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Fergus Hume

Born

in Powick, Worcestershire, The United Kingdom

July 08, 1859

Died

July 12, 1932

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers

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Fergusson Wright Hume (1859–1932), New Zealand lawyer and prolific author particularly renowned for his debut novel, the international best-seller The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886).

Hume was born at Powick, Worcestershire, England, son of Glaswegian Dr. James Collin Hume, a steward at the Worcestershire Pauper Lunatic Asylum and his wife Mary Ferguson.

While Fergus was a very young child, in 1863 the Humes emigrated to New Zealand where James founded the first private mental hospital and Dunedin College. Young Fergus attended the Otago Boys' High School then went on to study law at Otago University. He followed up with articling in the attorney-general's office, called to the New Zealand bar in 1885.

In 1885 Hume moved to Melbourne. While h Fergusson Wright Hume (1859–1932), New Zealand lawyer and prolific author particularly renowned for his debut novel, the international best-seller The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886).

Hume was born at Powick, Worcestershire, England, son of Glaswegian Dr. James Collin Hume, a steward at the Worcestershire Pauper Lunatic Asylum and his wife Mary Ferguson.

While Fergus was a very young child, in 1863 the Humes emigrated to New Zealand where James founded the first private mental hospital and Dunedin College. Young Fergus attended the Otago Boys' High School then went on to study law at Otago University. He followed up with articling in the attorney-general's office, called to the New Zealand bar in 1885.

In 1885 Hume moved to Melbourne. While he worked as a solicitors clerk he was bent on becoming a dramatist; but having only written a few short stories he was a virtual unknown. So as to gain the attentions of the theatre directors he asked a local bookseller what style of book he sold most. Emile Gaboriau's detective works were very popular and so Hume bought them all and studied them intently, thus turning his pen to writing his own style of crime novel and mystery.

Hume spent much time in Little Bourke Street to gather material and his first effort was The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), a worthy contibution to the genre. It is full of literary references and quotations; finely crafted complex characters and their sometimes ambiguous seeming interrelationships with the other suspects, deepening the whodunit angle. It is somewhat of an exposé of the then extremes in Melbourne society, which caused some controversy for a time. Hume had it published privately after it had been downright rudely rejected by a number of publishers. "Having completed the book, I tried to get it published, but everyone to whom I offered it refused even to look at the manuscript on the grounds that no Colonial could write anything worth reading." He had sold the publishing rights for £50, but still retained the dramatic rights which he soon profited from by the long Australian and London theatre runs.

Except for short trips to France, Switzerland and Italy, in 1888 Hume settled and stayed in Essex, England where he would remain for the rest of his life. Although he was born, and lived the latter part of his life, in England, he thought of himself as 'a colonial' and identified as a New Zealander, having spent all of his formative years from preschool through to adulthood there. Hume died of cardiac failure at his home on 11 July 1932.

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Fergus Hume’s books

Average rating: 3.57 · 5,314 ratings · 746 reviews · 990 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (Melbourne Trilogy, #1) 3.57 avg rating — 1,943 ratings — published 1886 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (And 7 Other Traditional British Mysteries): Boxed Set 3.69 avg rating — 162 ratings — published 2006 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Coin of Edward VII 3.16 avg rating — 142 ratings — published 1903 — 64 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Secret Passage 3.38 avg rating — 129 ratings — published 1905 — 114 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Silent House 3.37 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 1899 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Bishop's Secret 3.70 avg rating — 109 ratings — published 1900 — 105 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Green Mummy 3.22 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 1908 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Opal Serpent 3.53 avg rating — 75 ratings — published 1905 — 71 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Madame Midas (Melbourne Trilogy, #2) 3.56 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 1888 — 96 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lady from Nowhere 3.49 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 1900 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Fergus Hume…

Series by Fergus Hume

Melbourne Trilogy (3 books)
by

Fergus Hume

3.57 avg rating — 2,023 ratings

Quotes by Fergus Hume (?)

“I was not myself on that night. The wine was in and the wit was out.”
― Fergus Hume, The Silent House

tags: humorous

5 likes

“I agree with Heine's remark, that if the Romans had been forced to learn it (Latin) they would not have found time to conquer the world.”
― Fergus Hume

tags: humor

4 likes

“Young men of the present day are prone to disparage their womenkind; but a poor thing is the man, who in time of trouble has no woman to stand by him with cheering words and loving comfort”
― Fergus Hume, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

1 likes

See all Fergus Hume's quotes »

Polls

Which golden age English mystery would you like to read with us during January 2024? Please vote here.

A Coin of Edward VII by Fergus Hume

23 votes, 29.9%

The Night of Fear by Moray Dalton

20 votes, 26.0%

Tragedy at Law by Cyril Hare

18 votes, 23.4%

Verdict of Twelve by Raymond W. Postgate

16 votes, 20.8%

77 total votes

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Fergus Hume’s Followers (56)

Fergus Hume

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Fergus Hume’s books