Some of the greatest detective stories every wrote are collected in this massive anthology. This book contains the stories and novels of the best authors of classic detective stories. Detective story, type of popular literature in which a crime is introduced and investigated and the culprit is revealed. Usually it is also axiomatic that the clues from which a logical solution to the problem can be reached be fairly presented to the reader at exactly the same time that the sleuth receives them and that the sleuth deduce the solution to the puzzle from a logical interpretation of these clues. The Agatha Christie Collection The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Chapter 1. Dr Sheppard at the Breakfast Table Chapter 2. Who's Who in King's Abbot Chapter 3. The Man Who Grew Vegetable Marrows Chapter 4. Dinner at Fernly Chapter 5. The Tunisian Dagger Chapter 6. I Learn My Neighbour's Profession Chapter 7. Inspector Raglan is Confident Chapter 8. The Goldfish Pond Chapter 9. The Parlourmaid Chapter 10. Poirot Pays A Call Chapter 11. Round the Table Chapter 12. The Goose Quill Chapter 13. Geoffrey Raymond Chapter 14. An Evening at Mah Jong Chapter 15. Parker Chapter 16. Charles Kent Chapter 17. Flora Ackroyd Chapter 18. Miss Russell Chapter 19. The Paragraph in the Paper Chapter 20. Poirot's Little Reunion Chapter 21. Ralph Paton's Story Chapter 22. The Whole Truth Chapter 23. And Nothing But The Truth Chapter 24. Apologia Hercule Poirot. Poirot Investigates I The Adventure of “The Western Star” II The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor III The Adventure of the Cheap Flat IV The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge V The Million Dollar Bond Robbery VI The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb VII The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan VIII The Kidnapped Prime Minister IX The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim X The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman XI The Case of the Missing Will Poirot's Early Cases The Affair at the Victory Ball The Adventure of the Clapham Cook The Cornish Mystery The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly The Double Clue The King of Clubs The Lemesurier Inheritance The Lost Mine The Plymouth Express The Chocoilate Box The Submarine Plans The Veiled Lady The Market Basing Mystery Arthur Conan Doyle The Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories A Study in Scarlet Part I Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., Late of the Army Medical Department Part 2 The Country of the Saints The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 1 — Mr. Sherlock Holmes Chapter 2 — The Curse of the Baskervilles Chapter 3 — The Problem Chapter 4 — Sir Henry Baskerville Chapter 5 — Three Broken Threads Chapter 6 — Baskerville Hall Chapter 7 — The Stapletons of Merripit House Chapter 8 — First Report of Dr. Watson Chapter 9 — Second Report of Dr. Watson Chapter 10 — Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson Chapter 11 — The Man on the Tor Chapter 12 — Death on the Moor Chapter 13 — Fixing the Nets Chapter 14 — The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 15 — A Retrospection The Sign of Four Chapter 1. The Science of Deduction Chapter 2. The Statement of the Case Chapter 3. In Quest of a Solution Chapter 4. The Story of the Bald-Headed Man Chapter 5. The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge Chapter 6. Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration Chapter 7. The Episode of the Barrel Chapter 8. The Baker Street Irregulars Chapter 9. A Break in the Chain Chapter 10. The End of the Islander Chapter 11. The Great Agra Treasure Chapter 12. The Strange Story of Jonathan Small The Valley Of Fear Part 1 The Tragedy of Birlstone Part 2 The Scowrers Epilogue The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Adventure I A Scandal in Bohemia Adventure II The Red-Headed League Adventure III A Case of Identity Adventure IV The Boscombe Valley Mystery Adventure V The Five Orange Pips Adventure VI The Man with the Twisted Lip Adventure VII The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle Adventure VIII The Adventure of the Speckled Band Adventure IX The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb Adventure X The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor Adventure XI The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet Adventure XII The Adventure of the Copper Beeches The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Silver Blaze The Yellow Face The Stockbroker's Clerk The "Gloria Scott" The Musgrave Ritual The Crooked Man The Reigate Puzzle The Resident Patient The Greek Interpreter The Naval Treaty The Final Problem The Return of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Empty House The Adventure of the Norwood Builder The Adventure of the Dancing Men The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist The Adventure of the Priory School The Adventure of Black Peter The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton The Adventure of the Six Napoleons The Adventure of the Three Students The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter The Adventure of the Abbey Grange The Adventure of the Second Stain His Last Bow The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge The Adventure of the Cardboard Box The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans The Adventure of the Devil's Foot The Adventure of the Red Circle The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax The Adventure of the Dying Detective His Last Bow — An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes G.K. Chesterton The Innocence of Father Brown The Blue Cross The SecretGarden The Queer Feet The Flying Stars The Invisible Man The Honour of Israel Gow The Wrong Shape The Sins of Prince Saradine The Hammer of God The Eye of Apollo The Sign of the Broken Sword The Three Tools of Death Maurice Leblanc Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar I. The Arrest of Arsène Lupin II. Arsène Lupin in Prison III. The Escape of Arsène Lupin IV. The Mysterious Traveller V. The Queen’s Necklace VI. The Seven of Hearts VII. Madame Imbert’s Safe VIII. The Black Pearl IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late Edgar Allan Poe The Gold-Bug The Murders in the Rue Morgue The Purloined Letter Edgar Wallace The Treasure Hunt The Green Mamba Wilkie Collins Who Killed Zebedee? A FIRST WORD FOR MYSELF. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. Charles Dickens Hunted Down

The Dead Witness gathers the finest adventures among private and police detectives from the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth--including a wide range of overlooked gems creating the finest ever anthology of Victorian detective stories. "The Dead Witness," the 1866 title story by Australian writer Mary Fortune, is the first known detective story by a woman, a suspenseful clue-strewn manhunt in the Outback. This forgotten treasure sets the tone for the whole anthology-surprises from every direction, including more female detectives and authors than you can find in any other anthology of its kind. Pioneer women writers such as Anna Katharine Green, Mary E. Wilkins, and C. L. Pirkis will take you from rural America to bustling London. Female detectives range from Loveday Brooke to Dorcas Dene and Madelyn Mack. In other stories, you will meet November Joe, the Canadian half-Native backwoods detective who stars in "The Crime at Big Tree Portage" and demonstrates that Sherlockian attention to detail works as well in the woods as in the city. Holmes himself is here, too, of course-not in another reprint of an already well-known story, but in the first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet, the first Holmes case, in which the great man meets and dazzles Watson. Authors range the gamut from luminaries such as Charles Dickens to the forgotten author who helped inspire Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," the first real detective story. Bret Harte is here and so is E. W. Hornung, creator of master thief Raffles. Naturally Wilkie Collins couldn't be left behind. Michael Sims's new collection unfolds the fascinating and entertaining youth of what would mature into the most popular genre of the twentieth century.

The Literary Detective is an omnibus edition of John Sutherland's three best-selling collections of literary puzzles, Is Heathcliffe a Murderer?, Can Jane Eyre be Happy?, and Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet? Investigating a variety of anomalies, enigmas, and conundrums such as 'Why does RobinsonCrusoe find only one footprint?' and 'Where does Fanny Hill keep her contraceptives?', Professor Sutherland explores the questions readers often ask and critics rarely discuss. His forensic skills focus on authors from Defoe and Fielding to Wells and Woolf, relishing in particular thenineteenth-century novelists, Austen, Collins, Dickens, and the Brontes.By addressing 'real world' questions John Sutherland has brought lit. crit. Down from the rarefied heights of academe and into the everyday discourse of ordinary readers, who bring their own expertise to bear on these novels. In his introduction he quotes from some of the many letters he hasreceived, which demonstrate that we can all be astute and entertaining critics. The 'Sherlock Holmes of Literature', as he has been called, John Sutherland reminds us of the sheer pleasure and excitement that good books inspire, and of their endless ability to surprise and delight us.

“This is an exemplary reference book sure to lead readers to gems of mystery and detective fiction.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review This book tells the story of crime fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century. The diversity of this much-loved genre is breathtaking, and so much greater than many critics have suggested. To illustrate this, the leading expert on classic crime discusses one hundred books ranging from The Hound of the Baskervilles to Strangers on a Train which highlight the entertaining plots, the literary achievements, and the social significance of vintage crime fiction. This book serves as a companion to the acclaimed British Library Crime Classics series but it tells a very diverse story. It presents the development of crime fiction—from Sherlock Holmes to the end of the golden age—in an accessible, informative and engaging style. Readers who enjoy classic crime will make fascinating discoveries and learn about forgotten gems as well as bestselling authors. Even the most widely read connoisseurs will find books (and trivia) with which they are unfamiliar—as well as unexpected choices to debate. Classic crime is a richly varied and deeply pleasurable genre that is enjoying a world-wide renaissance as dozens of neglected novels and stories are resurrected for modern readers to enjoy. The overriding aim of this book is to provide a launch point that enables readers to embark on their own voyages of discovery.

A rollicking look at popular culture’s most beloved sleuth: “For even the casual fan, the history of this deathless character is fascinating” (The Boston Globe). Today he is the inspiration for fiction adaptations, blockbuster movies, hit television shows, raucous Twitter banter, and thriving subcultures. More than a century after Sherlock Holmes first capered into our world, what is it about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s peculiar creation that continues to fascinate us? Journalist and lifelong Sherlock fan Zach Dundas set out to find the answer. The result is The Great Detective: a history of an idea, a biography of someone who never lived, a tour of the borderland between reality and fiction, and a joyful romp through the world Conan Doyle bequeathed us. In this “wonderful book” (Booklist, starred review), Dundas unearths the inspirations behind Holmes and his indispensable companion, Dr. John Watson; explores how they have been kept alive over the decades by writers, actors, and readers; and visits locales—from the boozy annual New York City gathering of one of the world’s oldest and most exclusive Sherlock Holmes fan societies; to a freezing Devon heath out of The Hound of the Baskervilles; to sunny Pasadena, where Dundas chats with the creators of the smash BBC series Sherlock. Along the way, he discovers the ingredients that have made Holmes go viral—then, now, and as long as the game’s afoot.

Classic American Crime Writing of the 1920s—including House Without a Key, The Benson Murder Case, The Tower Treasure, The Roman Hat Mystery, The Tower Treasure, and Little Caesar—offers some of the very best of that decade’s writing. Earl Derr Biggers wrote about Charlie Chan, a Chinese-American detective, at a time when racism was rampant. S. S. Van Dine invented Philo Vance, an effete, rich amateur psychologist who flourished while America danced and the stock market rose. Edwin Stratemeyer, a man of mystery himself, singlehandedly created the juvenile mystery, with the beloved Hardy Boys series. The quintessential American detective Ellery Queen leapt onto the stage, to remain popular for fifty years. W. R. Burnett, created the indelible character of Rico, the first gangster antihero. Each of the five novels included is presented in its original published form, with extensive historical and cultural annotations and illustrations added by Edgar-winning editor Leslie S. Klinger, allowing the reader to experience the story to its fullest. Klinger's detailed foreword gives an overview of the history of American crime writing from its beginnings in the early years of America to the twentieth century.

Edgar Allan Poe essentially invented the detective story in 1841 with Murders in the Rue Morgue. In the years that followed, however, detective fiction in America saw no significant progress as a literary genre. Much to the dismay of moral crusaders like Anthony Comstock, dime novels and other sensationalist publications satisfied the public's hunger for a yarn. Things changed as the century waned, and eventually the detective was reborn as a figure of American literature. In part these changes were due to a combination of social conditions, including the rise and decline of the police as an institution; the parallel development of private detectives; the birth of the crusading newspaper reporter; and the beginnings of forensic science. Influential, too, was the new role model offered by a wildly popular British import named Sherlock Holmes. Focusing on the late 19th century and early 20th, this volume covers the formative years of American detective fiction. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

A virtual cornucopia of whodunits from the true masters of the craft, including Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Craig Rice, Ellery Queen, and Raymond Chandler, this anthology contains some genuine rarities.

Gathers mystery, suspense, and crime stories from around the world.