The Musgrave Papers

This is a short post that might be edited into a longer post later on. I've written before that my favorite Sherlock society publications are those of the Northern Musgraves (a northern-England group). I've previously posted on collecting their published Monographs (now complete), and the society also had two periodicals: the 'Musgrave Papers', and the 'Ritual' that I've slowly been working to collect.

There were fourteen issues of The Musgrave Papers from 1988-2001. Around 2001 the group became less active. As the journal evolved, each cover received a unique design, and generally speaking each issue had a them. Here are the designs: 

1988: First issue. 

Note: there was also a limited-edition re-issue of 125 copies the first volume in 1990. Appearance is almost identical, but clearly states "Limited Edition Reprint" on cover.

1989: Second issue. Staple bound.

1990: Third issue. Special Watson Issue. All articles in issue focus on John Watson. Staple bound.

1991: Fourth issue.  Staple bound.

1992: Fifth issue. Basil Rathbone on cover. Significant number of articles on Hound of the Baskervilles.

1993: Sixth issue. 

1994: Seventh issue. Death of Peter Cushing memorialized on rear cover.

1995: Eighth issue. 

1996: Ninth issue.  All articles in issue focus on stories in 'Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'.

1997: Tenth issue. 

1998. Eleventh issue. All articles in issue focus on stories in 'Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'.

1999: Twelfth issue. Jeremy Brett featured on cover. 

2000: Thirteenth issue. All articles in issue focus on stories in 'Return of Sherlock Holmes'.

2001: Fourteenth and final issue. All articles in issue focus on stories in 'Hound of the Baskervilles'.

Mystery of a Hansom Cab - precursor to Sherlock?

This was going to be a relatively short post, just to 'make a point'.

Fergus Hume's "Mystery of a Hansom Cab" was a massively successful murder-mystery novel, both in Australia and the UK. 

In doing some research on the story recently, I noticed a persistent statement: that Mystery of a Hansom Cab inspired Conan Doyle's creation of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Here are some examples of where that is stated:

- "The book is meant to have helped inspire Sherlock Holmes amongst others"
- "apparently was part of the inspiration for Conan Doyle to begin writing his Sherlock Holmes stories"

- Even Wikipedia: "This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes."

The story certainly pre-dates the publication of 'A Study in Scarlet', but did Doyle see the story before he'd written his first Sherlock novel? 

 

The first mentions of Fergus Hume's book in Australia newspapers.

'Mystery of a Hansom Cab' is believed to have been written towards the end of 1885 or early 1886. The first mentions of the book are unsurprisingly in Melbourne papers, the first on 21 Oct 1886, followed by two in November.

Melbourne Punch - Thu 21 Oct 1886

Of all the sensational novels I have ever read in my lfe nothing has ever impressed me so much as "The Mysteries of a Hansom Cab." It is all about a murder that has been committed in a hansom on the St. Kilda-road, and as all the incidents and places are local, one becomes intensely interested; besides which, the plot is capital, and the characters drawn with such life-like reality that, having once begun to read it, it is quite impossible to lay it down unfinished. It is a sensational, cleverly written, and entertaining novel by Mr. Fergus Hume, of Melbourne, who, as a writer, is well-known to the readers of many English and Colonial magazines.

The Australasian - Sat 6 Nov 1886 

A MELBOURNE NOVEL.*

* The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. By Fergus W. Hume, Melbourne; Kemp and Boyce.

Inasmuch as there is a run on sensational stories of the kind which the late " Hugh Conway " helped to bring into vogue, there is no reason why the demand for the article should not be supplied, in part at least, from local sources. And Mr. Hume's Mystery of a Hansom Cab is quite as good as the average of such productions, and better than a good many. The central incident of the novel is a murder committed between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning, by means of chloroform, in a hansom cab, somewhere near the Church of England Grammar School on the St. Kilda-road. The writer ingeniously directs suspicion to two persons, each of whom eventually proves to be innocent, while both have private reasons for wishing to screen the real culprit from detection and punishment, and the mystery is skilfully maintained throughout. Indeed, Mr. Hume proves himself to have been an apt pupil of Mr. Wilkie Collins's methods of constructing a story, while his portrait of the lodging-housekeeper suggests that he has also been a diligent reader of Dickens. Indeed, Mrs. Sampson and Mother Guttersnipe are both of them Dickensish characters, with a dash of Mrs. Brown in the former. But we think the old woman, who is described as having "crackled" whenever she moved, so as to cause you to fear that one of her limbs would snap short, like the branch of a dead tree, is a freak ot the fancy, and by no means a portrait from life. We need not dwell, however, upon the blemishes of a story in which there is quite enough ability exhibited to justify the expectation of something still better from the writer's pen. Mr. Hume is a resident in Dunedin, we believe, and therefore has probably had no opportunity of correcting the proofs. Should his novel reach a second edition, as it probably will, he should remove such errors as "De mortius," " a number of people, some of which," "perepatetics," "which every one considers themselves bound to tell," " a malestrom," &c.

The Telegraph, St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian - Sat 13 Nov 1886 

PUBLICATION RECEIVED. - We have receive from Mr Thomas Marvin, the well-known book seller and news-agent of Chapel-street, Windsor, a sensational Melbourne novel entitled "The mystery of a Hansom Cab." The book is well written by Fergus W. Hume, a local author of some repute, who has made the story particularly sensational and interesting by treating with a realistic study of Melbourne social life, the tale being founded on an incident fresh in the memory of every one. It is a crown 8vo. of 245 pages, well printed, and is got up in a cheap form, the price being one shilling. The book is well worth reading and no doubt Mr Marvin will meet with a strong demand for this very interesting work. 

The book is not mentioned in any newspapers in Dec 1886. In 1887 the story received only fifty mentions in newspapers (many advertisements of the book being for sale), and was published in a serialized form that year in a regional NSW paper called the 'Macleay Argus'. 

All in all then, the book didn't exactly take off, and the limited early print run may account for this. In fact the next article covering the 

Melbourne Punch -  Thu 5 May 1887 

I HEAR that the first edition of five thousand of "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab" has been cleared out, and a second edition of a similar number is gradually being disposed of. The author ought to do pretty well out of this, but a better slice of luck has befallen him, so I am told, for a firm of London publishers—who have a branch in Melbourne—have taken the book up in order to produce it on the London market. It is a somewhat crude production, but shows great promise, and it may be that it will prove successful at 

home. At any rate, the author is to be congratulated on his success.

This article points to the beginning of the path to publication in the UK. And after 50 mentions in 1887, there are about 1,000 mentions in Australian newspapers in 1888 - partly because of the stage play the promptly followed, and partly due to the take-off in sales and readership as more copies became available.

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The first mentions of Fergus Hume's book in the UK newspapers.

And so to the UK, where the book must have been released  The first mentions of the book are unsurprisingly in Melbourne papers, the first on 28 Nov 1887, followed by two in November.

Western Morning News - Monday 28 November 1887

BOOK AND PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED

"The Mystery of a Hansom Cab" by F.W. Hume. London: The Hansom Cab Publishing Co. 60 Ludgate-hill.

Croydon Times - Wednesday 30 November 1887
"THE MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB" - This is a sensational novel, a startling and realistic study of Melbourne social life. It is printed by The Hansom Cab Publishing Company, Ludgate-hill, London, and the price is 1s. 

Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 02 December 1887

"The Mystery of a Hansom Cab" is the latest contribution to sensational fiction. The work is certainly remarkable one, and seems all the more so when one reflects that the author, Mr. F. W. Hume, a native Australia, not yet 22. The plot is laid in Melbourne. The book has had a most remarkable circulation in Australia, and a company has been formed ("Hansom Cab" Publishing Company, 60 Ludgate-hill, E.C.) for its sale in England. This sensational demand for a highly sensational and realistic tale is not altogether undeserved. The youthful author—although he exhibits a deep acquaintance with the works of Gaboriau, Hugh Conway, Edgar Allan Poe, and other sensation-mongers—is no plagiarist. He tells the story of a crime in vigorous English. As page after page is read, some new development unrolls itself, so that the interest is fully maintained to the last chapter. If we mistake not the book will sell readily in England. It is issued cheap form.

Hampstead & Highgate Express - Saturday 03 December 1887

"THE Mystery of a Hansom Cab." Sensational novel by Fergus W. Hume, Melbourne, Australia. (The Hansom Cab Publishing Company, 60 Ludgate-hill.) The work of fiction with this title emanates from the pen of a young Australian who was fortunate enough to find an appreciator of his story in the person of Mr. F. Trischler, a Melbourne publisher, by whom the story was promptly given to the reading world. So successful did the work prove that a London edition has just been issued. Making allowance for local enthusiasm about the ability of the novel it must be conceded that "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab" embraces a series of incidents of very startling character, held together by a thread of literal narrative which imparts much realistic effect to it. A murder perpetrated under circumstances of peculiar mystery, involving the reputation of a gentleman innocent of the crime, and whose arraignment for it at the bar of justice is detailed with all the hard fidelity of a newspaper report, are features of the earlier portions of the novel. These points of interest, however, only lead up to the strange history of a man, the revelations of whose career, narrated in a document written by his own hand, reveals the motive of the murder. "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab" contains graphic scenes of Melbourne life, in which a degraded woman of the name of Sal Rawlins plays a role at once coarse and disgusting, and the love passages between Fitzgerald and Madge Frettlby are among the more pleasing parts of a story calculated to meet the requirements of readers who have taste for sensational literature.

Sporting Life - Saturday 03 December 1887

The last sentence reminds me of a now novel that has been placed on the London market by a new publishing company, who adopt novel features of advertising, is sprung upon us this week with considerable prominence. The novel is called "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.” It is the first effort of the kind of an Australian not yet twenty-two years of age, Mr. Fergus W. Hume. The publishers have adopted the title of the novel as the title of their firm—with slight variation. The novel method of advertising consists, among other trade specialities, the "posting" and “sandwiching’’ our streets of coloured character portraits of the principal personages in the story —admirably designed by Mr. Matt Stretch—the latter system hitherto unknown in this country to the introduction of fiction, though not uncommon among publishers serial literature and the producers of the drama on the stage - the vendors of soaps and salts, condiments and embrocations. Mr. Hume’s novel written about a year ago had unprecedented circulation in Australia. It's sale in this country promises also to be a great success—at least, temporarily. It has already made a favourable start and a good impression. Although the season for shilling novels is practically at an end when shilling annuals of a first-class character appear, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab” will prove a welcome waif from the sea of books most attractive to family circles at Christmastide. The story is of the sensational kind. The plot is of an engrossing character, and the details are admirably worked out in a simple natural way. There are, as may expected, in so young an author signs of literary crudity here and there, but none in the ingenious evolution of a story of exceptional interest to readers of all classes. Mr. Hume has a future full of promise before him. A new novel from his pen is expected to follow at an early date.


From just 20 mentions in the last two months of 1887, to over 3,000 in 1888 ! The popularity of the book was remarkable in England.

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Could Mystery of a Hansom Cab have influenced Doyle?

'Study in Scarlet' first saw the light of day in Beeton's Christmas Annual released around November 1887. In other words, both books appeared on the scene in England around the same time. While Hansom Cub was published a year earlier in Australia, there were few copies published initially. 

By the time Doyle finished Study in Scarlet around April 1886 and was submitting it for consideration, Hume was seeking a publisher for Hansom Cab. But while Doyle's story was 'held over' for well over a year after being accepted later in 1886, Hume's story was going to the presses albeit at a limited print run of around 5,000.

Therefore, Doyle's novel could not have been inspired by Hume's novel. They were independently created, on opposite sides of the globe, and both arrived to a UK market that already enjoyed mysteries and detective stories.

Multiple sources state that Hume's novel outsold Study in Scarlet, and that might be reflected in the fact that while Hansom Cab had over 3,000 newspaper mentions in 1888, Study in Scarlet had just 20 !

One can imagine that Doyle may have been disappointed to have his brilliant new detective novel outsold by a colonial mystery novel. Perhaps this partially accounts for Doyle's dismissal of the 'Hansom Cab' story. He wrote to his mother on 1 March 1888, when Hansom Cab was being sold by the thousands:

"What a swindle 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab' is. One of the weakest tales I have read, and sold by puffing."

The public didn't agree with Doyle, nor did the reviews. Hume wrote a wonderful novel, but Doyle created an enduring character. And Doyle stuck with his character, and created a phenomenon that lasted four decades. Hume's story was sensational, but did not create a character who could be serialized - multiple parties worked to get to the bottom of the scandal and murderer in Hansom Cab - it was not a story built around a detective. In fact Hume never did create a recurring character across over 100 novels. 

Doyle and Hume had one more thing in common for their late 1887 mystery stories. Both sold their rights, and missed out on massive royalties in the years ahead !

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There is a very slight but delightful connection in the above articles. The English 'Sporting Life' article in late 1887 mentions that an advertising campaign was undertaken to sell 'Hansom Cab': "the "posting" and “sandwiching’’ our streets of coloured character portraits of the principal personages in the story —admirably designed by Mr. Matt Stretch...."

A set of those advertising posters exist - held by XXXX, and they are magnificent.

 

 

The name of the illustrator Matt Stretch might ring a bell - his name appears on the cover of the 1887 Beeton's Christmas Annual:

A Chat With Fergus Hume

 I've been revisiting Fergus Hume's "Mystery of a Hansom Cab". Published in 1886 - after Doyle wrote a Study in Scarlet but well before that book was published. Like Doyle, Hume couldn't have imagine the immense success - Mystery of a Hansom Cab surely outsold Study in Scarlet - and like Doyle he sold the rights for a relatively small sum, and therefore missed out on the potential riches.

Hume and Doyle's stories have another feature in common - their first editions are exceedingly rare. The Beeton's Christman Annual had perhaps 100,000 or more issued, but a few dozen exist. Hume's first edition was in 500 copies, and is considered to not exist.

I've been working on a project related to Hume, and enjoy this interview with Hume on his arrival in England. It provides an excellent first-hand summary of Hume's early career and publishing challenges, and a clear outline of the early publishing history of his sensational first novel.

While the interview is published in an Australian newspaper, it is re-printed from an English newspaper.

The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser

Sat 18 Aug 1888 

A Chat with Mr. Fergus Hume.

The author of a book that has sold to the extent of 300,000 copies in England alone, not to mention an enormous sale in Australia and America, and that has been so much talked about as "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," may fairly claim a niche in the temple of, at least, ephemeral fame. Consequently, hearing of Mr. Fergus Hume's arrival in England from Australia, a representative of the Sunday Times waited upon him with the object of "drawing him out."

Mr. Fergus Hume, we are told, is a young man, in his twenty-fifth year, with a bright intelligent face, keen eyes, a dark moustache, and of middle height. His manner is quiet and unassuming, and his accent in speaking is somewhat provincial.

"I have been just twelve days in London," says Mr. Hume, " but have seen very little of it as yet, though I am just longing to see all the sights. But we— that is, my friend Philip Beck and I— have been working so hard to finish the adaptation of my new book, Madame Midas,' as we want to produce the play, for copyright purposes, before the publication of the book on July 7."

"That will be sharp work."

"Ah, thank goodness, the play is now finished."

"'Madame Midas' is also a story of Australian life, is it not ?"

"Yes; and chiefly concerned with the mining interests in the Colony. You see, Farjeon and Marcus Clarke, our two Australian novelists, have dealt with the Australia of a past day— the rougher times of the Colony. But my desire is to picture the Australia of to-day, to destroy a common impression in England that the miners are still the lawless haphazard diggers of the past, and to convey a true knowledge of the mining industry, which is now carried on on the most scientific principles. To this end I spent some weeks at the Midas mine— one of the best conducted and most promising in the Colony— and studied the whole scientific system of gold mining, so as to make my story as realistic as possible. My heroine I have partly drawn from life, being a lady who has become famous in Australia on account of her gold-mining successes. She is an owner of many mines, and works them herself, and in the colony she is known as 'Madame Midas.' Of course, the incidents of the plot, though in the main based on fact, are highly-coloured and elaborated according to the requirements of the story. The first part is laid at the mines, and subsequently the story deals with the stock and share markets in Melbourne. There is an interesting case of poisoning, and the heroine's love story is quite romantic."

" Is the story dramatic ?"

" I think so—very. And it is also, I hope and believe, a great advance in every way on 'The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.' That book I wrote when I was very ill and hard-up, not very encouraging conditions for an unknown author to write under; and I know there is consequently some very slippery writing in the book. It was six months before I could get any publisher to take it up, and then a Mr. Trischler, who was connected with a publishing firm in Melbourne, took a fancy to the story, and undertook to arrange for its publication. The Melbourne publishers expected only five hundred would be sold in six months, but Mr. Trischler believed in the book, and an edition of 5000 copies was accordingly printed. These were sold out in eleven days, and the type having been distributed it was two months before the second edition came out, and then they soon sold 30,000 copies. So successful was the book that Mr. Trischler formed 'The Hansom Cab Publishing Company,' and, publishing the book over here, they have made no end of money out of it."

"I trust you have shared financially in this success ?"

"I can't complain ; they gave me a good sum down for the copyright, though had I known that the success was going to be so immense, I would never have parted with the book. However, for ' Madame Midas' they have given me very handsome terms, and I need hardly say how anxious I am about its success. I should hate to be known as a 'one book man.' Consequently I have put my best into this work."

"Was the ' Hansom Cab' your first literary work ?"

"No. I had been dabbling in literature for some time, though intended for the law, and engaged in a lawyer's office. While living in New Zealand I wrote several stories for the newspapers, and one of these—a psychological romance—attracted some attention. Then I wrote two or three plays for Australian theatres, one of which, ' A Woman Scorned,' was produced by Miss Marie de

Grey."

" Are you a native Australian ?"

" No, but I have lived in the Colonies since I was two years old. My parentage is a mixture of Scotch and Irish. Till I was twenty-one I lived in New Zealand, where I was admitted to the Bar, but never practised as a barrister, and for the last three years Melbourne has been my home, and there I have spent my time between literature, the law, and the Stock Market."

"And now you are fairly launched on the career of a novelist?"

"And playwright. In that connection I have entered into a partnership with Mr. Philip Beck, the actor, who has been playing in Melbourne for the last two years, and who has just returned home with me. The play of 'Madame Midas' is our joint work."