When a man is found murdered inside a Melbourne hansom cab at the end of his journey, the police quickly find out who he was and ascertain that he has been robbed of a certain piece of paper. But what did the document contain, and who was prepared to kill to him for it?

First published in Australia in 1886, and described by John Sutherland as the nineteenth century’s 'most sensationally popular crime and detective novel', The Mystery of a Hansom Cab sold out in three weeks and went on to sell more than half a million copies worldwide.

With 'more twists and turns than a python swallowing a corkscrew' (Anthony Gardner, from the foreword) and considerably ahead of its time in both format and content, the book remains, over a century later, as thrilling as any crime fiction.

Fergus Hume - 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 which produced over 130 novels. He died in 1932.

Anthony Gardner - In his role over recent years as Editor of the Royal Society of Literature's annual Review, Anthony Gardner has built a reputation for fine judgment and eclectic scholarship in the field of recent English letters.

The Royal Society of Literature

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By the same author or foreword writer:
The Dark Flower - No Longer Available By John Galsworthy;  Anthony Gardner (Introduction)
Mr Perrin and Mr Traill - No Longer Available By Hugh Walpole;  Anthony Gardner (Foreword)
The Conclave By Michael Bracewell;  Anthony Gardner (Foreword)
Island Pharisees - No Longer Available By John Galsworthy;  Anthony Gardner (Foreword)
The World Over By Edith Wharton;  Anthony Gardner (Foreword)
Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill - Kindle edition By Hugh Walpole;  Anthony Gardner (Introduction)