The News

Web Site Showcases
American Detective Fiction

Posting all Detective Fiction
Prior to Conan Doyle

Fully Searchable

The mission of the Westminster Detective Library to catalog and make available online all the short fiction dealing with detectives and detection published in the United States before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891).

This site grew out of research for the anthology Early American Detective Stories (McFarland 2008) that I edited with my mentor and colleague LeRoy Lad Panek (1943-2021), winner of two Edgar awards for his contributions to the scholarly field of detective criticism. We uncovered a treasure-trove of forgotten and previously unavailable detective stories, many more than could be included in a single anthology. And so this on-going project was born.

The site includes a working bibliography; full-text copy of entries are added as they are prepared. A few stories that were published in Britain but which appear to have been previously published in America have also been included and are indicated by an asterisk in the bibliography. I welcome comments and solicit both additional bibliographical entries and texts.

Mary M. Bendel-Simso, editor

Select Story

Our Thief’s Account

A Page from a Merchant’s Diary

by Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.

By Amos Tilden and myself formed a co-partnership for the purpose of doing business in L—. The large, new factories were just commencing operations; and as we had thus taken time by the forelock, and had, moreover, secured an excellent location in the business portion of the town, we anticipated a good run of custom; and I may as well remark here that we were not disappointed. Tilden was forty years of age, over six feet in height, and stout in proportion; but, very fortunately for us weaker vessels, he was one of the best natured fellows that ever lived; though he could, upon a pinch, look very savage. I, then a mere youth, with only my money to recommend me, was very fortunate in this first business association; for my partner was not only the very soul of honor and integrity, but he “knew just exactly how to do it.” Our stock-in-trade consisted of clothing, hats, caps, furs, boots and shoes, and such other articles as might be generally found in a gentleman’s furnishing store.

One bright morning in early autumn I had my shawl upon my arm, ready to start for the city, whither I was going to buy goods.

“I think,” said Tilden, “that you had better get a dozen of the finest caps you can find. If you cannot find the very finest quality of beaver, get otter.”

“Why not get collars and gauntlets to match,” I suggested.

It was finally arranged that I should get a dozen full sets of gentleman’s furs—half good beaver, and half of the finest otter.

Within a fortnight after I had made the purchase the beaver sets were all sold, and two of the otters had gone. A third otter set was arranged in our show-window, and while Tilden was gone to dinner one day I took the furs out and tried them on. They fitted me exactly, and I made up my mind that if they were… Read More

Miscellany

The Detective of the Present -- Finn and Jourdan

Time was when a detective was a man who detected things. A detective is still that in some European countries; and he still detects things—in novels. There's Buckett in “Bleak House” who detects Lady Dedlook, and there's that detective in Collin’s story of the “Moon Stone,” quite a detector. New York used to have Old Hayes, who could detect a thing or two; Paris has had Vidocq, and Bow street has had Forster.* But the race has died out entirely in America, and is dying out in England.

Commissioner Jourdan, of Brooklyn, has been making an effort to raise up a detective or two and has actually produced Corr and Bill. Corr and Bill were raised to the Vidocquian task of tracing a mystic murder. Finnan is a hatter; and Finnan has been in States Prison. That ought to be enough for any detective such as Corr to concluded that Finnan did the deed. Edgar A. Poe could not reason out a conclusion clearer than that. So Corr went to where Finnan was making hats.

Is Finnan here? Yes—want to see him?