Madame Midas by Fergus W Hume
Fergusson Wright Hume, known as Fergus Hume (1859- 1932) was an English novelist. Shortly after graduation he left for Melbourne. He began writing plays, but found it impossible to persuade the managers of the Melbourne theatres to accept or even read them. Finding that the novels of Emile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne, he obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of a similar kind. The result was the self-published novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), which became a great success. After the success of his first novel and the publication of another he returned to England in 1888. He resided in the Essex countryside for thirty years, eventually producing over 100 novels and short stories. He was a capable writer of mystery stories, and may be looked upon as one of the precursors of the many writers of detective stories whose work was so popular in the twentieth century. His other works include Madame Midas (1888), The Silent House (1899), The Bishop's Secret (1900), Secret Passage (1905), The Green Mummy (1908), and Red Money (1912).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.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780701210144 |
| ISBN 10 | 0701210141 |
| Title | Madame Midas |
| Author | Fergus W Hume |
| Series | Gaslight Crime |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Random House (UK) |
| Year published | 1985-11-14 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |