AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Before there was Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, there was Fergus Hume’s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab—the biggest- and fastest-selling detective novel of the 1800s, and Australia’s first literary blockbuster.
'Fergus Hume was an aspiring playwright when he moved from Dunedin to Melbourne in 1885. He wrote The Mystery of a Hansom Cab with the humble hope of bringing his name to the attention of theatre managers. The book sold out its first run almost instantly and it became a runaway word-of-mouth phenomenon—but its author sold the copyright for a mere fifty pounds, missing out on a potential fortune.
'Blockbuster! is the engrossing story of a book that would help define the genre of crime fiction, and a portrait of a great city in full bloom. Rigorously researched and full of arresting detail, this captivating book is a must-read for all fans of true crime, history and crime fiction alike.' (Publication summary)
Notes
-
Dedication: For Rowan Gibbs
-
Epigraph: 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab? Now there's a murky story...' – Jeff Prentice, book historian and publisher.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
[Review] Blockbuster! Fergus Hume & The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. The Story of the Crime Novel That Became a Global Publishing Phenomenon
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies , vol. 22 no. 1 2018; (p. 123-124)
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography'Blockbuster! is a fascinating and engaging read from start to finish. The exhaustive research which informs the book never overwhelms the flow of the narrative, which is expressed in clear, precise prose. The reader is offered here two intriguing subjects. While this is the publishing story of Fergus Hume’s famous detective book, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, and an early example of the detective genre, it is also, side-by-side as it were, the story of Melbourne in the final two decades of the nineteenth century. Indeed Lucy Sussex labels three novels by Hume his “Melbourne Trilogy”: Hansom Cab (1886), Madame Midas (1888) and Miss Mephistopheles (1890), all three novels offering vibrant local colour: “a prospectus, in fiction” (200) as Sussex later puts it. The “trilogy” designation moreover lends a specific gravitas to Hume whose standing in literary terms has never had the prestige it should within the annals of Australian literature. Blockbuster! will considerably amend this situation. That Hume had published seventeen books by the end of 1892 will doubtless come as a surprise to most readers.' (Introduction)
-
Lucy Sussex : Blockbuster : Fergus Hume and The Mystery of the Hansom Cab
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , April 2016;
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography -
[Review Essay] Blockbuster : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab
2016
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Victorian Historical Journal , June vol. 87 no. 1 2016; (p. 178-180) 'An arresting title, a striking cover and lively, flowing prose are likely immediately to engage and intrigue readers of this ‘biography’ of the murder mystery by Fergus Hume, which was published in Melbourne in 1886, in London in 1887, and widely thereafter and to this day. Lucy Sussex lays out the circumstances and introduces key players in the composition, publication, distribution and reception of what was a local and international publishing sensation. In so doing, she is putting living flesh on the bare bones of Pauline Kirk’s entry on Hume in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and amplifying brief references in Australian literary histories to his best-selling novel.' (Introduction) -
Learning All the Tricks : Critiquing Crime Fiction in a Creative Writing PhD
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , October no. 37 2016; -
Potboilers
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 374 2015; (p. 71)
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography
-
Australia’s First Literary Sensation
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 27-28 June 2015; (p. 30) The Saturday Age , 27-28 June 2015; (p. 30)
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography ; The Mystery of a Hansom Cab 1886 single work novel -
Clearing up an Old Mystery
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 July 2015; (p. 18)
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography -
Our Arthur Conan Doyle
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 23 August 2015; (p. 17)
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography -
Potboilers
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 374 2015; (p. 71)
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography -
Lucy Sussex : Blockbuster : Fergus Hume and The Mystery of the Hansom Cab
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , April 2016;
— Review of Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab 2015 single work biography -
Learning All the Tricks : Critiquing Crime Fiction in a Creative Writing PhD
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , October no. 37 2016; -
[Review Essay] Blockbuster : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of a Hansom Cab
2016
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Victorian Historical Journal , June vol. 87 no. 1 2016; (p. 178-180) 'An arresting title, a striking cover and lively, flowing prose are likely immediately to engage and intrigue readers of this ‘biography’ of the murder mystery by Fergus Hume, which was published in Melbourne in 1886, in London in 1887, and widely thereafter and to this day. Lucy Sussex lays out the circumstances and introduces key players in the composition, publication, distribution and reception of what was a local and international publishing sensation. In so doing, she is putting living flesh on the bare bones of Pauline Kirk’s entry on Hume in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and amplifying brief references in Australian literary histories to his best-selling novel.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2017 shortlisted Ngaio Marsh Award — Best Non Fiction
- 2016 longlisted Davitt Award — Best True Crime Book
- 2015 winner Victorian Community History Award — History Publication Award