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The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab: Text Classics

Text Classics

Fergus Hume

Introduction by Simon Caterson

Fergus Hume’s sensational novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is Australia’s original blockbuster and international best-selling crime novel.

First published in 1886, it was an overnight sensation, selling hundreds of thousands of copies around the world and being translated into eleven languages. Over a century later, Hansom Cab has lost none of its page-turning power.Set in the charming and deadly streets of Melbourne, this brilliantly plotted murder thriller tells the story of a crime committed by an unknown assassin. With its panoramic depiction of a bustling yet uneasy city, Hansom Cab has a central place in Australian literary history.

Hansom Cab has been adapted for television and screened on ABCTV in October 2012. It is directed by Shawn Seet (Underbelly, All Saints, The Secret Life of Us) and stars Shane Jacobson, Anna McGahan, Helen Morse, Oliver Ackland and John Waters.

Other links:
Burberry Entertainment
Museum Victoria on re-imagining ‘marvellous Melbourne’ for the telemovie
ABC Radio National Book Club

Fergus Hume
About the Author

Fergus Hume was born in England in 1859. His family soon immigrated to New Zealand, where Hume qualified as a lawyer. He was admitted to the bar in 1885 and moved to Melbourne in the same year.

Desperate to become a playwright but having no success, Hume decided to write a murder novel instead. When he couldn’t find a publisher for The Mystery...

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About the Introducer

Simon Caterson is a Melbourne-based freelance writer and the author of Hoax Nation: Australian Fakes and Frauds from Plato to Norma Khouri. He wrote introductions to The Middle Parts of Fortune and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.

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Extent:
432pp
Format:
Paperback
Text publication date:
26 April 2012
First published:
1886
Region:
VIC
ISBN:
9781921922220
AU Price:
$14.95
NZ Price:
$17.99
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Other editions ofThe Mystery of a Hansom Cab
  • The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
    ebook
    ISBN: 9781921921827
    26 April 2012
    Buy ebook
  • The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
    Paperback
    ISBN: 9781920885373
    9 January 2006
Other Titles byFergus Hume