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| Author | Edmund Clerihew Bentley |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Mystery, detective fiction |
| Publisher | Nelson |
Publication date | 1913 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 375 (hardcover 1st edition) |
| Followed by | Trent's Own Case (1936) |
Trent's Last Case is a detective novel written by E. C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Despite the title, it is in fact the first work in which its central character, the artist and amateur detective Philip Trent, appears: he subsequently reappeared in the novel Trent's Own Case (1936), and the short-story collection Trent Intervenes (1938).[1]
The novel is a whodunit with a place in detective fiction history because it is the first major send-up of that genre. Not only does Trent fall in love with one of the primary suspects – usually considered off-limits – he also, after painstakingly collecting all the evidence, draws all the wrong conclusions.
The novel was published as The Woman in Black in the United States, later in 1913.
- ^ Campbell, Carol. "Mystery features detective who gets it wrong". Sunday-Gazette Mail. Charleston, WV: The Monday Book Club. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
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