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Fergus Hume

Ferguson Wright Hume (8 July 1859 – 12 July 1932), known as Fergus Hume, was a prolific English novelist, known for his detective fiction, thrillers and mysteries.

Fergus Hume (c.1882)

Early life

Hume was born in Powick, Worcestershire, England, the second son of James C. Hume, a Scot and clerk and steward at the County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum there. When he was three the family emigrated to Dunedin, New Zealand, where he was educated at Otago Boys' High School and studied law at the University of Otago. He was admitted to the New Zealand bar in 1885. Shortly after graduation Hume relocated to Melbourne, Australia, where he obtained a job as a barristers' clerk. He began writing plays, but found it impossible to persuade the managers of Melbourne theatres to accept or even to read them.

Rise to fame

Hume first came to attention after a play he had written, entitled The Bigamist was stolen by a rogue called Calthorpe, and presented by him as his own work under the title The Mormon. Finding that the novels of Émile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne, Hume obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of the same kind. The result was The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, set in Melbourne, with descriptions of poor urban life based on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. It was self-published in 1886 and became a great success. Because he sold the British and American rights for 50 pounds, however, he reaped little of the potential financial benefit. It became the best-selling mystery novel of the Victorian era; in 1990 John Sutherland called it the "most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century".[1] This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle remarked, "Hansom Cab was a slight tale, mostly sold by 'puffing'."[2]

After the success of his first novel and the publication of another, Professor Brankel's Secret (c. 1886), Hume returned to England in 1888.[3] His third novel, Madame Midas, was based on the life of the mine and newspaper owner Alice Ann Cornwell. After this book became a play[a] her estranged husband, John Whiteman, sued over its content.[5]

 
The Crimson Cryptogram by Fergus Hume. First edition published by John Long 1900.

Personal life

Hume settled back in England, first in London, but after a few years in Thundersley, Essex at Church Cottage, probably at the invitation of the Reverend Thomas Noon Talfourd Major. Hume lived in Thundersley for thirty years, publishing in excess of 130 novels, plus several collections – most of them mystery stories, though he never recaptured the success of his first novel. He also wrote lyrics to songs composed by his brother-in-law, Charles Willeby, and book reviews for literary journals including The Bookman.

The 1911 census lists him as ‘author’, aged 51, and living at Church Cottage, Thundersley, which consisted of six rooms. He had a housekeeper, Ada Louise Peck, a widow of 69. He regularly travelled to Italy, France, Switzerland and other European countries.

When the Rev Talfourd Major died in 1915, Hume had to leave Church Cottage. He moved to ‘Rosemary Cottage’, 34 Grandview Road, Thundersley, where he lived with John Joseph Melville and his wife. Melville was a metallurgical chemist by profession, with a special study of alchemy.

 
The Millionaire Mystery by Fergus Hume. First edition published by Chatto & Windus 1901.

Hume was reputed to be deeply religious and intensely private and known to avoid publicity, but in his later years he lectured at young people's clubs and debating societies. He died at Thundersley on 12 July 1932 and lies in an unmarked grave next to an actress and the Rev Maley. All he left in his will were some small items, like a horse blanket and a pipe. His estate was valued at £201.[6]

Works

Individual works

Plays

  • The Bigamist (1887). Hume gave the script to a fraudster, Calthorpe Mallaby, who re-titled the play The Mormon, and presented it under his own name at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1887
  • The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, with Arthur Law (1888)
  • Madame Midas, the Gold Queen, with Philip Beck (1888)
  • In Love and War (1889)
  • The Fool of the Family (1900)

Novels

  • The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886)
  • Professor Brankel's Secret (1886)
  • Madame Midas (1888)
  • The Girl from Malta (1889)
  • The Piccadilly Puzzle (1889)
  • The Gentleman Who Vanished: A Psychological Phantasy (1890); aka The Man Who Vanished
  • Miss Mephistopheles (1890); aka Tracked by Fate
  • The Man with a Secret (1890)
  • The Year of Miracle: A Tale of the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred (1891)
  • A Creature of the Night (1891)
  • Monsieur Judas (1891)
  • When I Lived in Bohemia: Papers Selected from the Portfolio of Peter ---, Esq (1891)
  • Whom God Hath Joined (1891)
  • The Black Carnation (1892)
  • Aladdin in London (1892)
  • The Fever of Life (1892)
  • The Island of Fantasy (1892)
  • The Man with a Secret (1892)
  • The Chinese Jar (1893)
  • The Harlequin Opal (1893)
  • The Nameless City: A Rommany Romance (1893), under the name Stephen Grail, at least in the US[7]
  • A Speck of the Motley (1893)
  • The Lone Inn (1894)
  • The Mystery of Landy Court (1894); aka From Thief to Detective
  • The Best of Her Sex (1894)
  • The Gates of Dawn (1894)
  • A Midnight Mystery (1894)
  • The Crime of Liza Jane (1895)
  • The White Prior (1895)
  • The Masquerade Mystery (1895) aka The Third Volume
  • The Expedition of Captain Flick (1896)
  • The Carbuncle Clue (1896)
  • A Marriage Mystery (1896)
  • Tracked by a Tattoo (1896)
  • Claude Duval of Ninety-Five (1897)
  • The Tombstone Treasure (1897)
  • The Clock Struck One (1898)
  • The Rainbow Feather (1898)
  • The Devil-Stick (1898); aka For the Defense (US title)
  • Lady Jezebel (1898)
  • Under One Cover (1898)
  • The Red-Headed Man (1899)
  • The Silent House in Pimlico (1899)
  • The Indian Bangle (1899)
  • The Crimson Cryptogram (1900)
  • Shylock of the River (1900)
  • The Vanishing of Tera (1900)
  • The Bishop's Secret (1900); aka Bishop Pendle
  • The Lady from Nowhere (1900)
  • A Traitor in London (1900)[8]
  • The Millionaire Mystery (1901)
  • The Crime of the Crystal (1901)
  • The Golden Wang-Ho (1901); aka The Secret of the Chinese Jar
  • The Mother of Emeralds (1901)
  • A Woman's Burden (1901)
 
  • The Pagan's Cup (1902)
  • The Turnpike House (1902)
  • Woman: The Sphinx (1902)
  • A Coin of Edward VII (1903)
  • The Jade Eye (1903)
  • The Silver Bullet (1903)
  • The Yellow Holly (1903)
  • The Guilty House (1903)
  • The Miser's Will (1903)
  • The Mandarin's Fan (1904)
  • The Wheeling Light (1904)
  • The Red Window (1904)
  • The Lonely Church (1904)
  • The White Room (1904)
  • The Secret Passage (1905)
  • Lady Jim of Curzon Street (1905)
  • The Opal Serpent (1905)
  • The Fatal Song (1905)
  • The Scarlet Bat (1905)
  • The Wooden Hand (1905)
  • The Mystery of the Shadow (1906)
  • The Black Patch (1906)
  • Jonah's Luck (1906)
  • The Purple Fern (1907)
  • The Yellow Hunchback (1907)
  • The Amethyst Cross (1908)
  • Flies in the Web (1908)
  • The Sealed Message (1908)
  • The Green Mummy (1908)
  • The Crowned Skull (1908)
  • The Mystery of a Motor Cab (1908)
  • The Sacred Herb (1908)
  • The Devil's Ace (1909)
  • The Solitary Farm (1909)
  • The Top Dog (1909)
  • The Disappearing Eye (1909)
  • The Peacock of Jewels (1910)
  • The Lonely Subaltern (1910)
  • The Mikado Jewel (1910)
  • The Spider (1910)
 
Cover of a 1907 New York publication of The Silent House (1899)
  • The Steel Crown (1911)
  • High Water Mark (1911)
  • The Jew's House (1911)
  • The Pink Shop (1911)
  • The Rectory Governess (1911)
  • The Mystery Queen (1912)
  • The Blue Talisman (1912)
  • Red Money (1912)
  • Across the Footlights (1912)
  • Mother Mandarin (1912)
  • A Son of Perdition: An Occult Romance (1912)
  • The Curse (1913)
  • In Queer Street (1913)
  • Seen in the Shadow (1913)
  • The Thirteenth Guest (1913)
  • The Lost Parchment (1914)
  • The 4 PM Express (1914)
  • Not Wanted (1914)
  • Answered (1915)
  • The Caretaker (1915)
  • The Red Bicycle (1916)
  • The Grey Doctor (1917)
  • The Silent Signal (1917)
  • Heart of Ice (1918)
  • The Black Image (1918)
  • Next Door (1918)
  • Crazy-Quilt (1919)
  • The Master-Mind (1919)
  • The Dark Avenue (1920)
  • The Other Person (1920)
  • The Singing Head (1920)
  • The Woman Who Held On (1920)
  • Three (1921)
  • The Unexpected (1921)
  • A Trick of Time (1922)
  • The Moth-Woman (1923)
  • The Whispering Lane (1924)
  • The Caravan Mystery (1926). Originally published as a newspaper serial under the title The Caravan Crime (1921)
  • The Last Straw (1932)
 
The Amethyst Cross by Fergus Hume. First edition published by Cassell & Co 1908.

Collections of works

  • Chronicles of Faeryland (1892)
  • The Dwarf's Chamber: And Other Stories (1896)
  • Hagar of the Pawn Shop The Gypsy Detective (1898)
  • The Dancer in Red (1906)

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Hume and British actor Phil Beck collaborated on the stage version, in which Beck played the lead role, subsequently took his own life.[4]
  1. ^ John Sutherland (1990) [1989]. "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab". The Stanford Companion to Victorian Literature. pp. 454–455. ISBN 9780804718424.
  2. ^ "Fergus Hume's Startling Story" by Simon Casterton, Inside Story : Books and Arts, 8 May 2012
  3. ^ "Hume, Fergus". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. pp. 893–94.
  4. ^ "Suicide of Mr Philip Beck". The Colonist. Vol. III, no. IV. Tasmania, Australia. 25 January 1890. p. 21. Retrieved 9 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Griffiths, D. (23 September 2004). Cornwell [other married names Whiteman, Robinson], Alice Ann (1852–1932), goldmining industrialist and newspaper proprietor. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 9 Dec. 2017, see link
  6. ^ "Find a will | GOV.UK".
  7. ^ "The nameless city. A Rommany romance". LCCN Permalink. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-09-21.
  8. ^ "Review: A Traitor in London, by Fergus Hume". Westminster Review. 155: 109. 1901.
Other sources
  • Lucy Sussex, The Queer Story of Fergus Hume, in: Curtis Evans (ed.) Murder in the Closet: Essays on Queer Clues in Crime Fiction Before Stonewall (McFarland & Co, 2017.)

External links

  • Works by Fergus Hume in eBook form at Standard Ebooks
  • Works by Fergus Hume at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by Fergus Hume at Project Gutenberg Australia
  • Works by or about Fergus Hume at Internet Archive
  • Works by Fergus Hume at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  
  • Fergus Hume bibliography at Classic Crime Fiction
  • Fergus Hume at Library of Congress Authorities, with 59 catalogue records

fergus, hume, ferguson, wright, hume, july, 1859, july, 1932, known, prolific, english, novelist, known, detective, fiction, thrillers, mysteries, 1882, contents, early, life, rise, fame, personal, life, works, individual, works, plays, novels, collections, wo. Ferguson Wright Hume 8 July 1859 12 July 1932 known as Fergus Hume was a prolific English novelist known for his detective fiction thrillers and mysteries Fergus Hume c 1882 Contents 1 Early life 2 Rise to fame 3 Personal life 4 Works 4 1 Individual works 4 1 1 Plays 4 1 2 Novels 4 2 Collections of works 5 See also 6 Notes and references 7 External linksEarly life EditHume was born in Powick Worcestershire England the second son of James C Hume a Scot and clerk and steward at the County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum there When he was three the family emigrated to Dunedin New Zealand where he was educated at Otago Boys High School and studied law at the University of Otago He was admitted to the New Zealand bar in 1885 Shortly after graduation Hume relocated to Melbourne Australia where he obtained a job as a barristers clerk He began writing plays but found it impossible to persuade the managers of Melbourne theatres to accept or even to read them Rise to fame EditHume first came to attention after a play he had written entitled The Bigamist was stolen by a rogue called Calthorpe and presented by him as his own work under the title The Mormon Finding that the novels of Emile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne Hume obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of the same kind The result was The Mystery of a Hansom Cab set in Melbourne with descriptions of poor urban life based on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street It was self published in 1886 and became a great success Because he sold the British and American rights for 50 pounds however he reaped little of the potential financial benefit It became the best selling mystery novel of the Victorian era in 1990 John Sutherland called it the most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century 1 This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet which introduced the fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes Doyle remarked Hansom Cab was a slight tale mostly sold by puffing 2 After the success of his first novel and the publication of another Professor Brankel s Secret c 1886 Hume returned to England in 1888 3 His third novel Madame Midas was based on the life of the mine and newspaper owner Alice Ann Cornwell After this book became a play a her estranged husband John Whiteman sued over its content 5 The Crimson Cryptogram by Fergus Hume First edition published by John Long 1900 Personal life EditHume settled back in England first in London but after a few years in Thundersley Essex at Church Cottage probably at the invitation of the Reverend Thomas Noon Talfourd Major Hume lived in Thundersley for thirty years publishing in excess of 130 novels plus several collections most of them mystery stories though he never recaptured the success of his first novel He also wrote lyrics to songs composed by his brother in law Charles Willeby and book reviews for literary journals including The Bookman The 1911 census lists him as author aged 51 and living at Church Cottage Thundersley which consisted of six rooms He had a housekeeper Ada Louise Peck a widow of 69 He regularly travelled to Italy France Switzerland and other European countries When the Rev Talfourd Major died in 1915 Hume had to leave Church Cottage He moved to Rosemary Cottage 34 Grandview Road Thundersley where he lived with John Joseph Melville and his wife Melville was a metallurgical chemist by profession with a special study of alchemy The Millionaire Mystery by Fergus Hume First edition published by Chatto amp Windus 1901 Hume was reputed to be deeply religious and intensely private and known to avoid publicity but in his later years he lectured at young people s clubs and debating societies He died at Thundersley on 12 July 1932 and lies in an unmarked grave next to an actress and the Rev Maley All he left in his will were some small items like a horse blanket and a pipe His estate was valued at 201 6 Works EditIndividual works Edit Plays Edit The Bigamist 1887 Hume gave the script to a fraudster Calthorpe Mallaby who re titled the play The Mormon and presented it under his own name at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1887 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab with Arthur Law 1888 Madame Midas the Gold Queen with Philip Beck 1888 In Love and War 1889 The Fool of the Family 1900 Novels Edit The Mystery of a Hansom Cab 1886 Professor Brankel s Secret 1886 Madame Midas 1888 The Girl from Malta 1889 The Piccadilly Puzzle 1889 The Gentleman Who Vanished A Psychological Phantasy 1890 aka The Man Who Vanished Miss Mephistopheles 1890 aka Tracked by Fate The Man with a Secret 1890 The Year of Miracle A Tale of the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred 1891 A Creature of the Night 1891 Monsieur Judas 1891 When I Lived in Bohemia Papers Selected from the Portfolio of Peter Esq 1891 Whom God Hath Joined 1891 The Black Carnation 1892 Aladdin in London 1892 The Fever of Life 1892 The Island of Fantasy 1892 The Man with a Secret 1892 The Chinese Jar 1893 The Harlequin Opal 1893 The Nameless City A Rommany Romance 1893 under the name Stephen Grail at least in the US 7 A Speck of the Motley 1893 The Lone Inn 1894 The Mystery of Landy Court 1894 aka From Thief to Detective The Best of Her Sex 1894 The Gates of Dawn 1894 A Midnight Mystery 1894 The Crime of Liza Jane 1895 The White Prior 1895 The Masquerade Mystery 1895 aka The Third Volume The Expedition of Captain Flick 1896 The Carbuncle Clue 1896 A Marriage Mystery 1896 Tracked by a Tattoo 1896 Claude Duval of Ninety Five 1897 The Tombstone Treasure 1897 The Clock Struck One 1898 The Rainbow Feather 1898 The Devil Stick 1898 aka For the Defense US title Lady Jezebel 1898 Under One Cover 1898 The Red Headed Man 1899 The Silent House in Pimlico 1899 The Indian Bangle 1899 The Crimson Cryptogram 1900 Shylock of the River 1900 The Vanishing of Tera 1900 The Bishop s Secret 1900 aka Bishop Pendle The Lady from Nowhere 1900 A Traitor in London 1900 8 The Millionaire Mystery 1901 The Crime of the Crystal 1901 The Golden Wang Ho 1901 aka The Secret of the Chinese Jar The Mother of Emeralds 1901 A Woman s Burden 1901 The Pagan s Cup 1902 The Turnpike House 1902 Woman The Sphinx 1902 A Coin of Edward VII 1903 The Jade Eye 1903 The Silver Bullet 1903 The Yellow Holly 1903 The Guilty House 1903 The Miser s Will 1903 The Mandarin s Fan 1904 The Wheeling Light 1904 The Red Window 1904 The Lonely Church 1904 The White Room 1904 The Secret Passage 1905 Lady Jim of Curzon Street 1905 The Opal Serpent 1905 The Fatal Song 1905 The Scarlet Bat 1905 The Wooden Hand 1905 The Mystery of the Shadow 1906 The Black Patch 1906 Jonah s Luck 1906 The Purple Fern 1907 The Yellow Hunchback 1907 The Amethyst Cross 1908 Flies in the Web 1908 The Sealed Message 1908 The Green Mummy 1908 The Crowned Skull 1908 The Mystery of a Motor Cab 1908 The Sacred Herb 1908 The Devil s Ace 1909 The Solitary Farm 1909 The Top Dog 1909 The Disappearing Eye 1909 The Peacock of Jewels 1910 The Lonely Subaltern 1910 The Mikado Jewel 1910 The Spider 1910 Cover of a 1907 New York publication of The Silent House 1899 The Steel Crown 1911 High Water Mark 1911 The Jew s House 1911 The Pink Shop 1911 The Rectory Governess 1911 The Mystery Queen 1912 The Blue Talisman 1912 Red Money 1912 Across the Footlights 1912 Mother Mandarin 1912 A Son of Perdition An Occult Romance 1912 The Curse 1913 In Queer Street 1913 Seen in the Shadow 1913 The Thirteenth Guest 1913 The Lost Parchment 1914 The 4 PM Express 1914 Not Wanted 1914 Answered 1915 The Caretaker 1915 The Red Bicycle 1916 The Grey Doctor 1917 The Silent Signal 1917 Heart of Ice 1918 The Black Image 1918 Next Door 1918 Crazy Quilt 1919 The Master Mind 1919 The Dark Avenue 1920 The Other Person 1920 The Singing Head 1920 The Woman Who Held On 1920 Three 1921 The Unexpected 1921 A Trick of Time 1922 The Moth Woman 1923 The Whispering Lane 1924 The Caravan Mystery 1926 Originally published as a newspaper serial under the title The Caravan Crime 1921 The Last Straw 1932 The Amethyst Cross by Fergus Hume First edition published by Cassell amp Co 1908 Collections of works Edit Chronicles of Faeryland 1892 The Dwarf s Chamber And Other Stories 1896 Hagar of the Pawn Shop The Gypsy Detective 1898 The Dancer in Red 1906 See also Edit Books portal Law portal Literature portalList of crime writers Crime fiction Detective fiction Giallo Mystery fiction WhodunitNotes and references Edit Hume and British actor Phil Beck collaborated on the stage version in which Beck played the lead role subsequently took his own life 4 John Sutherland 1990 1989 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab The Stanford Companion to Victorian Literature pp 454 455 ISBN 9780804718424 Fergus Hume s Startling Story by Simon Casterton Inside Story Books and Arts 8 May 2012 Hume Fergus Who s Who Vol 59 1907 pp 893 94 Suicide of Mr Philip Beck The Colonist Vol III no IV Tasmania Australia 25 January 1890 p 21 Retrieved 9 March 2021 via National Library of Australia Griffiths D 23 September 2004 Cornwell other married names Whiteman Robinson Alice Ann 1852 1932 goldmining industrialist and newspaper proprietor Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Retrieved 9 Dec 2017 see link Find a will GOV UK The nameless city A Rommany romance LCCN Permalink Library of Congress lccn loc gov Retrieved 2016 09 21 Review A Traitor in London by Fergus Hume Westminster Review 155 109 1901 Other sourcesPauline M Kirk Hume Fergusson Wright Fergus 1859 1932 Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 4 MUP 1972 pp 443 44 T J Binyon Murder Will Out The Detective in Fiction Oxford 1989 ISBN 0 19 219223 X pp 70 71 D C Wands Fergus Hume Retrieved 6 November 2009 Lucy Sussex The Queer Story of Fergus Hume in Curtis Evans ed Murder in the Closet Essays on Queer Clues in Crime Fiction Before Stonewall McFarland amp Co 2017 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fergus Hume Works by Fergus Hume in eBook form at Standard Ebooks Works by Fergus Hume at Project Gutenberg Works by Fergus Hume at Project Gutenberg Australia Works by or about Fergus Hume at Internet Archive Works by Fergus Hume at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Fergus Hume bibliography at Classic Crime Fiction Fergus Hume at Library of Congress Authorities with 59 catalogue records Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fergus Hume amp oldid 1114567039, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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