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A Treasury of Classic Mystery Stories
MURDER MOST FOUL! Kidnapping most treacherous: Larceny, swindling, poisoning, and suicide! Mystery tales of the nine- teenth and early twentieth century teem with some of the most nefarious crimes ever imagined. A Treasury of Classic Mystery Stories collects twenty- three masterpieces from this gold- en age of mystery fiction—tales that laid the groundwork for mystery fic- tion being written today. So sit back, relax. and immerse yourself in some of the best-told mystery stories of all time by some of the greatest writers Of the past two centuries—or, see how sharp you yourself are at solving some of the most baffling mysteries in the annals of literature, including:
792 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2016
23 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Émile Gaboriau
476 books56 followersGaboriau was born in the small town of Saujon, Charente-Maritime. He became a secretary to Paul Féval, and after publishing some novels and miscellaneous writings, found his real gift in L'Affaire Lerouge (1866).
The book, which was Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced an amateur detective. It also introduced a young police officer named Monsieur Lecoq, who was the hero in three of Gaboriau's later detective novels. The character of Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned police officer, Eugène François Vidocq (1775–1857), whose own memoirs, Les Vrais Mémoires de Vidocq, mixed fiction and fact. It may also have been influenced by the villainous Monsieur Lecoq, one of the main protagonists of Féval's Les Habits Noirs book series.
The book was published in "Le Siècle" and at once made his reputation. Gaboriau gained a huge following, but when Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, Monsieur Lecoq's international fame declined. The story was produced on the stage in 1872. A long series of novels dealing with the annals of the police court followed, and proved very popular. Gaboriau died in Paris of pulmonary apoplexy.
Gaboriau's books were generally well received. About the Mystery of the Orcival, Harper's wrote in 1872 "Of its class of romance - French sensational - this is a remarkable and unique specimen". A film version of Le Dossier n° 113 (File No. 113) was released in 1932.
The book, which was Gaboriau's first detective novel, introduced an amateur detective. It also introduced a young police officer named Monsieur Lecoq, who was the hero in three of Gaboriau's later detective novels. The character of Lecoq was based on a real-life thief turned police officer, Eugène François Vidocq (1775–1857), whose own memoirs, Les Vrais Mémoires de Vidocq, mixed fiction and fact. It may also have been influenced by the villainous Monsieur Lecoq, one of the main protagonists of Féval's Les Habits Noirs book series.
The book was published in "Le Siècle" and at once made his reputation. Gaboriau gained a huge following, but when Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, Monsieur Lecoq's international fame declined. The story was produced on the stage in 1872. A long series of novels dealing with the annals of the police court followed, and proved very popular. Gaboriau died in Paris of pulmonary apoplexy.
Gaboriau's books were generally well received. About the Mystery of the Orcival, Harper's wrote in 1872 "Of its class of romance - French sensational - this is a remarkable and unique specimen". A film version of Le Dossier n° 113 (File No. 113) was released in 1932.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 28, 2022
I finished reading this collection of classic mystery stories (dating from 1900, give or take twenty years). I very much enjoyed the stories, but I cannot say that I enjoyed the book, for reasons I will soon explain.
These stories include such gems as The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, The Mysterious Card by Cleveland Moffett, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, Room Number 3 by Anna Katharine Green, The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. Reeve, Justice Ends at Home by Rex Stout, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.
My objection to the book containing these and other stories (a Barnes and Noble edition) was that when I was reading one of my stories, the pagination went from 520 straight to 569, cutting off one of the stories, omitting one story entirely, and cutting off the beginning of a third story. I was able to read the stories in question by reading them online, but not everyone might have that option.
So, I will say that I loved the stories in this book, but that I cannot recommend this particular edition to anyone; one expects when one purchases a book at the bookstore that it will have all the pages it is supposed to have included in the volume in proper order.
These stories include such gems as The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, The Mysterious Card by Cleveland Moffett, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, Room Number 3 by Anna Katharine Green, The Poisoned Pen by Arthur B. Reeve, Justice Ends at Home by Rex Stout, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.
My objection to the book containing these and other stories (a Barnes and Noble edition) was that when I was reading one of my stories, the pagination went from 520 straight to 569, cutting off one of the stories, omitting one story entirely, and cutting off the beginning of a third story. I was able to read the stories in question by reading them online, but not everyone might have that option.
So, I will say that I loved the stories in this book, but that I cannot recommend this particular edition to anyone; one expects when one purchases a book at the bookstore that it will have all the pages it is supposed to have included in the volume in proper order.
May 12, 2020
Alright. Bit of a slog to get through, but still wanted to give it an honest go before moving it out.
For the most part, standard type of mystery stories for the eras; enjoyable if a bit predictable when one is reading a trove of them. The old fashioned social norms were a bit grating and exasperating especially if one was a lady or a foreigner or belonging to the service class of the upstairs/downstairs structure. So it goes for older tales.
Highlights:
-Rich people either get bamboozled a lot or unnecessarily obscure or complicate investigations due to propriety.
-Although Holmes is my private detective of choice, it's fun to see how many of Doyle's contemporaries put their spin on the genius detective subgenre/archetype.
-Shoutout to Ernest Bramah; glad Max being a blind detective was neither debilitating toward his detective work nor a super power that made sleuthing a walk in the park.
-Poirot always reminds me of what a Hastings I can be; though I spotted the true romantic relationship statuses a mile away.
-Even though I prefer the more Holmes heavy stories, Hound of the Baskervilles is always a comfort.
-Glad I finally read a Lupin story by Leblanc; quite good and Lupin is the honorable scoundrel I've
glad to have finally met. Must remember to put Lupin stories in my read list.
Not highlights:
-Half of the stories I've already forgotten they bore more so.
A nice collection to find some relatively unfamiliar authors that measure up to classic mystery writers. Some can be a bit dull.
For the most part, standard type of mystery stories for the eras; enjoyable if a bit predictable when one is reading a trove of them. The old fashioned social norms were a bit grating and exasperating especially if one was a lady or a foreigner or belonging to the service class of the upstairs/downstairs structure. So it goes for older tales.
Highlights:
-Rich people either get bamboozled a lot or unnecessarily obscure or complicate investigations due to propriety.
-Although Holmes is my private detective of choice, it's fun to see how many of Doyle's contemporaries put their spin on the genius detective subgenre/archetype.
-Shoutout to Ernest Bramah; glad Max being a blind detective was neither debilitating toward his detective work nor a super power that made sleuthing a walk in the park.
-Poirot always reminds me of what a Hastings I can be; though I spotted the true romantic relationship statuses a mile away.
-Even though I prefer the more Holmes heavy stories, Hound of the Baskervilles is always a comfort.
-Glad I finally read a Lupin story by Leblanc; quite good and Lupin is the honorable scoundrel I've
glad to have finally met. Must remember to put Lupin stories in my read list.
Not highlights:
-Half of the stories I've already forgotten they bore more so.
A nice collection to find some relatively unfamiliar authors that measure up to classic mystery writers. Some can be a bit dull.
October 7, 2021
I enjoyed the immense amount of varied authors and stories in this book is great from The Hound of Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle to The poisoned pen by Arthur B Reeve. All the authors in this collection did a spectacular with the description and information in each story. The stories couldn´t be more intriguing if they were written again in this day and age. The only bad part of the collection is it sometimes feels as though the stories drag out from 16 to 111 pages long. Other than that all the stories are great reads.
March 31, 2019
Some real gems in here, but also some stories were tough get through. Overall well worth the purchase.
February 2, 2017
Wonderful collection! Other than a few did the mysteries were good and they helped me find some new authors. I'm quite pleased with my find.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews