Blockbuster! Fergus Hume and The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a true story by Lucy Sussex, born in New Zealand, and so perfectly situated to unravel this tale of the blockbuster "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," written by would-be playwright and, Dunedin émigré, Fergus Hume. A smash in Australia, Hume couldn't think far enough outside his country to see its appeal and sold the rights for the American version for 50 lbs.

Lots of local color, details about the publishing world, and 19th c. Victorian small-mindedness.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Interesting, wry and told with a wit that only someone from New Zealand and Australia can have. I found it incredible to have never have heard of Fergus Hume, especially when so many have him to thank for the genre they write in. I've got copies of his work still to read and I'm looking forward to the romp.

In 1885, Fergus Hume (an Australian New Zealander) wrote the first bestselling detective fiction, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, selling it for 50 pounds and missing out on the fortune earned by his patrons, publishers, and all manner of middle men and women. Sussex covers a great many aspects of the creation, distribution, and legacy of this novel. I read that she is a ‘literary archaeologist’, an apt description for the forensic detail contained within this book. For anyone interested in the origins of the detective fiction genre, literary history, and how some things have hardly changed for Australian authors trying to break into the overseas market. I enjoyed this thoroughly.