Hunted Down: The Detective Stories of Charles Dickens by Charles Dickens

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

“In this story, as the chief character is internally melodramatic, the story itself ceases to be merely melodramatic, and partakes of true drama.” — T. S. Eliot.Like Poe before him and Conan Doyle after, Wilkie Collins shifted easily from rational domains to the “superrational.” Like them, he is famed for original contributions to “ratiocinative” (detective) literature, but often preferred to indulge his occult predilection — a lifelong indulgence. His first published story, “The Last Stage Coachmen” (1843), was a supernatural allegory of trains; perhaps his last lucid effort (before ill health and opium drained his powers) was this short novel, The Haunted Hotel.Collins’ methods and themes, developed and elaborated in his earlier, massive novels, are streamlined and concentrated here into a tight novelette. The same relentless pace and narrative power, the same attention to plot and backdrop detail that distinguish The Moonstone and The Woman in White are evident here, as is the obsession with destiny and the willful struggle against it.Collins’ much-loved Venice provides the scenery and fatal beauty, the grim waterways and palaces the author will haunt with mysterious women, grotesques, and bloody conspiracies. The Countess Narona is one of Collins’ cosmopolitan enchantresses; she acts, but as the tool of her doom. T. S. Eliot wrote, “The principal character, the fatal woman, is herself obsessed by the idea of fatality; her motives are melodramatic; she therefore compels the coincidences to occur, feeling that she is compelled to compel them.” Collins relieves the tension with some wry characterizations and ironies; the theatrics are sustained. Indeed, theatrical motifs figure heavily, Collins himself being much involved with the stage at that period.The Haunted Hotel appears to be loosely based on a case from the annals of French crime; the scene, scenery, players and conflicts, and especially the horror, come straight from Collins’ overstimulated, no doubt overwrought, most certainly haunted imagination.

The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung features his most famous character, A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief in late Victorian Great Britain. This is a classic tale that has been loved by many for generations. Any profits made from the sale of this book will go towards supporting the Freeriver Community project, a project that aims to support community and encourage well-being. To learn more about the Freeriver Community project please visit the website- www.freerivercommunity.com

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

John Thorndyke\'s Cases by R. Austin Freeman

R. Austin Freeman is known as the creator of Dr. John Thorndyke, one of the best and most successful fictional detectives in English literature and The Mystery of 31 New Inn is known as one of Freeman\'s best stories.The Mystery of 31 New Inn is an old-fashioned, classic detective story. It starts with a doctor being called to visit one of his patients. He is taken to his patient in a strangely closed carriage and is sworn to secrecy prior to entering the room of the patient. He manages to help his patient, but there have been so many suspicious things that surrounded the night call that he goes home and contacts Thorndyke.Soon, another mystery comes into the picture as well, this time concerning the death of a man who seems to have left two, seemingly very similar, but in fact very different wills. Thorndyke and the doctor, his helper now have two cases to investigate and it is anyone\'s guess whether they are able to elucidate both. The Mystery of 31 New Inn is R. Austin Freeman\'s second novel, but it already reveals the mature storytelling and the captivating style that make Freeman\'s works so popular. Thorndyke always uses logic and rational thinking to solve the mysteries he is facing and he is trying to make his sidekick use the same method, too. They eventually solve the mysteries, but not before wasting a bit of time following red herrings and getting into all sorts of adventures.What makes Freeman\'s stories, including this one, even more interesting is the scientific background described in so much detail - the reader learns not only about the benefits of using logic to disentangle difficult situations, but also about optics, medicine and other sciences related to the investigations, so Freeman\'s books are not only entertaining, but educative as well.

The Red Thumb Mark is the novel that introduces to the world one of the greatest "scientific" detectives in all literature: Dr. John Thorndyke. It is rightly regarded as one of the all-time classics in mystery fiction. Raymond Chandler, for example, who typically hated British detective fiction for its consistent implausibilities, found Austin Freeman\'s work and The Red Thumb Mark highly entertaining and readable. The novel concerns Thorndyke\'s attempts to clear the name of a young man accused of stealing diamonds from a safe. A thumb mark (finger print) near the scene of the crime is the only evidence against the young man, but it is decidedly damning. Add a little romance, a sinister villian lurking in the background, and you have the ingredients that make up this story. I found the work to be wonderfully exciting. Watching Thorndyke break down the evidence against the young man is a fascinating expereince. Though a person could argue that too much detail is given to the "science" aspect, you have to understand that these scenes are the backbone of this type of detective story.

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Musaicum Books presents to you this carefully created collection of R. Austin Freeman\'s complete works. This ebook has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He introduced the inverted detective story; a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective\'s attempt to solve the mystery. Many of the Dr. Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine and toxicology. Table of Contents: Introduction: Short Biography The Art of the Detective Story Dr. Thorndyke Series: Meet Dr. Thorndyke Novels The Red Thumb Mark The Eye of Osiris The Mystery of 31 New Inn A Silent Witness Helen Vardon\'s Confession The Cat\'s Eye The Mystery of Angelina Frood The Shadow of the Wolf The D\'Arblay Mystery A Certain Dr. Thorndyke As a Thief in the Night Mr. Pottermack\'s Oversight Pontifex, Son and Thorndyke When Rogues Fall Out Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes For the Defence: Dr. Thorndyke The Penrose Mystery Felo De Se? The Stoneware Monkey Mr. Polton Explains The Jacob Street Mystery Short Story Collections Percival Bland\'s Proxy The Missing Mortgagee Dr. Thorndyke\'s Cases The Adventures of Dr. Thorndyke Dr. Thorndyke\'s Casebook The Puzzle Lock The Magic Casket Other Novels: The Golden Pool The Unwilling Adventurer The Uttermost Farthing The Exploits of Danby Croker The Surprising Experiences of Mr. Shuttlebury Cobb Flighty Phyllis Other Short Stories: By the Black Deep The Adventures of Romney Pringle The Further Adventures of Romney Pringle From a Surgeon\'s Diary The Great Portrait Mystery and Other Stories

Now the fog was clearing and the mist was lifting, and the bright sunshine was struggling to penetrate the billows of damp vapor and touch with its glory the things of the world beneath. In the lower harbor there still was a chorus of sirens and foghorns, as craft of almost every description made way toward the metropolis or out toward the open sea. The Manatee, tramp steamer with rusty plates and rattling engines and a lurch like that of a drunken man, wallowed her way in from the turbulent ocean she had fought for three days, her skipper standing on the bridge and inaudibly giving thanks that he was nearing the end of the voyage without the necessity for abandoning his craft for an open boat, or remaining to go down with the ship after the manner of skippers of the old school.

This book is one of the classic book of all time.

Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 1868[1] – 15 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l\'Opéra, 1910), which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film starring Lon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber\'s 1986 musical. His novel The Mystery of the Yellow Room is also one of the most famous locked-room mysteries ever.

\'The Shadow of the Rope\' is a novel about a woman on trial for the murder of her husband. She is found not guilty but public opinion is almost universally against her except for a stranger who offers to marry her and give her protection.

A young working class socialite marries a wealthy aristocrat, and moves to the country. She hates the country, however, so a weekend party is organized to cheer her up. When she is murdered, and the housekeeper is arrested, the husband hires a famous private detective to find out what really happened.

The Shrieking Pit by Arthur J. Rees

The Gloved Hand by Burton Egbert Stevenson

And here I am unknown and unemployed a helpless artist lost in London?with a sick wife and hungry children and bankruptcy staring me in the face?""

The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet: A Detective Story By Burton Egbert Stevenson

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R. Austin Freeman was a 20th century fiction author best known for detective mysteries. He went so far as to claim he invented the "inverted detective" genre, but regardless of what credit he deserves, his work continues to be read today.

The Uttermost Farthing - A Savant\'s Vendetta is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

Good condition, ships fast.

The Holladay Case - A Tale is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Burton Egbert Stevenson is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Burton Egbert Stevenson then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

E.W. Hornung was an English author best known for writing the A.J. Raffles series about an English gentleman thief in the late 19th century.

"Chester K. Steele" was a pseudonym of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, founded by Edwin Stratemayer. The Chester K. Steele books are a mysteries intended for an older audience than the children\'s books like the Rover Boys and the Bobbsey Twins series Stratemeyer normally produced. In The Golf Course Mystery, Harry Bartlett and Gerry Poland are friendly rivals for the hand of Viola Carwell. Unfortunately, Harry\'s family got the best of Viola\'s father, the Honorable Horace Harwell, in a business deal. Viola shows no favoritism, but her father is rumored to be distinctly cool toward Harry. The Honorable Horace dies in the middle of a golf match. The cause of death is poison. Was it suicide due to financial reverses? Or was it murder, with Harry as a prime suspect? The reluctant detective Colonel Ashley, assisted by his servant Shag, must solve the case. The Colonel would rather be fishing, but murder has a way of interrupting his reading of Walton\'s Compleat Angler.

I had put on my slippers and my dressing-gown. I wiped away a tear with which the north wind blowing over the quay had obscured my vision. A bright fire was leaping in the chimney of my study. Ice-crystals, shaped like fern-leaves, were sprouting over the windowpanes and concealed from me the Seine with its bridges and the Louvre of the Valois. I drew up my easy-chair to the hearth, and my table-volante, and took up so much of my place by the fire as Hamilcar deigned to allow me. Hamilcar was lying in front of the andirons, curled up on a cushion, with his nose between his paws. His think find fur rose and fell with his regular breathing. At my coming, he slowly slipped a glance of his agate eyes at me from between his half-opened lids, which he closed again almost at once, thinking to himself, “It is nothing; it is only my friend.” “Hamilcar,” I said to him, as I stretched my legs—“Hamilcar, somnolent Prince of the City of Books—thou guardian nocturnal! Like that Divine Cat who combated the impious in Heliopolis—in the night of the great combat—thou dost defend from vile nibblers those books which the old savant acquired at the cost of his slender savings and indefatigable zeal. Sleep, Hamilcar, softly as a sultana, in this library, that shelters thy military virtues; for verily in thy person are united the formidable aspect of a Tatar warrior and the slumbrous grace of a woman of the Orient. Sleep, thou heroic and voluptuous Hamilcar, while awaiting the moonlight hour in which the mice will come forth to dance before the Acta Sanctorum of the learned Bolandists!” The beginning of this discourse pleased Hamilcar, who accompanied it with a throat-sound like the song of a kettle on the fire. But as my voice waxed louder, Hamilcar notified me by lowering his ears and by wrinkling the striped skin of his brow that it was bad taste on my part so to declaim. “This old-book man,” evidently thought Hamilcar, “talks to no purpose at all while our housekeeper never utters a word which is not full of good sense, full of significance—containing either the announcement of a meal or the promise of a whipping. One knows what she says. But this old man puts together a lot of sounds signifying nothing.” So thought Hamilcar to himself. Leaving him to his reflections, I opened a book, which I began to read with interest; for it was a catalogue of manuscripts. I do not know any reading more easy, more fascinating, more delightful than that of a catalogue. The one which I was reading—edited in 1824 by Mr. Thompson, librarian to Sir Thomas Raleigh—sins, it is true, by excess of brevity, and does not offer that character of exactitude which the archivists of my own generation were the first to introduce into works upon diplomatics and paleography. It leaves a good deal to be desired and to be divined. This is perhaps why I find myself aware, while reading it, of a state of mind which in nature more imaginative than mine might be called reverie. I had allowed myself to drift away this gently upon the current of my thoughts, when my housekeeper announced, in a tone of ill-humor, that Monsieur Coccoz desired to speak with me. In fact, some one had slipped into the library after her. He was a little man—a poor little man of puny appearance, wearing a thin jacket. He approached me with a number of little bows and smiles. But he was very pale, and, although still young and alert, he looked ill. I thought as I looked at him, of a wounded squirrel. He carried under his arm a green toilette, which he put upon a chair; then unfastening the four corners of the toilette, he uncovered a heap of little yellow books. “Monsieur,” he then said to me, “I have not the honour to be known to you. I am a book-agent, Monsieur. I represent the leading houses of the capital, and in the hope that you will kindly honour me with your confidence, I take the liberty to offer you a few novelties.”

A mystery set in the first World War era. The League of Nations was just beginning. These events saved its mission.

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Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels. Hornung’s prose is widely admired for its lucid-yet-simple style. Oliver Edwards, writing in The Times, considered that ”not the least attractive part of the Raffles books is the simple, plain, unaffected language in which each one of them is written”. The obituarist in the same newspaper agrees, and thinks Hornung had ”a power of good and clear description and a talent for mystery and surprise”. Colin Watson also considers the point, and observes that in Hornung’s writing, ”superfluous description has been avoided and account of action is to the point”, while Doyle admired his ”sudden use of the right adjective and the right phrase”, something the writer and journalist Jeremy Lewis sees as a ”flamboyant, Kiplingesque taste for the vivid”.

Carlton Davies is convinced the beautiful Ruth Darwin isn’t guilty of murder, so he hires the clever detective Graydon McKelvie to prove her innocent. But it’s a tangled web of deceit and double-dealing that involves a kidnapping, missing funds, and a hidden room that is the key to family secrets. A classic mystery/detective story in the Sherlock Holmes tradition, ripe with twists and turns and surprises that will keep the reader riveted and enthralled. “The deductive work done by Graydon McKelvie is at times extremely clever.” -SS Van Dine, “The Great Detective Stories” CONTENTS I. The Note II. The Shot III. The Police IV. The Inquest V. The Secretary VI. Corroborative Evidence VII. The Lawyer VIII. Lee Darwin IX. The Verdict X. Jenkins\' Advice XI. Arthur Trenton XII. An Explanation XIII. The Suicide XIV. Graydon McKelvie XV. The Interview XVI. The Exhibits XVII. The Lamp XVIII. The Secret Entrance XIX. The Lawyer Again XX. Deductions XXI. The Steward XXII. Orton\'s Alibi XXIII. Gramercy Park XXIV. The Signet Ring XXV. The Deception XXVI. James Gilmore XXVII. The Strong Box XXVIII. Gold and Blue XXIX. The Reward XXX. The Curio Shop XXXI. The Rescue XXXII. Lee\'s Story XXXIII. The Second Bullet XXXIV. The Woman in the Case XXXV. A Strange Account XXXVI. The Trap XXXVII. McKelvie\'s Triumph XXXVIII. The Motive XXXIX. Conclusion

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Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world\'s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Ambrose Newcomb wrote this popular book that continues to be widely read today despite its age.

Classic fiction

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William Wilkie Collins (1824 – 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. His best-known works are The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale, and No Name. Collins was born into the family of painter William Collins in London. He received his early education at home from his mother. He then attended an academy and a private boarding school. He also traveled with his family to Italy and France, and learned the French and Italian languages. He served as a clerk in the firm of the tea merchants Antrobus & Co. His first novel Iolani, or Tahiti as It Was; a Romance, was rejected by publishers in 1845. His next novel, Antonina, was published in 1850. In 1851 he met Charles Dickens, and the two became close friends. A number of Collins\'s works were first published in Dickens\'s journals All the Year Round and Household Words. The two collaborated on several dramatic and fictional works, and some of Collins\'s plays were performed by Dickens\'s acting company.

Edwin Drood is contracted to marry orphan Rosa Bud when he comes of age, but when they find that duty has gradually replaced affection, they agree to break off the engagement. Shortly afterwards, in the middle of a storm on Christmas Eve, Edwin disappears, leaving nothing behind but some personal belongings and the suspicion that his jealous uncle John Jasper, madly in love with Rosa, is the killer. And beyond this presumed crime there are further intrigues: the dark opium dens of the sleepy cathedral town of Cloisterham, and the sinister double life of Choirmaster Jasper, whose drug-fuelled fantasy life belies his respectable appearance. Dickens died before completing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, leaving its tantalising mystery unsolved and encouraging successive generations of readers to turn detective.

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world\'s best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors\' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for twenty years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children\'s rights, education, and other social reforms.

Wikie Collin\'s "After Dark" is a collection of six short stories. The book is a series of tales told by a poor travelling portrait-painter, William Kerby, who is forced to abandon his profession for six months in order to save his sight. Descriptions of the circumstances under which the tales were told. The tales are stories of adventure, well varied, and often striking in the incidents, or with thrilling situations. The six stories contained in the book are: The Traveller\'s Story of A Terribly Strange Bed The Lawyer\'s Story of A Stolen Letter The French Governess\'s Story of Sister Rose The Angler\'s Story of The Lady of Glenwith Grange The Nun\'s Story of Gabriel\'s Marriage The Professor\'s Story of The Yellow Mask

A masterpiece in two parts, G.K. Chesterton\'s Manalive is a commentary on the "Holy Fool" trope that shows up in many classic texts such as Don Quixote. The book follows the fun loving Innocent Smith who, after bringing joy to a boarding house, is charged with a series of crimes including attempted murder. The second half covers the trial which, through many twists and turns, brings out a stunning conclusion that touches upon many larger ideas. At the center of the novel is the idea of human life, and what makes everyday living worthwhile.

This classic text from G.K. Chesterton is an exciting collection of quirky detective short stories featuring the fictitious sleuth, Basil Grant.

Wealthy, confident and handsome, Sir Charles Van Drift spends his time jetting to exotic locales with his wife and in-laws. But on one fateful trip to the Riviera, Van Drift meets his match in Colonel Clay. Posing alternately as a seer, a curate, and a German professor, the master of disguise swindles Van Drift through three continents and poses a serious risk to his South African diamond fortune. Colonel Clay, the notorious con artist and thief, has triumphed. But who is this master of disguise, really? First serialized in The Strand in 1896, the adventures that comprise An African Millionaire are widely regarded as the first to feature a criminal protagonist and will be greeted enthusiastically by fans and scholars of classic crime fiction.