The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Literature of Mystery and Detection) [Hardcover]

Fergus Hume (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1976 | Series: Literature of Mystery and Detection

A splash of chloroform . . .

The drunken man was staggering -- but he was quite alive, when the thoughtful gentleman stumbled upon him in the thick Melbourne night, and hailed a cab to take him home.

By the time the cabdriver was in the proper neighborhood and was turning around to ask directions, the cabbie discovered he was driving around an unconscious man . . . slumped forward with a chemical-soaked handkerchief tied around his mouth! Unconscious -- or dead!

New Zealand lawyer and writer Fergus Hume achieved immediate, widespread attention for his first novel, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, when it first appeared in 1886. This remarkable novel, when published in England, became more the talk of London than even Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, issued soon thereafter. Hume's other detective novels included The Opal Serpent and The Silent House.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Ayer Co Pub (June 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0405078781
• ISBN-13: 978-0405078781
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,969,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 1893 Best Seller - May Appeal to Mystery History Buffs, May 15, 2005

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Paperback)

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1893) by Fergus Hume was one of the most popular mysteries in the nineteenth century, apparently even surpassing the sales of Sherlock Holmes books. While unlikely to attract a wide audience today, this forgotten Australian melodrama should appeal to readers interested in the early development of the mystery story. I gave The Mystery of a Hansom Cab three stars.

Late one night on a lonely street in Melbourne, the driver of a Hansom cab (a horse-drawn, two-wheeled, covered carriage) discovers that his inebriated passenger is dead, having been poisoned with a chloroform-soaked handkerchief. All evidence points to Brian Fitzgerald, "a tall, handsome, fair-haired young man hailing from Ireland". To protect the reputation of a young woman, Fitzgerald refuses to disclose details of his whereabouts at the time of the murder.

In his short introduction Fergus Hume reveals that he carefully patterned his story after the then popular detective stories by Gaboriau. Furthermore, Hume repeatedly visited some of Melbourne's worst slums to find realistic characters for his story, like his memorable Mother Guttersnipe. Hume had hoped to receive some local attention for his first novel; he had no expectation of creating an international best seller.

Dover Publications should be commended for reprinting hard-to find, early mystery and detective stories like The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1893). Dover published this reprint in 1982.

1.0 out of 5 stars H--- Verbosity!, February 19, 2012

By 

Ron "[e-mail]" (Whidbey Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Paperback)

200+ pages of inner thoughts and people mumbling to themselves (a tiresome affectation after a while) and rambling paragraphs meaningless to the crime or even to setting the scene (interesting in itself, giving a hint as to what Melbourne was like in the 18--'s) -- it also uses the tiresome habit of using dashes for dates and some "swear words" like "why in G--'s name" and "D--- it, sir!". This might reflect the sensitivities of the reading public of the day, but is boring now. The big secret on which the plot hinges might have been realistic in the 18--'s, but wouldn't even cause a blink of the eye on today's soap operas. The book is way too long and I skimmed a lot of it after realizing it wasn't going anywhere for many pages. It's okay for those interested in writings of the time, but not for those looking for a well written and plotted mystery to read for entertainment.

3.0 out of 5 stars Victorian Mystery, April 28, 2008

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Paperback)

There is a very good reason why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about Sherlock Holmes have been available in multiple editions since their creation, while the stories of Mr. Hume have been largely forgotten. This is even aside from the popularity of the character Sherlock Holmes.

Mr. Hume's narrative harks back to the sprawling novels of Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens. The story has a stunning opening-- a species of a locked room mystery. A cab driver stops to take on a fare, two men-- one of whom is the worse for the drink. One of his fares leaves him. When the cabbie reaches the second one's location, he discovers that the second man has been murdered. Who else could murdered him than the first man-- and why? However, after that things begin to drag.

There's a large cast of characters, some of whom make an appearance, play their assigned roles, then are seen no more. His characterization is cardboard-- the young upper class man out from England (who makes his fortune by honest, hard labor but who is so self sacrificing that he would go to the gallows rather than betray a trust) is a cliche of romantic literature of the period. That's not to say that there are not some good moments. When one of the two detectives in this case picks up a yellow backed* edition of a book by Zola in the murdered man's room that tells us all we needed to know about the depraved nature of the deceased.

Clues are dropped like lead anvils. There's courtroom drama, a frantic search for the missing witness who can save a man from the gallows, deathbed confessions and gallant heroics.

I do not regret the time I spent reading it but I doubt if I would reread it.

*Yellow backed novels were cheap mass produced editions of book sold to railway passengers to pass the time on the journey. They tended to have lurid covers and a reputation for being racy. French author Emil Zola had much the same reputation as a yellow back novel so the combination is irresistible.