In 1809, Eugene Francois Vidocq (1775-1857) established the French Surete. In 1833, he established
the world's first private detective agency. During his lifetime, Vidocq was first a criminal, then a policeman, and then a private detective.
More information on Vidoq may be found at the Crime Library
Edgar Allen Poe - (1809 - 1849) The father of the mystery novel. In 1841, Poe's story The Murders in the Rue Morgue was published. In this story, the crime was solved by Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin who appeared in five other
Poe stories, and was probably based upon accounts of the French police. These stories by Poe became the foundation of the mystery novel as we know it now.
Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870). Inspector Bucket of the
London police force was the first detective to appear in an English novel (Bleak House, 1852-1853). Also Dickens started The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) but
died before it was completed. There is much information on Dickens on the web. The site The Dickens Page
is a good place to start your search.
Wilkie Collins - (1824 - 1889).
In 1860, Collins wrote The Woman in White which tells the story of a woman who is
wrongfully shut up in a lunatic asylum. The crime is solved by a newspaper artist and a young woman. This novel
also introduces the sinister Count Fosco who is the forerunner of the modern secret agent.In 1868, Collins wrote The Moonstone which is about the theft of a
valuable Indian jewel. The crime is solved by the detective work of Sargent Cuff whose character is based
on those of a real Scotland Yard Inspector named Whicher. Links to many web sites on Wilkie Collins may be found at
Wilkie Collins.com. Collin's books may be found at ManyBooks.
Louisa Mae Alcott - (1832 - 1888). Early in her writing career, Ms. Alcott wrote melodramas and gothic novels to support herself and her family. These included such titles as Behind the Mask, a melodrama written in 1866, and Pauline's Passion and Punishment which was written in 1863 and which is more of a mystery novel. Her better known novels such as Little Women were written later in her career. More information about Alcott and links to electronic versions of her books may be found at Online Literature.com and at the PBS web site for their American Masters show on Alcott. Alcott's books are available as e-books at ManyBooks
Emile Gaboriau (1832 - 1873). French writer of the roman policier featuring the detective
Monsier LeCoq. His first book The Widow Lerouge was published in 1866. Gaboriau was born in Saujon. He served in the calvary for seven years, and then became assistant to
Paul Feval, an author of criminal romances. In this job, Gaboriau gathered material in police courts, morgues, and prisons. Gaboriau went on the write his own novels, and became one of the first mystery writers to put the emphasis on the gathering and interpretation of evidence rather than on the sensation of the murder. Gaboriau was the first mystery novelist to achieve worldwide success though he would be surpassed by
Arthur Conan Doyle.
Emile Gaboriau - a biography and links to online works from the Literature Network.
Emile Gaboriau - Biographical information from Knowledge Rush.
Anna Katherine Green - (1846 - 1935) The
first American woman to write a detective novel, The Leavenworth Case which was published in 1878. Her series detective was Ebenezer Gryce of the New York City Police Department. Ms. Green was born in Brooklyn, NY, and was educated at Poultney College in Vermont. She married Charles Rohlfs, a funiture manufacturer, and spent most of her life in Buffalo, NY. Her father was a criminal lawyer, and probably served as an inspiration for The Leavenworth Case. Ms. Green also wrote mystery novels which featured two female detectives, VioletStrange and Amelia Butterworth.
Anna Katherine Green - biography, online works and a photograph
from The Literature Network.
Anna Katherine Green - A commentary on Green's writing from the Classic Mystery and Detection Home Page.
ManyBooks - Many of Ms. Green's books are available as e-books.
Grant Allen - (1848 - 1899). The British author Grant Allen wrote potboilers. His stories featured Colonel Clay, possible the "first great thief in short mystery fiction".
He also wrote stories which featured women detectives. Biographical information. His writings may be found in e-book form at ManyBooks
Fergus Hume - (1859 - 1932) Author of The Mystery of the Hansom Cab (1886) which
became an incredible best-seller in its day. He was born in England, but his family moved to New Zealand. He wrote 136 novels, many of which seem best left forgotten.
More information about Hume may be found at the web site of the University of Adelaide Library . Hume's books are available at ManyBooks
Nick Carter - Nick Carter was conceived by Ormond G. Smith who wrote the outline of the first story which was then written by John Russell Coryell (1848 - 1924) who wrote two more Carter books. Then many, many more stories and books in this series were written by a number of other authors. The first story appeared in the Sept. 18, 1886 of the New York Weekly. Nick was a clean living, strong, intelligent hero who was a master of disguise. He was accompanied by his sidekicks Chuck and Patsy. For more information on Carter, see the Thrilling Detective. If you wish to read a Carter story, see Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls.
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). In 1887, Doyle published The Study in Scarlet and introduced Sherlock Holmes who was to become
the world's best known detective.
R. Austin Freeman (1862 - 1943). British physician, author, and creator of Dr. Thorndyke, an early scientific detective.
who was introduced in The Red Thumb Mark (1907). In the book The Singing Bone (1912), Freeman also invented the "inverted" detective story in which the
reader witnesses the crime. The emphasis of the book is thus on how the murderer will be caught instead of who the
murderer is. Freeman was born in London, and studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons. He worked as a physician in Africa for seven years, but returned to England because of his poor health which
eventually forced him to give up medicine completely.
R. Austin Freeman - a biography and links to his writing available online from The Literature Network.
ManyBooks - has several Freeman books in e-book format.
Arthur Morrison (1863 - 1945). Morrison was a dramatist, journalist, art expert, and author. He was born in London, and worked as a journalist before the publication of Tales of Mean Streets was published
in 1894. This book and others he wrote depicted the life of the people of the slums of London, and were instrumental in bringing about social reform. He is best know for his detective stories about Martin Hewitt, a
private detective. Hewitt is similar to Holmes in his method of solving crimes, though he lacks the strong personality of Holmes. Martin Hewitt, Investigator (1894) is the first book of Hewitt stories.
For more information and bibliography, take a look at the Arthur Morrison pages at the Art in the Blood web site. ManyBooks has several of Morrison's books.
Melville Davisson Post (1869 - 1930). Post was born in Romines Mills, West Virginia. He grew up in a rural environment, and graduated from West Virginia University. He practised criminal law for eleven
years, and was active in politics. Post is best known for his short stories, and was quite a successful writer in his day. He is perhaps best known for the characters of Uncle Abner, an upright man who lived
during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, and for Randolph Mason, a crooked lawyer. For more biographical information.. Some of his books may be found at ManyBooks.
Israel Zangwill (1864 - 1926). Zangwill was the son of Russian Jewish refugees who migrated to London. He devoted his life to promoting Jewish causes. He also supported women's suffrage, and opposed the League of Nations. His Big Bow Mystery (1891) was the first novel-length locked room mystery.
His biography is available from the Virtual Jewish Library and some of his books are available at ManyBooks.
Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947). Hungarian-born Baroness Orczy wrote a series about the Old Man in the Corner. This detective solved crimes by logic alone and
only rarely left the corner of his favorite London tea shop. She also wrote a series of stories about Lady Molly Robertson-Kirk who heads the "Female
Department of Scotland Yard" (1910). Baroness Orczy is also the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
ManyBooks - You will find Lady Molly and other books here.
E(rnest) W(illiam) Hornung (1866-1921). English born author who married Constance Doyle, the sister of Arthur Conan Doyle. Hornung was in poor health most of his life, but in spite of this he served in World War I. Hornung's most famous character is Raffles, the gentleman crook who first appeared in The Amateur Cracksman in 1899. Hornung had lived in Australia for three years, and used the background that he acquired there to write several novels about crime in
Australia.
His biography may be found at The Literature Network.
E. Phillips Oppenheim(1866- 1946) English author of mystery, crime, and espionage novels. Oppenheim wrote over 100 novels, and did very well financially. His stories often told of life among the rich which was something which he was enjoying himself.
E. Phillips Oppenheim - A biography and some of his works online. From the Literature Network
Ernest Bramah (1867 - 1947). Author of stories
featuring Max Carrados, a blind detective, and novels about the Chinese detective Kai Lung. Bramah started as a farmer, and when that failed, he turned to journalism. He was also the author of several plays. His first novel, The Wallet of Kai Lung was published in 1900. A bibliography of Bramah's books may be found at Fantastic Fiction. Some of his books are available as e-books at ManyBooks
Gaston Leroux - (1868 - 1927). Author of The Mystery of the Yellow
Room (1907) which is the first mystery in which the person investigating the crime is the murderer. Leroux is also the author of
The Phantom of the Opera (1911).
Gaston Leroux - a biography and links to online works from The Literature Network.
ManyBooks - Several of Leroux's books are available.
Sexton Blake was one of the most popular fictional detectives of the early 20th century. Sexton Blake stories were written by several authors
and first appeared in 1893. Blake was a pulp fiction version of Sherlock Holmes with an office on Baker Street in London. There were also movies and TV shows of Blake stories.
Blakiana - Bibliography, list of movies based on Blake's adventures and stories which may
be downloaded.
Sexton Blake - This site has a biography of Blake.
Sexton Blake - This story of the Sexton Blake publications.
Jacques Futrelle (1875-1912). American journalist and author who is best known for his stories featuring Professor Van Dusen (the Thinking
Machine). Futrelle was born in Pike County, Virginia. He worked for the Boston American in which many of his stories appeared.
Futrelle died when the Titanic sank. His wife, May, survived.
The Proceedings of Old Bailey London - Proceedings of trials from 1674 - 1913. This is a work in progress and not all years have been entered yet. There is background information about this period and a section for teachers who wish to use it with their classes.
Dying Speeches and Bloody Murder - Crime broadsides collected by the Harvard University Law Library. These are penny papers published in the 1800's describing crimes and executions.
Some Southern Broadsides - Early crime broadsides from the Southern States. This is from a blog by Laura James.
The Word on the Street - Broadsides from the National Library of Scotland covering the period between 1650 and 1910. You will find quite a few about crime and bodysnatching.
Papers Past - A digitised collection of New Zealand newspapers from 1840 to 1915. This collection may searched for any crime of interest to you.
Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls - Popular reading from 1860 to 1920. These were an inexpensive way to read crime stories. This site is by Stanford University.
Classic Crime Fiction - Author biographies and bibliographies, articles on the history of the mystery novel, and book cover illustrations. This site is well worth a visit.
Mystery Timeline - Introduction to the
history of mystery novels.
Crime Fiction - A database of authors and detectives
with lists of works and links to related web sites. Many authors of the Golden Age are listed
here.
The Mystery File - This site has book reviews, author interviews, and mystery readinglists. There are also articles on older mystery novels, mystery series, and TV mystery characters.
Mysteries in Foreign Lands - The history of mystery novels in non-English speaking countries. This is by G. J. Demko.
The Golden Age of Detection Wiki - Information about authors and books, but since this is a wiki, the reader should question the reliability of the information.
Hungarian-born Baroness Orczy wrote a series about the Old Man in the Corner. This detective solved crimes by logic alone and
only rarely left the corner of his favorite London tea shop. She also wrote a series of stories about Lady Molly Robertson-Kirk who heads the "Female
Department of Scotland Yard" (1910). Baroness Orczy is also the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
History of the Mystery Novel