Block buster! : Fergus Hume & the mystery of a hansom cab
Sussex, Lucy, 1957-2015
Book
Before there was Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, there was Fergus Hume's The Mystery of a Hansom Cab -- the biggest and fastest-selling detective novel of the 1800s, and Australia's first literary blockbuster. Fergus Hume was an aspiring playwright when he moved from Dunedin to Melbourne in 1885. He wrote The Mystery of a Hansom Cab with the humble hope of bringing his name to the attention of theatre managers. The book sold out its first run almost instantly and it became a runaway word-of-mouth phenomenon -- but its author sold the copyright for a mere fifty pounds, missing out on a potential fortune. Blockbuster! is the engrossing story of a book that would help define the genre of crime fiction, and a portrait of a great city in full bloom. Rigorously researched and full of arresting detail, this captivating book is a must-read for all fans of true crime, history and crime fiction alike.
Main title:
Block buster! : Fergus Hume & the mystery of a hansom cab / Lucy Sussex.
Author:
Imprint:
Melbourne : Text Publishing Company, 2015, c2015.Melbourne : Text Publishing Company, 2015.©2015.
Collation:
298 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits ; 24 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-284) and index.
ISBN:
9781922147943
Dewey class:
A823.1823.1
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
BRN:
169963
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Melbourne Library | Local History Non Fiction | LH 823.1 SUSS | Available |
| East Melbourne Library | Local History Reference | LH REF 823.1 SUSS | Not for loan (Set: 19 Sep 2017) |
| Kathleen Syme Carlton | Local History Non Fiction | LH 823.1 SUSS | Available |
| Library at the Dock | Local History Non Fiction | LH 823.1 SUSS | Available |
| narrm ngarrgu Library and Family Services | Local History Non Fiction | LH 823.1 SUSS | Available |
| North Melbourne Library | Local History Non Fiction | LH 823.1 SUSS | Available |
| Southbank Library | Local History Non Fiction | LH 823.1 SUSS | Available |