The Green Mummy by Fergus Hume is a novel likely written during the late 19th century. The story revolves around a young couple, Archie Hope and Lucy Kendal, as they navigate romance against a backdrop filled with mystery and intrigue, particularly centering on a rare mummy that Lucy’s archaeologist stepfather, Professor Braddock, is eager to acquire.

At the start of the novel, listeners are introduced to Archie and Lucy, who share a playful yet serious conversation about their engagement. Archie reveals the lengths he has gone to in order to gain Professor Braddock’s consent to marry Lucy, involving the purchase of a valuable Peruvian mummy from Malta. Their lighthearted banter is soon overshadowed by more foreboding concerns regarding the mysterious mummy, as Lucy expresses unease about her stepfather’s obsession with archaeology.

The opening establishes a combination of romantic elements and hints at darker, unforeseen complications, setting the stage for a larger mystery involving the disappearance of the mummy and the tragic fate of Braddock’s assistant, which subsequently unfolds.

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A Woman’s Burden: A Novel by Fergus Hume is a work of fiction likely written in 1901. The novel opens with a dramatic scene on Waterloo Bridge, where various characters are thrust into a dark and gritty narrative marked by themes of poverty, desperation, and crime. The central character introduced in this opening is Miriam, a woman of poverty who intervenes to save an elderly gentleman from an attempted robbery by a man named Jabez, setting off a chain of events that involves crime, survival, and complex human dynamics.

At the start of the story, the atmosphere on Waterloo Bridge is thick with fog and foreboding, reflecting the struggles of the city’s downtrodden. Miriam’s selfless act of saving the gentleman from a dire fate reveals not only her physical bravery but also hints at deeper struggles and motivations tied to her relationship with Jabez. The gentleman later revealed to be Mr. Barton, becomes intrigued by Miriam and offers her assistance, which introduces a tension-filled relationship filled with mutual reliance and latent conflict. This sets the stage for a narrative woven around themes of social class, moral ambiguity, and the burdens carried by women like Miriam, suggesting her complex journey ahead in a world rife with challenges.

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‘The Case of the Lamp That Went Out’ by Auguste Groner is a mystery novel likely written during the late 19th century. The story revolves around Joseph Muller, an unassuming yet brilliant secret service detective of the Imperial Austrian police, who possesses a keen instinct for solving crimes. As he navigates a case involving a murdered man found in a quiet street, the narrative unfolds with a series of intricate clues and the challenges Muller faces both from the bureaucracy of his job and the moral dilemmas embedded in his investigation.

Originally published in 1920.

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Auguste Groner is a woman who wrote short detective novels in the early 20th century in Austria—these stories have been translated well and they fit in with an interesting group of early detectives.

These stories capture the beginnings of the stereotypical detective who appears to be too humble and unintelligent to solve complicated mysteries.

Originally published in 1920.

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Mary Shelley is of course known because of her short novel ‘Frankenstein’. Still, she was always writing, and these tales and mysteries written on her extended travels show how interested she was in the strangeness of people. I also think she wanted to make her mark in a tribute to her famous mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and her famous husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, who called her “a child of love and light.” She saw the movement to the future in rather dramatic and romantic terms but always with an eye to female struggle. Politically she believed in diplomacy and showing love to the opposition. These stories embody her views.

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A very early novel by Thomas Hardy—beautifully written but obviously written when he was a young man who was curious about why women fall in love and why men feel so mesmerized by them.

It really is a charming story and like the more famous stories, it is set in the idyllic countryside of West England. The descriptions of the landscape are very affecting.

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I have been interested in producing a compendium of interesting historical detective series from the early 20th century. There is a lot of interest in the early detectives created and here Arthur Morrison has brought to life Martin Hewitt. Really well written and a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civil servants and different moral codes that were being questioned pre WWI.

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Dorothy L. Sayers was a clever detective writing woman in the 1920s and she was really popular because her writing is skilled and her puzzles quirky. It’s very interesting to see where crime novels have gone now.

I would like to give this a modern voice so people can hear how clever it is …

Originally published in 1923.

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This is a perfect puzzle of a detective novel published in 1926. It contains speculation about Government officials, lawyers, and police. Even if you think you’ve worked out what is happening and your mind is switched on to this sort of novel, you will be very surprised at the ending! It’s a really thrilling adventure and such an interesting historical detective story …

Originally published in 1926.

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First published in 1924 the Baroness was very popular as a crime writer and she certainly was very successful and her writing is excellent. She wrote The Scarlett Pimpernell and The Old Man in the Corner and her female detective Molly is a precursor for many a modern 20th-century detective. This is a continuation of a previous group of mysteries and I notice no one has narrated them yet so I thought, they’re good, and they show life in the early 20th century with all its flaws. The use of the English language is interesting too. My how we’ve changed!

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This is a lovely collection of children’s tales collected and interpreted by Padraic Colum which he first published in 1916. It is very much like a continuous poem using some brilliant characters from many a traditional tale told around the hearth.

A charming narrative dedicated to Padraic’s beloved Ireland.

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A beautiful selection of poems from a young man who would become a brilliant author and essayist, a thinker who was very much at the forefront of changes in the twentieth century. Here is a book that could be carried in your pocket and enjoyed quickly—a poem of innocent love or remembrance of events that make the boy become the man.

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