The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
Cover art for 'The mystery of a hansom cab', Kemp and Boyce, Melbourne, 1887 (attrib)
AuthorFergus Hume
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMystery
GenreFiction
PublisherFergus Hume
Publication date
1886
Publication placeAustralia
Pages164
OCLC8476357
LC ClassLCCN ca08-675
Followed byProfessor Brankel's Secret 

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery fiction novel by the Australian writer Fergus Hume. The book was first published in Australia in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered in a hansom cab, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city. The book was successful in Australia, selling 100,000 copies in the first two print runs. It was then published in Britain and the United States, and went on to sell over half a million copies worldwide, outselling the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, A Study in Scarlet (1887).[1]

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab received praise in works including A Companion to Crime Fiction,[2] A History of the Book in Australia 1891–1945,[3] and A History of Victoria,[4] and was featured in the book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories.[5] A parody version was published in 1888, and film adaptations were produced in 1911, 1915 and 1925.[6][7][8] The story was adapted into a BBC Radio serial in 1958,[9] a stage play in 1990,[10] a radio promotion in 1991[11] and a telemovie in 2012.[12]

  1. ^ Birns & McNeer 2007.
  2. ^ Rzepka & Horsley 2010.
  3. ^ Lyons & Arnold 2001.
  4. ^ Blainey 2007.
  5. ^ Davies 2006.
  6. ^ Franklin, Roe & Bettison 2001.
  7. ^ Young 2010.
  8. ^ Reade 1980.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference RT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference play1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference promotion1991 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Diaz 2012.