Charles Warren Adams – författare

The Notting Hill Mystery has been widely described as the first detective novel. The story is told by the insurance investigator Ralph Henderson, who is building a case against the sinister Baron R___, suspected of murdering his wife in order to claim her life insurance. Henderson descends into a maze of intrigue, including a diabolical mesmerist, kidnapping by gypsies, slow-poisoners, a rich uncle's will and three murders.Presented in the form of diary entries, family letters, chemical analysis reports, interviews with witnesses and a crime scene map, the novel displays innovative techniques that would not become common features of detective fiction until the 1920s. This novel launched the British Library Crime Classics series in 2012, and is now reissued with a striking new cover design

'The Nottinghill Mystery' is one of the few detective novels not written from the perspective of a detective. One of its main appeals is that it was written through extracts and court case depositions, and not one long narrative; making the reading feel like they are almost one of the jury delivering their final verdict. Set in the 1840s, insurance broker Ralph Henderson must collect evidence against a local professor who is suspected of a number of murders of women over the years. It was first published as an eight-part serial in a magazine but you will struggle not to read it from start to finish in one sitting. Charles Warren Adams originally published 'The Nottinghill Murders' under the pseudonym Charles Felix leaving readers guessing over it's author. The English lawyer and author became involved in bailing out publishing firms after their proprietor died and then went on to publish at least two of his own works under Charles Felix. Born in 1883, he was a prominent anti-vivisection campaigner and was secretary of their society. His first wife died in 1880, and he remarried again five years later.