Hagar of the Pawn-Shop by Fergus Hume

Hagar of the Pawn-Shop by Fergus Hume

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Fergus Hume, often known as Fergus Wright Hume, was a prolific English novelist who lived from 1859 to 1932. Hume obtained and read a set of Emile Gaboriau's novels after learning that they were quite popular in Melbourne at the time, and he was inspired to write a novel in the same style. As a result, he wrote The Mystery of a Hansom Taxi, a novel set in Melbourne and based on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. It was self-published in 1886 and quickly became a huge hit. Yet, he received only a fraction of the potential financial advantage because he sold the British and American rights for 50 pounds.

It was the best-selling mystery fiction of the Victorian era, and John Sutherland dubbed it the century's most sensationally successful crime and detective novel in 1990.