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Details
FELIX, Charles (pseudonym). The Notting Hill Mystery. Compiled by Charles Felix from the Papers of the Late R. Henderson, Esq. London: Saunders, Otley, 1865.
8o. Frontispiece plan of the crime scene. Original dark brown cloth, upper cover and spine gilt (spine ends repaired, recased and endpapers renewed). Provenance: "Property of a Gentleman" (sold Christie's New York, 7 December 1990, lot 86).
FIRST EDITION, of the rare crime/detection novel written in the form of a report (incorporating statements from other sources) by Ralph Henderson, an investigator for a life insurance association. It precedes Gaboriau's L'Affaire Lerouge, the first generally accepted detective novel, by one year. "There is no doubt that the first detective novel, preceding Collins and Gaboriau, was The Notting Hill Mystery... The book is a true detective story" (Julian Symons, Bloody Murder).
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FIRST EDITION, of the rare crime/detection novel written in the form of a report (incorporating statements from other sources) by Ralph Henderson, an investigator for a life insurance association. It precedes Gaboriau's L'Affaire Lerouge, the first generally accepted detective novel, by one year. "There is no doubt that the first detective novel, preceding Collins and Gaboriau, was The Notting Hill Mystery... The book is a true detective story" (Julian Symons, Bloody Murder).