Cover of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

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  • 6 hours to read
  • 36 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"The Mystery of a Hansom Cab" by Fergus Hume is a detective novel written in the late 19th century, likely during the Victorian era. The book centers around a mysterious murder that takes place in a hansom cab in Melbourne, drawing readers into the intricacies of crime, investigation, and human intrigue as various characters become entwined in the mystery, most notably the detective Mr. Gorby who is determined to uncover the truth. At the start of the novel, readers are introduced to the shocking murder of a man whose identity is unknown. The narrative excerpts details from a newspaper report discussing the circumstances surrounding the crime, including the key witness, cab driver Malcolm Royston, who recounts how the victim was assisted into the cab by a gentleman in a light coat. This mysterious figure quickly becomes a focal point for detectives as they search for clues leading to the murderer. As the investigation unfolds through a series of witness testimonies and newspaper articles, tensions rise, suggesting that the crime is entwined with personal vendettas and social rivalries, hinting at deeper motivations and connections among the characters involved.

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  • Fiction
  • Detective and mystery stories, English

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Chapter I

WHAT THE ARGUS SAID.

The following report appeared in the Argus newspaper of Saturday, the 28th July, 18—

"Truth is said to be stranger than fiction, and certainly the extraordinary murder which took place in Melbourne on Thursday night, or rather Friday morning, goes a long way towards verifying this saying. A crime has been committed by an unknown assassin, within a short distance of the principal streets of this great city, and is surrounded by an inpenetrable mystery. Indeed, from the nature of the crime itself, the place where it was committed, and the fact that the assassin has escaped without leaving a trace behind him, it would seem as though the case itself had been taken bodily from one of Gaboreau's novels, and that his famous detective Lecoq alone would be able to unravel it. The facts of the case are simply these:—

"On the twenty-seventh day of July, at the hour of twenty minutes to two o'clock in the morning, a hansom cab drove up to the police station in Grey Street, St. Kilda, and the driver made the startling statement that his cab contained the body of a man who he had reason to believe had been murdered. Being taken into the presence of the inspector, the cabman, who gave his name as Malcolm Royston, related the following strange story:—

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Contents

Show all 36 chapters
  1. Preface
  2. Chapter I
  3. Chapter II
  4. Chapter III
  5. Chapter IV
  6. Chapter V
  7. Chapter VI
  8. Chapter VII
  9. Chapter VIII
  10. Chapter IX
  11. Chapter X
  12. Chapter XI
  13. Chapter XII
  14. Chapter XIII
  15. Chapter XIV
  16. Chapter XV
  17. Chapter XVI
  18. Chapter XVII
  19. Chapter XVIII
  20. Chapter XIX
  21. Chapter XX: The "Argus" Gives Its Opinion
  22. Chapter XXI
  23. Chapter XXII
  24. Chapter XXIII
  25. Chapter XXIV
  26. Chapter XXV
  27. Chapter XXVI
  28. Chapter XXVII
  29. Chapter XXVIII
  30. Chapter XXIX
  31. Chapter XXX
  32. Chapter XXXI
  33. Chapter XXXII
  34. Chapter XXXIII
  35. Chapter XXXIV
  36. Chapter XXXV: "The Love That Lives."

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About this edition

This free edition of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #4223, released 2003-07-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery, Novels.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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