"This volume surveys the first fifty years of the detective story in nineteenth-century America and England, examining not only major works, but also the lesser known--including contemporary pseudo-biographies, magazines, story papers, and newspapers--recently accessible through new media. By rewriting the history of the mystery genre, this study opens up new avenues for literary exploration"--Provided by publisher.

Edward Hardwicke retells five of the greatest mind-boggling, gumshoe mysteries ever. This collection includes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famed author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

In a collection of stories, curmudgeonly London barrister Horace Rumpole, recovering from a heart attack, takes on a nasty head nurse at his run-down convalescent center as he investigates the mysterious death of an elderly patient.

Volume contains four anthologies ranging in style and setting from modern New York suspense to the classic English whodunnit.