The Chronicles of Martin Hewitt

Arthur Morrison

Second collection of detective fiction concerning Martin Hewitt, a famous private detective whose methods closely resemble those of Sherlock Holmes. The anthology is composed of six short stories, mysteries investigated by the investigator Martin Hewitt, and narrated by his friend, Colonel Brett. An artists work is vindictively vandalized, and the artist is found murdered in his smoking room. Gold bullion totaling L10,000 mysteriously vanishes from the ill-fated steamship Nicobar as it sinks en route to Plymouth. A clerk disappears from a large London bank along with a rather substantial amount of the companys money. A lunatic Frenchman, discovered beaten and bloody in the street, screams in terror when offered a loaf of bread. The detective Martin Hewitt is on the case.

The Dorrington Deed Box

Arthur Morrison

English writer Morrison chronicles the exploits of Horace Dorrington, a raconteur and scoundrel who hails from a very different social strata than the typical Victorian detective. Mr. Dorrington himself is a marvelous creation, charming and with no moral scruples whatsoever, clever, and entirely devoted to achieving as great a profit for himself as possible if this involves doing some honest detection, that is fine if it involved extorting the criminal instead of turning him over to the police, no problem, if it involves having the client murdered well, some things cant be helped. There are six short stories in this collection which begins with The Narrative of Mr. James Rigby. Definitely fun and recommended for readers who want to explore the darker side of Victorian detective stories.

The Green Eye of Goona

Arthur Morrison

Morrisons most popular books are probably his detective stories, featuring Martin Hewitt, a methodical investigator, who uses his ability to be thoroughly at home among any and every class of people to invite confidences in gathering evidence. Martin Hewitt stories are similar in style to those of Conan Doyle, cleverly plotted and very amusing. Morrison made two other forays into the detective field, the first: The Dorrington Deed-Box, which introduces the quasi-criminal antihero Dorrington, and The Green Eye of Goona, a pastiche of Wilkie Collinss The Moon-Stone. The Green Eye of Goona novel is set in India. Unusual and imaginative in subject matter, meticulously plotted, and smoothly written, this story will captivate mystery lovers.

The Hole in the Wall

Arthur Morrison

Morrison, a novelist and short-story writer, is most often remembered for a series featuring the detective Martin Hewitt, but before that, he wrote several grim and violent books about life in the London slums. The Hole in the Wall is one of the most gripping adventure stories ever written. Stephen Kemp goes to live with his mysterious grandfather after his mothers death, and is gradually drawn into the seedy world which Captain Nat Kemp inhabits. The author brilliantly conveys the childs sharp observation of all that goes on around him, and builds up portrait of the picaresque life of the East End of London at the turn of the 20th century with humanity and humor he himself may have known as a boy. It is considered a classic of English story-telling and worth a read.

The Red Triangle

Arthur Morrison

Fourth and last collection of detective fiction featuring Martin Hewitt, a famous private detective whose methods closely resemble those of Sherlock Holmes. The plot lines of all six linked sensation stories in this collection center on the mystery of the Red Triangle, a group of villains known only from the Red Triangle left stamped on the heads of their victims, and the actions of Martin Hewitt and his narrator, esteemed journalist Mr. Brett, in bringing the members of that group to justice. This work includes the following stories: The affair of Samuels diamonds, The case of Mr. Jacob Mason, The case of the Lever Key, The case of the burnt barn, The case of the Admiralty code and The adventure of Channel Marsh.

To London Town

Arthur Morrison

A widow and her two children struggle to make ends meet in East London after their grandfather and provider is killed. First they are threatened by a sponging uncle and his friend Mr. Butson, a cadger of suppers, then by their new landlord Mr. Dunkin, a man who exudes a wealth of sympathy, a wealth that Mr. Dunkin squandered with no restraint but this, that it carried no other sort of wealth with it. To London Town novel was intended to provide a picture of working-class life in the East End of London at the end of the nineteenth century. Arthur Morrison, (1863-1945), English writer noted for realist novels and short stories describing slum life in Londons East End at the end of the Victorian era. A Child of the Jago and To London Town completed this East End trilogy.

Zig-Zags at the Zoo

Arthur Morrison

Arthur Morrison was a prolific journalist and author best known for his detective fiction that featured the lawyer-detective Martin Hewitt, who was the most successful rival to Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes. His realistic novels and stories are sober in tone, but the characters are portrayed with a Dickensian colorfulness. His attitude toward the people he described was paternalist, rather than radical, and he opposed socialism and the trades-union movement. This was one of a series of humorous articles about the different types of animals at London Zoo, such as a bear, lion, camel, simian, and fish, with the overall title Zig-Zags at the Zoo; all were profusely illustrated with cartoons. Zig Zags at the Zoo was a lighthearted illustrated feature that appeared in Londons Strand Magazine in the 1890s.