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

A Strange Story

Wonderful Chain of Circumstantial Evidence

A certain Dr.—, many years ago traveling in the West, became acquainted, on board a steamboat, with a Mr. Hamilton, who had been a member of the Legislature from his district, and was again a candidate for that office. After passing their time pleasantly, and becoming well acquainted with each other in the course of the trip, Hamilton, on landing, invited the doctor to pass to his house in the village, which was kept by his sister, and tarry with him while he stayed in that part of the country. The doctor remained with them a short time, and then departed on the land inspecting tour into the interior, which was the object of his visit to the West.

On leaving the village on horseback, Hamilton accompanied the doctor to show him his way, but becoming interested in the conversation of his companion, and not being particularly engaged at home, he continued with him when, among a number of branching roads, they lost their way. After journeying on until dark, in hope of reaching some house where they might obtain the requisite direction, they reached, just at night fall, the banks of a river on which they found the encampment of three stout laboring wayfarers, with their families and wagons. They asked permission to spend the night with the party, and spent a portion of it around the fires, engaged in conversation on their various plans of emigration and settlement.

At daylight preparations were made for separation, and Dr.— received from one of the three men the direction of the desired road. He told him there were two roads, called the “upper” and “lower” roads, but the “lower” one was that which he should take. He took the one advised, and started with Hamilton. They went a short distance together, when Hamilton bade him good-by and left him. But before he departed the doctor told Hamilton that he knew he… 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?