The cover page is adapted from Fifth Avenue Nocturne, a painting completed in about 1895 by Childe Hassam. The cover and title pages feature the League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by The League of Moveable Type. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childe_Hassamwww.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
章节(36)
- Preface 0:00
- I: What the Argus Said 7:01
- II: The Evidence at the Inquest 17:54
- III: One Hundred Pounds Reward 30:38
- IV: Mr. Gorby Makes a Start 31:39
- V: Mrs. Hableton Unbosoms Herself 41:12
- VI: Mr. Gorby Makes Further Discoveries 58:12
- VII: The Wool King 1:15:54
- VIII: Brian Takes a Walk and a Drive 1:35:17
- IX: Mr. Gorby Is Satisfied at Last 1:56:22
- X: In the Queen’s Name 2:21:28
- XI: Counsel for the Prisoner 2:39:21
- XII: She Was a True Woman 2:59:26
- XIII: Madge Makes a Discovery 3:19:45
- XIV: Another Richmond in the Field 3:41:48
- XV: A Woman of the People 3:57:44
- XVI: Missing 4:17:28
- XVII: The Trial 4:30:33
- XVIII: Sal Rawlins Tells All She Knows 4:52:33
- XIX: The Verdict of the Jury 5:08:30
- XX: The Argus Gives Its Opinion 5:29:16
- XXI: Three Months Afterwards 5:37:51
- XXII: A Daughter of Eve 5:55:41
- XXIII: Across the Walnuts and the Wine 6:08:23
- XXIV: Brian Receives a Letter 6:25:23
- XXV: What Dr. Chinston Said 6:43:59
- XXVI: Kilsip Has a Theory of His Own 7:02:08
- XXVII: Mother Guttersnipe Joins the Majority 7:13:25
- XXVIII: Mark Frettlby Has a Visitor 7:31:21
- XXIX: Mr. Calton’s Curiosity Is Satisfied 7:50:52
- XXX: Nemesis 8:05:47
- XXXI: Hush-Money 8:23:58
- XXXII: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum 8:37:32
- XXXIII: The Confession 8:48:41
- XXXIV: The Hands of Justice 9:07:42
- XXXV: The Love That Lives 9:22:51
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, published in 1886, was the first novel by Fergus Hume. It begins with a sensational murder, as the body of a dead man is discovered in a hansom cab by the driver. Set in Melbourne, Australia, it presents an engaging story of crime and detection, with several unexpected twists and turns. It also gives a clear and interesting portrait of the colonial city at the peak of its 19th Century prosperity following a gold rush, a time when it was known as “Marvellous Melbourne.” The novel contrasts the comfortable lives of the rich and well-connected of the colony with the misery of those living in the noisome slums in the back-streets of the city.
The novel, originally published in serial form in a local newspaper, achieved some initial local success when it was first released in book form, but the author then sold the rights to a British company.
After warm initial reviews in England The Mystery of a Hansom Cab became not merely a best-seller but what today we would call a “blockbuster” in the United Kingdom, its English-speaking colonies and the United States. It was the best-selling mystery novel of the Victorian era, and apparently was part of the inspiration for Conan Doyle to begin writing his Sherlock Holmes stories.
Fergus Hume eventually left Australia and returned to England. Though little-known today, after the success of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Hume went on to write more than a hundred additional novels in the crime genre, as well as several plays.