The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
Encyclopedia
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery fiction
novel
by English 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. Sales of the book were successful in Australia, with 100,000 copies sold in the first two print runs. The book was subsequently published in Britain and the United States, and sold over 500,000 copies in both countries. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab became an international bestseller
and outsold the worldwide 1887 publication of the Sherlock Holmes
novel A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle
.
Reception of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was positive; it received praise in works including A Companion to Crime Fiction, A History of the Book in Australia 1891-1945, and A History of Victoria, and was featured in the book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories. A parody
version was published in 1888, and separate film
adaptations were produced in 1911
, 1915, and 1925. The story was adapted into a play for the theatre in 1990, and a radio promotion in 1991.
, Australia
at the time of the book's first publication. Hume went on to become a prolific writer, authoring more than 130 additional novels in fiction subjects including science fiction
and adventure.
The story of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab takes place in Melbourne, Australia, and involves an investigation into a homicide
where the deceased was discovered in the evening inside of a hansom cab
. The city of Melbourne is itself a significant factor in the plot and setting, and is described by the author: "Over all the great city hung a cloud of smoke like a pall." Throughout the novel the influential and secretive Frettbly family is a key element, and it is revealed later in the book that they have an illegitimate daughter living on the streets. The name of the killer himself is not as much of a significant revelation in the story, as is the role of the Frettbly family and their secret. The class divide between the wealthy and less fortunate of the city of Melbourne is juxtaposed throughout the plot.
The protagonist
in the novel is a law enforcement official named Detective Gorby, who is tasked with solving the murder. Hume uses descriptive text to describe the character's investigative skills: "He looked keenly round the room, and his estimate of the dead man's character was formed at once." The author commented in a later introduction, "All of the scenes in the book, especially the slums, are described from personal observation; and I passed a great many nights in Little Bourke Street
, gathering material". At this time, the street had gained notoriety as a place frequented by prostitutes and criminals.
in 1888 by G. Munro. Hume wrote an introduction to a revised edition published in 1898. Later publications have included New York
publishers Arno Press in 1976, and Dover in 1982.
The author did not benefit greatly from the sales of the work, as he had sold his rights to the book for GB£
50. A Gregarious Culture identifies "the only known copy of the first edition" of the book as "a treasure" of the Mitchell Library at State Library of New South Wales
. Illustrated London News
reported in 1888 on the popularity of the book, "Persons were found everywhere eagerly devouring the realistic sensational tale of Melbourne social life. Whether travelling by road, rail or river the unpretending little volume was ever present in some companion's or stranger's hands." The book outsold the worldwide 1887 publication of the Sherlock Holmes
novel A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle
.
, and a crucial point in the genre's transformation into detective fiction". A History of the Book in Australia 1891-1945 (2001) described the book as, "a lively and engaging crime novel which used its Melbourne setting to considerable effect." Geoffrey Blainey wrote in A History of Victoria that The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, "did more than any book to give the outside world a picture of Melbourne of the late 1880s". David Stuart Davies featured the work in his book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories, writing, "The author was determined to make a fortune by creating a story 'containing a mystery, a murder, and a description of low life in Melbourne'. He succeeded. Like a rich plum in our vintage mystery pudding we include the whole novel in this collection."
In 1915, the book was adapted into a film with a screenplay
by Eliot Stannard
. Directed by Harold Weston
, the film starred actors Milton Rosmer
, Fay Temple, A.V. Bramble, James Dale
, and Arthur Walcott.
A remake of the 1911 version of the film was produced in 1925 in Australia. The 1925 cast included Arthur Shirley, Grace Glover, Godfrey Cass
, Cora Warner, and Isa Crossley.
The story was adapted into a play for the theatre in 1990 by Michael Rodger, and a radio promotion in 1991 by Queensland Performing Arts Trust.
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by English writer Fergus Hume
Fergus Hume
Fergusson Wright Hume, known as Fergus Hume was an English novelist.-Early life:Hume was born in England, the second son of Dr. James Hume. At the age of three years his father emigrated with his family to Dunedin, New Zealand. He attended Otago Boys' High School and studied law at the University...
. The book was first published in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1886. Set in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
involving a body discovered in a hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city. Sales of the book were successful in Australia, with 100,000 copies sold in the first two print runs. The book was subsequently published in Britain and the United States, and sold over 500,000 copies in both countries. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab became an international bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
and outsold the worldwide 1887 publication of the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
novel A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
.
Reception of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was positive; it received praise in works including A Companion to Crime Fiction, A History of the Book in Australia 1891-1945, and A History of Victoria, and was featured in the book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories. A parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
version was published in 1888, and separate film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
adaptations were produced in 1911
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1911 film)
The Mystery of the Hansom Cab is an Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on the popular novel, which had also been adapted into a play...
, 1915, and 1925. The story was adapted into a play for the theatre in 1990, and a radio promotion in 1991.
Author
Originally from Britain, Fergus Hume worked as a barrister's clerk in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
at the time of the book's first publication. Hume went on to become a prolific writer, authoring more than 130 additional novels in fiction subjects including science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and adventure.
Plot
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
where the deceased was discovered in the evening inside of a hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
. The city of Melbourne is itself a significant factor in the plot and setting, and is described by the author: "Over all the great city hung a cloud of smoke like a pall." Throughout the novel the influential and secretive Frettbly family is a key element, and it is revealed later in the book that they have an illegitimate daughter living on the streets. The name of the killer himself is not as much of a significant revelation in the story, as is the role of the Frettbly family and their secret. The class divide between the wealthy and less fortunate of the city of Melbourne is juxtaposed throughout the plot.
The protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in the novel is a law enforcement official named Detective Gorby, who is tasked with solving the murder. Hume uses descriptive text to describe the character's investigative skills: "He looked keenly round the room, and his estimate of the dead man's character was formed at once." The author commented in a later introduction, "All of the scenes in the book, especially the slums, are described from personal observation; and I passed a great many nights in Little Bourke Street
Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Little Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD runs roughly east–west within the Hoddle Grid. It is a one-way street heading in a westward direction...
, gathering material". At this time, the street had gained notoriety as a place frequented by prostitutes and criminals.
Publication history
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was first published in Melbourne, Australia, in 1886, and subsequently published in Britain in 1887. The author self-published the first edition of the novel. It was published in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1888 by G. Munro. Hume wrote an introduction to a revised edition published in 1898. Later publications have included New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
publishers Arno Press in 1976, and Dover in 1982.
Sales
The book was successful in sales with publishers; it sold 25,000 copies in its first print run in Australia, and in its first two print runs in Australia the book sold 100,000 copies. In its first six months after publication in Britain, 300,000 copies were sold. In 1888, sales continued heavily in the thousands in Britain each week. According to A Gregarious Culture (2001), "sales of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, published in 1886, would reach astronomical figures". Over 500,000 copies were sold in Britain, by the publishing company Jarrod. An additional 500,000 copies sold in the United States. A Concise History of Australia notes that the book became an "international bestseller". A Companion to Australian Literature since 1900 noted The Mystery of a Hansom Cab "provided Australia with its first international bestseller". and Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories characterized the book as "the best-selling detective novel of the nineteenth century".The author did not benefit greatly from the sales of the work, as he had sold his rights to the book for GB£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
50. A Gregarious Culture identifies "the only known copy of the first edition" of the book as "a treasure" of the Mitchell Library at State Library of New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...
. Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
reported in 1888 on the popularity of the book, "Persons were found everywhere eagerly devouring the realistic sensational tale of Melbourne social life. Whether travelling by road, rail or river the unpretending little volume was ever present in some companion's or stranger's hands." The book outsold the worldwide 1887 publication of the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
novel A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
.
Reviews
A Companion to Crime Fiction (2010) by Charles J. Rzepka and Lee Horsley called The Mystery of a Hansom Cab "The most spectacular reimagining of the sensation novelSensation novel
The sensation novel was a literary genre of fiction popular in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s, following on from earlier melodramatic novels and the Newgate novels, which focused on tales woven around criminal biographies, also descend from the gothic and romantic genres of fiction...
, and a crucial point in the genre's transformation into detective fiction". A History of the Book in Australia 1891-1945 (2001) described the book as, "a lively and engaging crime novel which used its Melbourne setting to considerable effect." Geoffrey Blainey wrote in A History of Victoria that The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, "did more than any book to give the outside world a picture of Melbourne of the late 1880s". David Stuart Davies featured the work in his book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories, writing, "The author was determined to make a fortune by creating a story 'containing a mystery, a murder, and a description of low life in Melbourne'. He succeeded. Like a rich plum in our vintage mystery pudding we include the whole novel in this collection."
Adaptations
- A parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
edition was published in 1888, titled, The Mystery of a Wheelbarrow, with authorship attributed to a W. Humer Ferguson. The same year, it was adapted for the stage by Arthur LawArthur LawWilliam Arthur Law , better known as Arthur Law, was an English playwright, actor and scenic designer.-Life and career:...
.
- An Australian adaptation of the film by the same name as the book was produced in 1911The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1911 film)The Mystery of the Hansom Cab is an Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln based on the popular novel, which had also been adapted into a play...
by Amalgamated Picture.
In 1915, the book was adapted into a film with a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Eliot Stannard
Eliot Stannard
Eliot Stannard , was an English screenwriter. He wrote for 147 films between 1914 and 1933, including eight films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Selected filmography:* Hindle Wakes * Build Thy House...
. Directed by Harold Weston
Harold Weston
Harold Weston was an influential American modernist painter whose work included impressionism, realism and abstraction, as well as a highly regarded political activist.-Early life:...
, the film starred actors Milton Rosmer
Milton Rosmer
Milton Rosmer was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He was born in Southport, Lancashire on 4 November 1881. He made his screen debut in the 1916 film The Mystery of a Hansom Cab and continued to act in film and television until 1956...
, Fay Temple, A.V. Bramble, James Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
, and Arthur Walcott.
A remake of the 1911 version of the film was produced in 1925 in Australia. The 1925 cast included Arthur Shirley, Grace Glover, Godfrey Cass
Godfrey Cass
Godfrey Cass was an Australian actor in the silent era. Between 1906 and 1935 he acted in nineteen film roles. He played Ned Kelly three times, and also had roles in a number of other bushranger movies including A Tale of the Australian Bush and Moondyne .-Biography:The son of the Governor of...
, Cora Warner, and Isa Crossley.
The story was adapted into a play for the theatre in 1990 by Michael Rodger, and a radio promotion in 1991 by Queensland Performing Arts Trust.
See also
- Crime fictionCrime fictionCrime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
- Detective fictionDetective fictionDetective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
- GialloGialloGiallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
- List of crime writers
- Mystery fictionMystery fictionMystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
- WhodunitWhodunitA whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
External links
- Works by or about Fergus Hume at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(scanned books & audiobooks, original editions color illustrated) (plain text and HTML) - Radio National program on the book from 2009
- Fergus Hume bibliography