote the book. The book is set in Melbourne. He went on to write a further 131 crime novels.
The book opens with a cabby discovering a dead man, identity unknown, in his hansom cab. Police investigations soon establish the victim’s identity, and circumstantial evidence points towards a wealthy young squatter, Brian Fitzgerald. . It soon becomes clear that Fitzgerald is hiding something, and is prepared to face the hangman’s noose rather than reveal the secret. By modern standards I’d describe it as a crime melodrama. There are gentlemen declaring their intention to die rather than put a lady’s honour at risk. There are dreadful family secrets. There are surprise witnesses. There is a convoluted plot involving some unlikely coincidences. The final resolution is suspiciously neat. It’s all very breathless.
On the other hand Hume does introduce enough twists to maintain the reader’s interest, and the book is quite entertaining. One interesting feature is that both the detectives involved in the case are police detectives rather than amateur sleuths, and both police officers are shown to be intelligent and efficient, and very professional. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was immensely influential at the time, and was a worldwide bestseller. Conan Doyle is known to have read it. It’s essential reading if you have a taste for Victorian and Edwardian detective stories.
The book opens with a cabby discovering a dead man, identity unknown, in his hansom cab. Police investigations soon establish the victim’s identity, and circumstantial evidence points towards a wealthy young squatter, Brian Fitzgerald. . It soon becomes clear that Fitzgerald is hiding something, and is prepared to face the hangman’s noose rather than reveal the secret. By modern standards I’d describe it as a crime melodrama. There are gentlemen declaring their intention to die rather than put a lady’s honour at risk. There are dreadful family secrets. There are surprise witnesses. There is a convoluted plot involving some unlikely coincidences. The final resolution is suspiciously neat. It’s all very breathless.
On the other hand Hume does introduce enough twists to maintain the reader’s interest, and the book is quite entertaining. One interesting feature is that both the detectives involved in the case are police detectives rather than amateur sleuths, and both police officers are shown to be intelligent and efficient, and very professional. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was immensely influential at the time, and was a worldwide bestseller. Conan Doyle is known to have read it. It’s essential reading if you have a taste for Victorian and Edwardian detective stories.
June 22, 2018
Trigger warnings: murder, death, alcohol abuse.
22/6/2018
I love this book. It's full of great characters. The setting is wonderful (me, biased? Whaaaaat??). The mystery is engaging and kept me guessing, even on reread. And on reread, I noticed just how much humour is in the story, and how many iconically Melbourne things are present in it, even 130+ years later. There's a sentence fairly early on about how it's a really hot day and how it should be a December day but the "clerk of the weather" got confused and dumped it into August by accident and that is SUCH a Melbourne experience and I loved it.
Plus, this book basically changed crime fiction forever, and was a worldwide smash. So...yeah.
27/9/2013
For something that was written around 120 years ago, this was incredibly readable. I loved the story - it was full of twists and turns and misdirection, and it paints a brilliant picture of 1880s Melbourne. I think at least part of my enjoyment was due to the fact that I knew all the places Hume mentions in detail, so I could get a mental picture of Brian hailing a hansom cab outside Scot's Church, of the cab making its way down St. Kilda Road, of strolls through the Treasury Gardens, and trips through the seedy underbelly off Little Bourke.
I think what I enjoyed most were his character portrayals, particularly for the supporting characters. Not so much the "He was tall and blond and had a moustache" kind of descriptions, but the parts that made them human - the squeaky singing voices and nasal laughs and crackling joints. It added humour and depth to a story that could otherwise have been a fairly standard whodunnit.
22/6/2018
I love this book. It's full of great characters. The setting is wonderful (me, biased? Whaaaaat??). The mystery is engaging and kept me guessing, even on reread. And on reread, I noticed just how much humour is in the story, and how many iconically Melbourne things are present in it, even 130+ years later. There's a sentence fairly early on about how it's a really hot day and how it should be a December day but the "clerk of the weather" got confused and dumped it into August by accident and that is SUCH a Melbourne experience and I loved it.
Plus, this book basically changed crime fiction forever, and was a worldwide smash. So...yeah.
27/9/2013
For something that was written around 120 years ago, this was incredibly readable. I loved the story - it was full of twists and turns and misdirection, and it paints a brilliant picture of 1880s Melbourne. I think at least part of my enjoyment was due to the fact that I knew all the places Hume mentions in detail, so I could get a mental picture of Brian hailing a hansom cab outside Scot's Church, of the cab making its way down St. Kilda Road, of strolls through the Treasury Gardens, and trips through the seedy underbelly off Little Bourke.
I think what I enjoyed most were his character portrayals, particularly for the supporting characters. Not so much the "He was tall and blond and had a moustache" kind of descriptions, but the parts that made them human - the squeaky singing voices and nasal laughs and crackling joints. It added humour and depth to a story that could otherwise have been a fairly standard whodunnit.
September 6, 2017
Just saying, if the author's foreword includes spoilers to the solution of the mystery, it really oughta be an afterword.
Aside from that, about 2.5 stars. The mystery was of average complexity, the characters and storytelling style pretty melodramatic (I got an ironic chuckle out of the fact that The Leavenworth Case was mentioned and referred to as "light" reading, when I'd rate The Mystery of a Hansom Cab rather lighter). Probably the most fun aspect was the setting of Victorian-era Australia, as I've read almost nothing else set there and the descriptions of the time and place were all fresh to me.
Aside from that, about 2.5 stars. The mystery was of average complexity, the characters and storytelling style pretty melodramatic (I got an ironic chuckle out of the fact that The Leavenworth Case was mentioned and referred to as "light" reading, when I'd rate The Mystery of a Hansom Cab rather lighter). Probably the most fun aspect was the setting of Victorian-era Australia, as I've read almost nothing else set there and the descriptions of the time and place were all fresh to me.
July 6, 2021
Wie Gaboriau, an dessen Werken sich der abgelehnte Jung-Dramatiker in die Thematik einlas, ein Buch, in dem sich die große Romantradition des 19. Jahrhunderts mit dem neuen Genre verbindet.
Gerade Mother Guttersnipe, eine alte Gin saufende Slumgewaltige, die aus Rache am Erzeuger das eigene Enkelkind ruiniert und auch ein paar anderen Kindern übel mitspielt, ist Gestalt aus Dickens Universum, auch wenn der Roman in Melbourne spielt und so etwas wie der erste australische Welterfolg darstellt.
Allein die Vorgeschichte des verzögerten Welterfolgs, in der ein junger Autor keinen Zugang zur Bühne findet und sich über einen Sensationsroman einen Namen machen will, um dann festzustellen, dass nicht mal die eigenen Leute einem Autor aus den Kolonien etwas zutrauen, hat etwas für sich. Auf den heimischen Durchbruch im Selbstverlag folgt ein Welterfolg, der nichts einbringt, da es keinen Schutz der Urheberrechte gibt.
Ich gehe bewusst nicht auf den Plot und dessen Auflösung ein, sondern nur auf den Stellenwert in der Entwicklung des Genres bzw. der allgemeinen Literatur: Bei der Vorarbeiten wandelte Fergus Hume auf den Spuren Zolas recherchierte in den Slums, notierte sich das Rotwelsch und fand wohl auch die Inspiration für Mother Guttersnipe, die bis zum letzten Atemzug im Slumslang flucht.
Die Sterbeszene der alten Schnapsdrossel stellt alles in den Schatten, was ich bislang von Gaboriau gelesen habe, der ja seinerseits an Sué und Dumas anknüpft, aber schon tot war, bevor Zola und sein Naturalismus ein Faktor im Literaturbetrieb wurde. Auch Humes Vermieterinnen von Opfer und dem Hauptverdächtigen sprechen Dialekt, bedienen sich aber keinerlei Kraftausdrücke.
Die Ermittler spielen eher eine Nebenrolle, das Innenleben von Verhafteten, Angehörigen, ihrerseits unter Verdacht geratenen Verwandten, Argwohn untereinander nimmt einen breiteren Raum ein.
Insofern ist es, wie Gaboriaus Erstling Le Rouge Affaire mehr Roman als ein Kombinationsstück in der Poe-Nachfolge, selbst wenn es so etwas wie Ermittlerglück in letzter Sekunde gibt. Allerdings hat sich der letztlich erfolgreiche Schnüffler seinen Erfolg durch viel Laufarbeit erarbeitet.
Bei den Ermittlern entwickelt Hume ein immer noch gern genutztes Muster von zwei Rivalen mit unterschiedlicher Methodik, der dicke Gorby überlistet die Vermieter von Opfer und Hauptverdächtigen unter falscher Identität, schnappt sich schon mal heimlich die passenden Beweise und kommt (vor)schnell zum Erfolgserlebnis. Der Biedermann ist allseits beliebt, da seine Einwickeltour schon etliche Kriminelle auf dem falschen Fuß erwischt hat.
Sein hagerer Gegenspieler Kilsip ist auch in den Slums daheim, dient den anständigen Bürgern als Schutzengel bei unvermeidlichen Gängen in die Unterwelt und stellt dem Anwalt des fälschlich Angeklagten auch den ersten Kontakt zu Mother Guttersnipe her, drückt bei Beweisen für ihre Verbrechen, die nicht zum Fall gehören, aber auch die Augen zu, bzw. macht keinerlei Anstalten den rüden Umgang mit den Kindern in ihrer Wirtschaft zu reglementieren. Der Autor lässt in diesem Punkt aber trotzdem poetische Gerechtigkeit walten, die über die ergreifende Sterbeszene der uneinsichtigen alten Hexe hinaus geht.
Fazit: Es gibt einige Romane von Dickens, die als Gesamtkomposition weniger gelungen sind, für historische Verdienste gibt es den vierten Stern für Fergus Hume, den ich ohne den Goodreads-Algorithmus glatt ignoriert hätte.
Gerade Mother Guttersnipe, eine alte Gin saufende Slumgewaltige, die aus Rache am Erzeuger das eigene Enkelkind ruiniert und auch ein paar anderen Kindern übel mitspielt, ist Gestalt aus Dickens Universum, auch wenn der Roman in Melbourne spielt und so etwas wie der erste australische Welterfolg darstellt.
Allein die Vorgeschichte des verzögerten Welterfolgs, in der ein junger Autor keinen Zugang zur Bühne findet und sich über einen Sensationsroman einen Namen machen will, um dann festzustellen, dass nicht mal die eigenen Leute einem Autor aus den Kolonien etwas zutrauen, hat etwas für sich. Auf den heimischen Durchbruch im Selbstverlag folgt ein Welterfolg, der nichts einbringt, da es keinen Schutz der Urheberrechte gibt.
Ich gehe bewusst nicht auf den Plot und dessen Auflösung ein, sondern nur auf den Stellenwert in der Entwicklung des Genres bzw. der allgemeinen Literatur: Bei der Vorarbeiten wandelte Fergus Hume auf den Spuren Zolas recherchierte in den Slums, notierte sich das Rotwelsch und fand wohl auch die Inspiration für Mother Guttersnipe, die bis zum letzten Atemzug im Slumslang flucht.
Die Sterbeszene der alten Schnapsdrossel stellt alles in den Schatten, was ich bislang von Gaboriau gelesen habe, der ja seinerseits an Sué und Dumas anknüpft, aber schon tot war, bevor Zola und sein Naturalismus ein Faktor im Literaturbetrieb wurde. Auch Humes Vermieterinnen von Opfer und dem Hauptverdächtigen sprechen Dialekt, bedienen sich aber keinerlei Kraftausdrücke.
Die Ermittler spielen eher eine Nebenrolle, das Innenleben von Verhafteten, Angehörigen, ihrerseits unter Verdacht geratenen Verwandten, Argwohn untereinander nimmt einen breiteren Raum ein.
Insofern ist es, wie Gaboriaus Erstling Le Rouge Affaire mehr Roman als ein Kombinationsstück in der Poe-Nachfolge, selbst wenn es so etwas wie Ermittlerglück in letzter Sekunde gibt. Allerdings hat sich der letztlich erfolgreiche Schnüffler seinen Erfolg durch viel Laufarbeit erarbeitet.
Bei den Ermittlern entwickelt Hume ein immer noch gern genutztes Muster von zwei Rivalen mit unterschiedlicher Methodik, der dicke Gorby überlistet die Vermieter von Opfer und Hauptverdächtigen unter falscher Identität, schnappt sich schon mal heimlich die passenden Beweise und kommt (vor)schnell zum Erfolgserlebnis. Der Biedermann ist allseits beliebt, da seine Einwickeltour schon etliche Kriminelle auf dem falschen Fuß erwischt hat.
Sein hagerer Gegenspieler Kilsip ist auch in den Slums daheim, dient den anständigen Bürgern als Schutzengel bei unvermeidlichen Gängen in die Unterwelt und stellt dem Anwalt des fälschlich Angeklagten auch den ersten Kontakt zu Mother Guttersnipe her, drückt bei Beweisen für ihre Verbrechen, die nicht zum Fall gehören, aber auch die Augen zu, bzw. macht keinerlei Anstalten den rüden Umgang mit den Kindern in ihrer Wirtschaft zu reglementieren. Der Autor lässt in diesem Punkt aber trotzdem poetische Gerechtigkeit walten, die über die ergreifende Sterbeszene der uneinsichtigen alten Hexe hinaus geht.
Fazit: Es gibt einige Romane von Dickens, die als Gesamtkomposition weniger gelungen sind, für historische Verdienste gibt es den vierten Stern für Fergus Hume, den ich ohne den Goodreads-Algorithmus glatt ignoriert hätte.
December 27, 2019
Ο τρόπος γραφής του Hume μου φάνηκε πολύ μοντέρνος για την εποχή του. Μου άρεσε που στο βιβλίο ασχολείται με διάφορα είδη λογοτεχνίας του σήμερα : μυστήριο, ρομάντσο, δικαστικό, κοινωνικό. Ίσως γι' αυτό ήταν και το best seller της εποχής. Διαβάζοντας το, είδα στοιχεία που αργότερα βρίσκεις στα βιβλία του Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόϊλ και της Αγκάθα Κρίστι. Μου άρεσε επίσης η εναλλαγή πρωταγωνιστή. Στο πρώτο μέρος ο αστυνόμος και μετά ο δικηγόρος. Ο δολοφόνος για έναν μυημένο στην αστυνομική λογοτεχνία είναι προφανής από αρκετά νωρίς, όμως αυτό το βιβλίο έχει άλλες ομορφιές. Είναι ένα κλασικό βιβλίο που θα το διαβάσει κάποιος, ίσως για να καταλάβει πως ξεκίνησε η αστυνομική λογοτεχνία.
July 19, 2013
Published in 1886 and an immediate best seller, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was one of the earliest detective stories written in English, predating Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet by a year, and is considered one of the best examples of the genre. As a mystery I must admit it is a bit slight and the identity of the killer is given away very early in the piece, but for this reader its main charm lies in its depiction of my own home town, Melbourne, Australia, where the novel was written and set.
The novel takes us to the moneyed salons of The Melbourne Club, the elegance of The Block, the slums of Little Bourke Street, the sweet sea air of St Kilda and the sweltering heat of a Victorian rural station, all of which are evoked with the authenticity that can only be attained by an eye-witness. Whatever its achievement as a mystery, I’m sure this characteristic made a large contribution to the novel’s success, especially in Melbourne.
Its author, Fergus Hume, was born in England and migrated to New Zealand as a child with his family. After qualifying as a lawyer, he left New Zealand for the most dynamic city of the colonies at the time, Marvellous Melbourne. There, however, rather than settling for a career in the law, Hume was determined to make a name for himself as a writer. After failing to interest any of the theatres in his plays, Hume decided to write a novel, but not just any novel, a best-seller. Enquiring of a bookseller what kind of novel was the most popular, he was told it was the detective mysteries of Emile Gaboriau. After having read all of Gaboriau’s mysteries, Hume produced his own, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.
A dashing young man about town is found drunk in a city street. A man who appears to know him hails a hansom cab and offers to accompany the drunk to his home, but half way there the Good Samaritan seems to argue with his friend and gets out of the cab, sending the driver on. When the driver tries to rouse his remaining passenger he finds him dead. Thus begins a mystery that incorporates all the elements one expects from a nineteenth century melodrama – a beautiful and innocent young heiress, a terrible secret, and an honourable young man who would rather face death than reveal it. But apart from these clichés, Hume gives his mystery an air of authenticity with newspaper articles, court transcripts and police procedures. It is much livened by some rather eccentric characters including an alcoholic slum matriarch, a pair of garrulous landladies, and two rival detectives each pursuing opposing lines of investigation. But the investigation is actually a small part of this novel which focuses, rather, on the people whose lives have been affected by the murder – the young woman the dead man had once courted, her fiancé who is accused of his murder, and her father, a millionaire with a mysterious past.
Having written his novel, Hume approached several publishers and came up against an attitude that still lingers today, that nothing good could possibly come out of Australia. So Hume did what many authors are still forced to do. He scraped the money together to self-publish his book. Despite the publishers’ prejudices, the first print run of 5,000 copies sold out in three weeks and a second print run was produced. However, Hume lacked the capital to take his novel to the British and American markets, so sold those rights for £50. Hume did not see another penny for sales of 750,000, or the stage adaptation which ran in London for 500 nights. Hume followed his creation to London where he continued his career as a writer, but without ever again seeing the success of his first novel.
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is an entertaining mystery in its own right, a remarkable example of the origins of the detective novel, and a delightful evocation of its time and place. It is well worth reading.
The novel takes us to the moneyed salons of The Melbourne Club, the elegance of The Block, the slums of Little Bourke Street, the sweet sea air of St Kilda and the sweltering heat of a Victorian rural station, all of which are evoked with the authenticity that can only be attained by an eye-witness. Whatever its achievement as a mystery, I’m sure this characteristic made a large contribution to the novel’s success, especially in Melbourne.
Its author, Fergus Hume, was born in England and migrated to New Zealand as a child with his family. After qualifying as a lawyer, he left New Zealand for the most dynamic city of the colonies at the time, Marvellous Melbourne. There, however, rather than settling for a career in the law, Hume was determined to make a name for himself as a writer. After failing to interest any of the theatres in his plays, Hume decided to write a novel, but not just any novel, a best-seller. Enquiring of a bookseller what kind of novel was the most popular, he was told it was the detective mysteries of Emile Gaboriau. After having read all of Gaboriau’s mysteries, Hume produced his own, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.
A dashing young man about town is found drunk in a city street. A man who appears to know him hails a hansom cab and offers to accompany the drunk to his home, but half way there the Good Samaritan seems to argue with his friend and gets out of the cab, sending the driver on. When the driver tries to rouse his remaining passenger he finds him dead. Thus begins a mystery that incorporates all the elements one expects from a nineteenth century melodrama – a beautiful and innocent young heiress, a terrible secret, and an honourable young man who would rather face death than reveal it. But apart from these clichés, Hume gives his mystery an air of authenticity with newspaper articles, court transcripts and police procedures. It is much livened by some rather eccentric characters including an alcoholic slum matriarch, a pair of garrulous landladies, and two rival detectives each pursuing opposing lines of investigation. But the investigation is actually a small part of this novel which focuses, rather, on the people whose lives have been affected by the murder – the young woman the dead man had once courted, her fiancé who is accused of his murder, and her father, a millionaire with a mysterious past.
Having written his novel, Hume approached several publishers and came up against an attitude that still lingers today, that nothing good could possibly come out of Australia. So Hume did what many authors are still forced to do. He scraped the money together to self-publish his book. Despite the publishers’ prejudices, the first print run of 5,000 copies sold out in three weeks and a second print run was produced. However, Hume lacked the capital to take his novel to the British and American markets, so sold those rights for £50. Hume did not see another penny for sales of 750,000, or the stage adaptation which ran in London for 500 nights. Hume followed his creation to London where he continued his career as a writer, but without ever again seeing the success of his first novel.
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is an entertaining mystery in its own right, a remarkable example of the origins of the detective novel, and a delightful evocation of its time and place. It is well worth reading.
June 6, 2016
‘The best-selling crime novel of the nineteenth century.’
‘Truth is said to be stranger than fiction, and certainly the extraordinary murder which took place in Melbourne on Thursday night, or rather Friday morning, goes a long way towards verifying this saying.’
Melbourne, 18--. An unknown man is found dead in a hansom cab late one night. How did he die? Earlier, this man and another unknown man had hailed a hansom cab and had asked to be taken to St Kilda. The unknown man changed his mind and walked away. Then the man appeared to change his mind again, and got into the hansom cab. Part way through the journey he asks the cab driver to stop, gets out, and heads back to the city. A little further on, the cab driver, trying to establish exactly which address he is to attend, discovers the dead body of the man in the back of his cab.
The police first need to identify the victim. Once they do, they then move quite quickly to arrest
and charge a man with his murder. But do they have the right man? Eventually, gentle reader, after a number of twists and turns, the truth will be ascertained.
And what interesting twists and turns they prove to be. The novel is peopled with interesting characters, including the dreadful Mother Guttersnipe, and the busy Mrs Sampson. We have a number of potential heroes and actual villains, and just when I thought I’d worked it out, yet another possibility appeared. Plenty of old-fashioned detecting here.
This novel was first published in 1886, and has not been out of print since. It predates Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘A Study in Scarlet’ by one year, and was an overnight sensation when it was originally published. Although some aspects are dated, this novel is still well worth reading today.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
‘Truth is said to be stranger than fiction, and certainly the extraordinary murder which took place in Melbourne on Thursday night, or rather Friday morning, goes a long way towards verifying this saying.’
Melbourne, 18--. An unknown man is found dead in a hansom cab late one night. How did he die? Earlier, this man and another unknown man had hailed a hansom cab and had asked to be taken to St Kilda. The unknown man changed his mind and walked away. Then the man appeared to change his mind again, and got into the hansom cab. Part way through the journey he asks the cab driver to stop, gets out, and heads back to the city. A little further on, the cab driver, trying to establish exactly which address he is to attend, discovers the dead body of the man in the back of his cab.
The police first need to identify the victim. Once they do, they then move quite quickly to arrest
and charge a man with his murder. But do they have the right man? Eventually, gentle reader, after a number of twists and turns, the truth will be ascertained.
And what interesting twists and turns they prove to be. The novel is peopled with interesting characters, including the dreadful Mother Guttersnipe, and the busy Mrs Sampson. We have a number of potential heroes and actual villains, and just when I thought I’d worked it out, yet another possibility appeared. Plenty of old-fashioned detecting here.
This novel was first published in 1886, and has not been out of print since. It predates Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘A Study in Scarlet’ by one year, and was an overnight sensation when it was originally published. Although some aspects are dated, this novel is still well worth reading today.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
August 14, 2015
Este libro me ha sorprendido. El primer clásico de misterio que se escribió y que ha llegado a mí por casualidad.
Ha sido un placer sumergirme entre sus páginas y descubrir junto a los detectives la verdad que se esconde entre sus letras. Un misterio aparentemente simple se convierte en una complicada historia que sorprenderá a los seguidores más fieles de Conan Doyle...
El misterio del carruaje se convirtió en la novela de misterio más vendida del siglo XIX y la primera mitad del siglo XX, y supuso una importantísima contribución a la historia de la novela de detectives.
Esta novela es un absorbente misterio que mezcla con ingenio la dosis perfecta de realismo y melodrama.
F. Hume da sobradas muestras de originalidad al incluir material documental e sus primeros capítulos. Incluye el expediente, la instrucción sumarial y los avances de un caso de asesinato ocurrido en las calles de Melbourne.
Próximamente reseña en el blog:
http://francisforcoppola.blogspot.com...
Ha sido un placer sumergirme entre sus páginas y descubrir junto a los detectives la verdad que se esconde entre sus letras. Un misterio aparentemente simple se convierte en una complicada historia que sorprenderá a los seguidores más fieles de Conan Doyle...
El misterio del carruaje se convirtió en la novela de misterio más vendida del siglo XIX y la primera mitad del siglo XX, y supuso una importantísima contribución a la historia de la novela de detectives.
Esta novela es un absorbente misterio que mezcla con ingenio la dosis perfecta de realismo y melodrama.
F. Hume da sobradas muestras de originalidad al incluir material documental e sus primeros capítulos. Incluye el expediente, la instrucción sumarial y los avances de un caso de asesinato ocurrido en las calles de Melbourne.
Próximamente reseña en el blog:
http://francisforcoppola.blogspot.com...
July 30, 2015
Curioso eslabón perdido entre el folletín decimonónico y la novela policíaca. Publicada el mismo año que 'Estudio en escarlata', obtuvo mucho más éxito que ésta aunque sus elementos están combinados más en crudo. Lo más interesante es la propia historia del libro, que cuenta su autor en un prólogo que en esta edición aparece acertadamente al final. De edición local (en un Melbourne al margen de los centros de decisión cultural y comercial) y autofinanciada a best-seller sobre el que hay disputas sobre sus derechos y su autoría, el mismo Fergus Hume también expone algunos de sus métodos y técnicas (desde el objetivismo de los documentos que inserta en la narración -cartas, facsímiles, actas judiciales- hasta sus desplazamientos a los suburbios para tomar notas) que si hubiera desarrollado más sobre los aspectos dramáticos, se hubiera adelantado varias décadas incluso a Conan Doyle.
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