The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery fiction novel by the Australian writer Fergus Hume. The book was first published in Australia in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered in a hansom cab, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city. The book was successful in Australia, selling 100,000 copies in the first two print runs. It was then published in Britain and the United States, and went on to sell over half a million copies worldwide, outselling the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, A Study in Scarlet (1887).^[1]

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab received praise in works including A Companion to Crime Fiction,^[2] A History of the Book in Australia 1891–1945,^[3] and A History of Victoria,^[4] and was featured in the book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories.^[5] A parody version was published in 1888, and film adaptations were produced in 1911, 1915 and 1925.^[6][7][8] The story was adapted into a BBC Radio serial in 1958,^[9] a stage play in 1990,^[10] a radio promotion in 1991^[11] and a telemovie in 2012.^[12]

Originally from Britain, Fergusson Wright Hume worked as a barrister's clerk in Melbourne, Australia, at the time of the book's first publication.^[2] He went on to become a prolific author, and wrote more than 130 novels in fiction subjects including adventure and science fiction.^[2][3][5]

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab takes place in Melbourne, Australia, and involves an investigation into a homicide, after a corpse is discovered in the early hours, in a hansom cab. Melbourne plays a significant role in the plot and, as the author describes, "Over all the great city hung a cloud of smoke like a pall."^[13] The killer's identity is not as significant a revelation in the story as are the roles of the influential and secretive Frettlby family, and their secret: they have a daughter living on the streets, and the woman everyone assumes is their daughter is illegitimate. The class divide between Melbourne's wealthy and less fortunate is addressed throughout the plot.^[14]

The protagonist in the novel is a policeman named Detective Gorby, who is given the task of solving the murder.^[15] As Hume describes the character's investigative skills, "He looked keenly round the room, and his estimate of the dead man's character was formed at once."^[15] The author commented in a later introduction, "All of the scenes in the book, especially the slums, are described from personal observation; and I passed a great many nights in Little Bourke Street, gathering material".^[2] At this time, the street was notorious as a place frequented by prostitutes and criminals.^[16]

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The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was first published in Melbourne in 1886 and in Britain in 1887^[2] (the author self-published the first edition)^[1][5] and in the United States in 1888, by George Munro.^[17] Hume wrote an introduction to a revised edition published in 1898,^[2] and later publications have included those by the publishers Arno in 1976, and by Dover in 1982,^[18][19] and a new Australian edition with an introduction by Simon Caterson, in 1999 by The Text Publishing Company, which has been reprinted several times.^[20]

A parody edition, titled The Mystery of a Wheelbarrow (1888), is attributed to a W. Humer Ferguson.^[6][22] The same year, it was adapted for the stage by Arthur Law.^[23]

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1911) is a film produced by Amalgamated Pictures, an Australian adaptation of the book.^[8][24]

In 1915, the book was again adapted into a film with screenplay by Eliot Stannard.^[7] Directed by Harold Weston, the film starred the actors Milton Rosmer, Fay Temple, A. V. Bramble, James Dale and Arthur Walcott.^[25][7][26]

A remake of the 1911 version of the film was produced in 1925, in Australia.^[8] Made by Pyramid Pictures, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab cast included Arthur Shirley, Grace Glover, Godfrey Cass, Cora Warner and Isa Crossley.^[8][27]

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was a 1935 reissue of the 1925 Australian silent film. It was released by Pathescope.^[28]

The book was read out on ABC radio in 1954.^[29]

A six-part radio serial adaptation was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme from 2 November to 7 December 1958.

The Melbourne television station GTV-9 produced a version of the play in 1962, adapted by Barry Pree, as part of The General Motors Hour.^[30]

Michael Rodger adapted the story as a stage play in 1990 and a radio promotion in 1991 by Queensland Performing Arts Trust.^[10][11]

Burberry Entertainment, in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, produced a telemovie adaptation which was premiered on 28 October 2012 and stars John Waters, Oliver Ackland, Helen Morse and Jessica De Gouw.^[12][31]

A German translation of the novel appeared in 1895 under the title "Das Geheimnis eines Fiakers", shifting the setting of the story from Melbourne to Vienna and also changing the names of the characters. This adaptation was re-published in a modernized version by Hainer Plaul in the German Democratic Republic in 1984 under the title "Das Geheimnnis des Fiakers".

• Crime fiction
• Detective fiction
• Giallo
• List of crime writers
• Mystery fiction
• Whodunit