| Madame Midas by Fergus Hume, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Action & Adventure Contributor(s): Hume, Fergus (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 1606642235 ISBN-13: 9781606642238 Publisher: Aegypan OUR PRICE: $14.36 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 2008 * Not available - Not in print at this time *Annotation: Madame Midas -- that is what they call Mrs. Villiers, living in the Australian mining town of Ballarat. She once possessed enormous wealth, built up over the years by her loving father -- and then learned the least pleasant of lessons, marrying an Englishman whose true colors were soon unfurled at every nearby gambling and drinking establishment. But having left him behind, and establishing herself in Ballarat, she has found herself possessed of enough acumen to make a success of herself, and to earn to respect of all. Now into her world arrive two strangers -- a pair of Frenchmen who have made a desperate escape from prison on a tiny boat upon the sea, and who hope to find fortune and a new life on this rugged coast. The society of Ballarat may witness budding romance -- perhaps . . . and murder, most certainly. Fergus Hume (1859-1932) was author of novels of mystery and detection including "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," "The Secret Passage" and "The Silent House." |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Mystery & Detective - General - Fiction | Action & Adventure |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Physical Information: 0.57" H x 6" W x 9" (0.82 lbs) 252 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Contributor Bio(s): Hume, Fergus: - "Fergusson Wright Hume (1859 - 1932), known as Fergus Hume, was a prolific English novelist. Finding that the novels of Emile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne, Hume obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of the same kind. The result was The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, set in Melbourne, with descriptions of poor urban life based on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. It was self-published in 1886 and became a great success. Because he sold the British and American rights for 50 pounds, however, he reaped little of the potential financial benefit. It became the best-selling mystery novel of the Victorian era; in 1990 John Sutherland called it the "most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century." This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle remarked, "Hansom Cab was a slight tale, mostly sold by 'puffing'." After the success of his first novel and the publication of another, Professor Brankel's Secret (c.?1886), Hume returned to England in 1888. His third novel was titled Madame Midas and it was based on the life of the mine and newspaper owner Alice Ann Cornwell. This book became a play and her estranged husband, John Whiteman, sued over its content. Hume resided in London for a few years and then moved to the Essex countryside where he lived in Thundersley for 30 years. Eventually he produced more than 100 novels and short stories." |
