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Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries Collection, Volume One
NOTE: This edition has a linked "Table of Contents" and has been beautifully formatted (searchable and interlinked) to work on your Amazon e-book reader.
1069 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2002
87 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
R. Austin Freeman
604 books89 followersRichard Freeman was born in Soho, London on 11 April 1862, the son of Ann Maria (nee Dunn) and Richard Freeman, a tailor. He was originally named Richard, and later added the Austin to his name.
He became a medical trainee at Middlesex Hospital Medical College, and was accepted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
He married Annie Elizabeth Edwards in 1887; they had two sons. After a few weeks of married life, the couple found themselves in Accra on the Gold Coast, where he was assistant surgeon. His time in Africa produced plenty of hard work, very little money and ill health, so much so that after seven years he was invalided out of the service in 1891. He wrote his first book, 'Travels and Life in Ashanti and Jaman', which was published in 1898. It was critically acclaimed but made very little money.
On his return to England he set up an eye/ear/nose/throat practice, but in due course his health forced him to give up medicine, although he did have occasional temporary posts, and in World War I he was in the ambulance corps.
He became a writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. The first of the books in the series was 'The Red Thumb Mark' (1907). His first published crime novel was 'The Adventures of Romney Pringle' (1902) and was a collaborative effort published under the pseudonym Clifford Ashdown. Within a few years he was devoting his time to full-time writing.
With the publication of 'The Singing Bone' (1912) he invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective's attempt to solve the mystery). Thereafter he used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.
A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.
He died in Gravesend on 28 September 1943.
He became a medical trainee at Middlesex Hospital Medical College, and was accepted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
He married Annie Elizabeth Edwards in 1887; they had two sons. After a few weeks of married life, the couple found themselves in Accra on the Gold Coast, where he was assistant surgeon. His time in Africa produced plenty of hard work, very little money and ill health, so much so that after seven years he was invalided out of the service in 1891. He wrote his first book, 'Travels and Life in Ashanti and Jaman', which was published in 1898. It was critically acclaimed but made very little money.
On his return to England he set up an eye/ear/nose/throat practice, but in due course his health forced him to give up medicine, although he did have occasional temporary posts, and in World War I he was in the ambulance corps.
He became a writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. The first of the books in the series was 'The Red Thumb Mark' (1907). His first published crime novel was 'The Adventures of Romney Pringle' (1902) and was a collaborative effort published under the pseudonym Clifford Ashdown. Within a few years he was devoting his time to full-time writing.
With the publication of 'The Singing Bone' (1912) he invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective's attempt to solve the mystery). Thereafter he used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.
A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.
He died in Gravesend on 28 September 1943.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 26, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
October 29, 2018
These mysteries are fictionalized versions of cases of the medical jurist in England at the turn of the 20th century. Recent scientific advancements, use of scientific method and medical knowledge are key to the solving of mysteries that would have gone unsolved or unrecognized as crimes. As not much is known at the time of the tales about the work of the medical jurist, Dr. Thorndyke is a kind of secret weapon for those whose legal troubles are seemingly insurmountable.
R. Austin Freeman's writing is clear, romantic and expository. The first of the tales appears to have been published in 1902 and the writing is "of the time." In my opinion, Dr. Thorndyke is the kind of character we don't get to read in modern fiction. I find this refreshing.
R. Austin Freeman's writing is clear, romantic and expository. The first of the tales appears to have been published in 1902 and the writing is "of the time." In my opinion, Dr. Thorndyke is the kind of character we don't get to read in modern fiction. I find this refreshing.
April 6, 2015
Very good deductive mysteries. R. Austin Freeman was himself a doctor, if I recall rightly, and I love his main character, Dr. Thorndyke.
November 16, 2012
A good series of mysteries although each tended to be just a bit too detailed. I enjoyed reading them and working with Thorndyke as he found the clues, like puzzle pieces, and fitted them in to the situation.
April 17, 2014
The Thorndyke mysteries are a lot of fun -- early, early CSI stuff.
His heroines are very modern -- intelligent, well-spoken, for the most part calm in a crisis. The treatment of women alone makes these worth the read.
His heroines are very modern -- intelligent, well-spoken, for the most part calm in a crisis. The treatment of women alone makes these worth the read.
June 6, 2011
A little old-fashioned and cheesy, but interesting - fine for the price and an entertaining read.
March 26, 2018
Lots of great "Sherlock Holmes" like stories. Atheistic protagonist but not overly antagonistic to Christians.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews