Classic Mystery Stories: Poe, Dickens, London, Collins and others

by Douglas G. Greene (Editor), Jack London, Charles Dickens

A tribute to the first great age of fictional sleuthing, this delightful collection of 13 mystery classics is devoted to genuine tales of ratiocination. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Charles Dickens' "Three Detective Anecdotes," Jack London's "The Leopard Man Story," and 10 others. Introduction. Notes.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Classics, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Douglas G. Greene is an American historian, editor, and author. Greene is Emeritus Professor of History at Old Dominion University, specializing in Tudor and Stuart Britain.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really more like a 3.5 star book, but one story pulled it up. A Jury of Her Peers is definitely the best in the book. Subtle, wry, and very smart. I'm tempted to keep the book just for that story.

[Googoogjoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of an odd anthology. Despite what the title might be read to imply, this isn't really a "best-of" of detective/mystery stories. Rather, this collection sort of depicts the development of the detective story across 80 years or so, from Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue up to the "golden age" of post-Holmes puzzlebox stories.

It's very uneven, and the selection of stories is sort of odd. The selection seems to be based less on artistic merit or lasting impact, and more, perhaps, on illustrating what sort of crime/mystery/detective story was popular at the time. The brief introduction to "The Phantom Motor" says that the better-known "The Problem of Cell 13" is disqualified from inclusion on the grounds that it isn't actually a detective story- but neither are several other stories here. Two of the earliest stories, Dickens's "Three "Detective" Anecdotes" and Collins's "The Biter Bit," are sort of proto-police procedurals, with the latter being ultimately almost a burlesque of police procedurals before the genre really existed. Jack London's "The Leopard Man's Story" involves no mystery at all, being framed as the anecdotal recounting of an unusual murder. Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers," probably the best-known and most-acclaimed of the stories in this collection after Poe's, is also not really much of a mystery- it's a drama that uses a crime to frame its action and social commentary. (This edition curiously and carelessly omits the last three lines of "A Jury of Her Peers," undercutting the recapitulation of some of its themes at the very end.) (Edit: I informed the publisher of this, and they've said it will be fixed in future printings.)

The later stories tend to feature Sherlock Holmes knockoffs, often with goofy gimmicks (Samuel Hopkins Adams's advertising-themed Average Jones, Gelett Burgess's phony mystic Astro Kerby, Melville Davisson Post's folksily wise Uncle Abner, et al), solving simplistic puzzle stories. At best, these are pretty fun ("The Million-Dollar Dog," "The Ordinary Hairpins," "The Archduke's Tea"), but realistically these stories are all pretty flimsy and ephemeral, and now mostly obscure for a reason. It was nice to get to know them in these small doses, at least.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting from a historical perspective, but most of the stories weren't great. The only two standouts were Poe (for novelty) and "A Jury of Her Peers."

[Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 13 detective/mystery short stories from the Golden Age of puzzle mysteries (except Poe's much earlier Rue Morgue tale). The stories are all in the 15-25 page range by authors who had some following back in the day but are mostly forgotten today. Except for Poe's inclusion, the stories are probably representative of the period but none of them strike me as particularly noteworthy. Probably a book for the reader who considers himself a student of mystery writing as opposed to being simply a fan.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-chosen short stories. Who knew Dickens could be so dramatic? Some are famous (Poe, Jack London), some are less-known (the remarkable Susan Glaspell, active 1909-1945, won the Puliter Prize in 1931 for Drama). E.C. Bentley's short story about the hairpins was indeed classic, my favorite.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these classic mystery stories from the early days of "mystery" writing. From Edgar Allen Poe to H.C. Bailey, I have lots of new authors to look for! Also, pretty quick reads!

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really finished with this collection of short stories, but I want to do my 'paperwork' on it now because it is going north with me this week and by the time I get back, there will naturally be other books on my mind.

Mom wanted me to read this, which is why it is going north now. I do believe in returning books, even if it takes a 28 hour bus ride to do it. LOL

I've read a few of the stories, but need to stop and save the rest to read while waiting in the bus station on Monday.

With authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Gelett Burgess, and Baroness Orczy (of The Scarlet Pimpernel fame) there are some delightful choices here. I liked best (so far) Jack London's 'The Leopard Man's Story', but 'The Phantom Moter' by Jacques Futrelle was another good one: a locked room mystery with an outdoor twist.

Some authors I have heard of (Charles Dickens, everyone I mentioned above) but others are new to me (Melville Davisson Post, H. C. Bailey). I don't know for sure how I will like their stories and the others I haven't come to yet, but based on what I have read so far I'll give this book three stars.

[Yehudit Epstein]

Very enjoyable.