The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

Fergus Hume's sensational novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is Australia's original blockbuster and international best-selling crime novel.

First published in 1886, it was an overnight sensation, selling hundreds of thousands of copies around the world and being translated into eleven languages. Over a century later, Hansom Cab has lost none of its page-turning power.

Set in the charming and deadly streets of Melbourne, this brilliantly plotted murder thriller tells the story of a crime committed by an unknown assassin. With its panoramic depiction of a bustling yet uneasy city, Hansom Cab has a central place in Australian literary history.

Foreword by Simon Caterson.

Fergus Hume was born in England in 1859. He grew up in New Zealand, where he became a lawyer. In 1885 he emigrated to Melbourne, the city in which he wrote and set The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. In 1888 he settled in England and embarked on a literary career...