DETECTIVE ANTHOLOGIES

Lady Can Do: A young woman has regrets when she is hired by a wealthy, eccentric couple as social secretary, but finds herself caught up in a murder mystery.

Alice Royce, Girl Detective: Alice is a professional detective, and her agency sends her to investigate all manner of mysteries. (This was an early 1900s newspaper serial.)

The Adventures of Edda Manby: Four stories by Hulbert Footner, of an intelligent, fearless young woman who isn't afraid of adventure and isn't willing to settle for a suitor when she's able to take care of herself.

Godfrey Page, Railwayac (1903-1904): Whitechurch's less well-known railway enthusiast turned occasional detective is a 'railway maniac,' which gives him an edge when pursuing mysteries on the rails.

Sir Jasper Buckland (1916-1918): Guy Thorne's hero worked his way up the railway hierarchy, solving numerous problems, crimes, and mysteries for the Great Union Railway.

The Mystery of the Private Car (1933): The wealthy American host of a railway party heading into Canada is murdered, leaving the Canadian police with a strange mystery on their hands.

This volume of 2 Detectives brings together two female detectives by the same author. Grant Allen’s protagonists, Miss Cayley and Hilda Wade are determined, smart, and resourceful. They join the ranks of independent female adventurers who paved the way for the modern female detective.

Miss Cayley’s intrepid spirit finds numerous adventures as she makes something of herself, even when she finds she must fight against a criminal deceit that would rob the man she loves of his fortune and freedom.

Hilda Wade is unswerving in her aim to unmask her father’s cold-blooded killer, even if he is one of the most intelligent, and respected, of men.

Madelyn Mack, Detective, was published in 1914, and includes 5 stories. Mack is a young private detective who solves strange mysteries with her newspaper journalist gal pal.

The Golden Slipper and Other Problems for Violet Strange was published in 1915. Violet is an intelligent young socialite who undertakes undercover detective work to earn money for her own mysterious purpose.

Miss Van Snoop appeared only in one short story, published in 1898.

Detective Florence Cusack appeared in five short stories between 1899 and 1901.

Police Inspector Addington Peace solves criminal puzzles with a keen intellect and dry wit. He befriends the narrator, Mr. Phillips, and convinces him to join him occasionally on his cases. Eight stories, first published in 1905, are included here.

Luther Trant was a psychology student at the university, who decides to use his scientific knowledge to solve crimes and determine the truth. Nine stories, from 1909-1910, are included.

Average Jones stumbles into crime- and puzzle-solving by becoming a consultant for newspaper advertising, particularly to expose frauds, which gives him opportunity to investigate the stories behind strange newspaper ads. These stories were collected in 1911.

Dr. Furnivall is best described as human "truth serum," mastering a form of hypnotism that forces people to tell him the truth, which of course helps him to solve crimes and aid the police. These 12 stories were first collected in 1908.

Astro, the Master of Mysteries, solves mysterious puzzles and crimes by tapping into the spiritual plane and using his psychic abilities. Or does he? Foreshadowing USA Network's Psych, Astro is actually a keen intellect and brilliant detective who masquerades as a fortune-teller and psychic. These stories were published in 1912.

Dr. Xavier Wycherley, known as the Mind-Reader, is part psychologist, part hypnotist, and prefers healing the mind to criminal detection, but among his adventures are several mysteries he must solve. His stories were first published in 1913.

Loveday Brooke's undercover skills help her blend into the background without tipping off suspects. Circumstances required her to work, so she became a private detective, becoming a top investigator at the agency. These seven stories were originally published in 1893 and 1894.

Lady Molly quickly worked her way to the top of the female division of Scotland Yard, using her wits and intuition to solve puzzling crimes and driven by a passion to solve a very personal mystery that sent the wrong man to prison. These stories were published in 1910.

Eugène Valmont, Chief Detective of Paris, quickly finds himself drummed out of the country when he embarrasses the nation. He sets up shop as a private detective in England and finds himself embroiled in a number of mysteries, which are solved to varying degrees of success. Sometimes considered parodies, these are actually satires on the differences between the French and British legal systems (per Ellery Queen).

Mr. Keen runs an agency that tracks down anyone, even a romantic ideal. These stories are more romantic than criminal, and utilize Chambers' trademark sarcastic humor

The Strange Adventures of Bromley Barnes, published in 1918, includes 12 tales of a retired government official who takes on occasional problems of murder and espionage for his country.

Trent's Last Case was published in 1913. In this full-length novel, artist-newspaperman Trent investigates the mysterious death of a wealthy tycoon.

In the four stories of the "Divinations of Kala Persad" (published in 1895), a young Englishman becomes a detective after partnering with an old man from India with a remarkable insight into human motives.

The short story "Gallagher" (published 1890) introduces us to a young newsboy with grit, loyalty, and determination who tracks down a killer. (Davis only wrote one Gallagher story, but Disney later developed this for television.)

Hagar of the gypsies runs to her only relative for refuge, the ornery old owner of a pawn shop. He dies, leaving her in charge. She finds herself in the middle of a series of adventures involving pawned objects, sometimes dangerous, often mysterious, but always met with resolve and intelligence.

The second series of adventures involves a widow in financial straits who becomes a broker of pearls to earn a living. She encounters adventures of her own, often attracting the unwanted attention of criminals of various sorts.

Magazines in the early 1900s churned out serial detective stories left and right. Here are five such puzzle solvers.

Chanler Rao was an Indian magician who turns his skills toward solving mysteries. Three stories were published in 1910.

Worry-Worry Williams was probably the first OCD detective. He is more concerned with life's little puzzles than murder and theft, but still manages to solve crimes.

Fanny Gordon is an American girl stranded in France who turns her efforts to helping the French Secret Service. Her four mysteries are among the best of the magazine detectives.

Clara Pryor is a recent college graduate who decides to become a detective. But is she as good as her Watson?

Not all detectives look like detectives, but "The Gum-Shoe" did.

The Hon. Augustus Champnell, Richard Marsh’s aristocratic detective, featured in five short stories (as well as making cameos in a couple of supernatural mystery novels).

Ellis Parker Butler's Jane Sprood had already tackled suffrage and prohibition, so taking the step into the detective business, where she could show that women were just as good as men, if not better, seemed the next logical step.

E. Phillips Oppenheim’s detective Stanley Brooke unearths the strange and criminous underbelly of London, but the greatest challenge he tackles is how to capture the heart of his beautiful but grim partner, Constance.

R. Austin Freeman’s The Exploits of Danby Croker (1916) involves mistaken identities, art forgery, antique swindles, and even a little cross-dressing. There’s a price to be paid for breaking the law, but who’s going to pay it? This rare collection of stories is an enjoyable romp through crime and romance.

Guy Boothby’s A Prince of Swindlers (1900) follows the criminal adventures of Simon Carne, charming gentleman rogue and master of disguise, as he spends a season in England stealing as much loot as he can from the upper crust. Diamonds, gold, and even a racehorse, vanish without a trace. And what does the eccentric detective Klimo have to do with all of this?