1887-88 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab and Madame Midas

Description

Rebound

Two volumes in one.

'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab' is the one hundredth thousand - it's very uncommon to see an earlier printing.

'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab' is an Australian set mystery novel, first published in Australia 1886, and England in 1887.

This novel was such a sensational hit that 25,000 copies were published a month in England from July 1887 onwards, this printing being from October 1887. The work was so popular that is outsold the first Sherlock Holmes novel, 'A Study in Scarlet', selling so many copies that it became the best-selling mystery novel of the Victorian era.

Set in Melbourne, the mystery focuses on a homicide, in which a body is discovered in a hansom cab. Though being a gripping mystery the novel is woven with an exploration with the class divide in the city as well.

Bound with 'Madame Midas', the one-hundred and fifty-eight thousand.

'Madame Midas' is a novel based on the life of the mine and newspaper owner Alice Ann Cornwell, an important Victorian figure who had her money from gold, who invested in an owned many companies, including the Sunday Times. 

By Fergus Hume, a prolific novelist who is best known for this work. This novel was based on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. The first edition was self-published, but Hume sold the rights for fifty pounds before it saw great success, and didn't benefit from the financial popularity.