22 February 2012
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Book believed to be first-ever detective novel republished after 150 years
The Notting Hill Mystery, which was printed serially between 1862 and 1863, was ahead of its time in the way it revealed evidence to the reader ...
The Notting Hill Mystery, which was printed serially between 1862 and 1863, was ahead of its time in the way it revealed evidence to the reader
Written by Charles Fox (a pseudonym), The Notting Hill Mystery was published as a eight-part serial in Once A Week. It takes the form of a story told by an insurance investigator collecting evidence about a sinister Baron, who is believed to have murdered his wife in order to collect the insurance payment. The evidence is presented through diary entries, chemical analysis reports, witness interviews and a crime scene map: techniques which would not be frequently used in crime writing until the 1920s.
Now reprinted in book form by British Library Publishing, The Notting Hill Mystery predates The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, published in 1868, which is generally believed to be the first British detective novel.
Website: http://publishing.bl.uk/book/notting-hill-mystery
Written by Charles Fox (a pseudonym), The Notting Hill Mystery was published as a eight-part serial in Once A Week. It takes the form of a story told by an insurance investigator collecting evidence about a sinister Baron, who is believed to have murdered his wife in order to collect the insurance payment. The evidence is presented through diary entries, chemical analysis reports, witness interviews and a crime scene map: techniques which would not be frequently used in crime writing until the 1920s.
Now reprinted in book form by British Library Publishing, The Notting Hill Mystery predates The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, published in 1868, which is generally believed to be the first British detective novel.
Website: http://publishing.bl.uk/book/notting-hill-mystery
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