A body is found in a Melbourne cab, launching a twisting investigation through the city's classes. A record-breaking early detective bestseller.
Books mentioned in The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (8)
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare: “Fitzgerald," said the young lady with a smile in her pretty black eyes, "that you are not a student of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.”
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: “A female Robinson Crusoe," says a writer who prided himself upon being a keen observer of human nature--"a female Robinson Crusoe would have gone mad for want of something to talk to."”
Vivian Grey by Benjamin Disraeli: “Oh, you see, I've read the Parliamentary reports and Constitutional history, and--and Vivian Grey," said Felix, who began to feel himself somewhat at sea.”
A Foregone Conclusion by William Dean Howells: “Howell's book, 'A Foregone Conclusion,'" said Julia, also looking puzzled.”
The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green: “Puts one in mind of 'The Leavenworth Case,' and all that sort of thing," said Felix, whose reading was of the lightest description.”
An Omnibus Mystery by Fortuné du Boisgobey: “In one of Du Boisgobey's stories, entitled 'An Omnibus Mystery,' a murder closely resembling this tragedy takes place in an omnibus, but we question if even that author would have been daring enough to write about a crime being committed in such an unlikely place as a hansom cab.”
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens: “Yes; do you remember that horrible story of Dickens', in the 'Pickwick Papers,' about the man who was mad, and knew it, yet successfully concealed it for years?”
Aesop's Fables by Aesop: “Surely you don't want every song to have a moral, like a book of Aesop's Fables?"”