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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

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Murder Will Out

By Truant

“Eight bells. Call the watch.”

“Ay, ay, sir,” answered the boatswain’s mate, who executed the order in a short space of time, for he and the watch on deck were worn out, having been busy handling and trimming sail.

This occurred on board a United States sloop-of-war, which we will call the Nantilus, one stormy night in December of 1863, as she stood off and on in the neighborhood of Frying-pan Shoals, waiting for daylight, to run up to the flagship and report her arrival. She had just been put in commission and ordered to report for duty to the Admiral of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. From her main-truck to the keelbolts she was new, and consequently her crew were worked harder to handle her than they otherwise would be.

She was officered with the intent of performing off-shore duty, and was afterward known as a first-class ship for paper-collar sailors to emigrate from. Commander Shufeldt, our captain, had seen some eighteen years’ service, and lately had acted as Professor of Mathematics at Annapolis. Lieutenant Commander Jones, our executive officer, was but a few years behind the captain in service, and was known to the Department at Washington as just the man to break in the new ship and her crew; while our sailing master enjoyed the reputation of being par excellence in his line of duties. The remainder of the watch officers were all acting volunteers, among whom was the writer, in the capacity of ensign.

Nothing of importance had occurred during our passage until this… 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?