The Leavenworth Case is the first novel of Anna Katharine Green, an American poet and novelist, who was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America, and distinguished herself for writing well plotted, accurate legal thrillers. Green is credited with many firsts. With the character Ebenezer Gryce of the New York Metropolitan Police Force, Green developed the series detective. Amelia Butterworth, a nosy society spinster who assists Gryce in three novels, is the prototype for Miss Marple, Miss Silver and other similar mystery solving female characters. And with Violet Strange, a debutante with a secret life as a sleuth, she invented the ‘girl detective.’ The Leavenworth Case predates the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes by nine years, yet it feels much more modern. Although it bears the romantic sentimentalism of its time, the story possesses a never seen before mastery of detection. The novel begins when a wealthy retired merchant named Horatio Leavenworth is shot and killed in his library. When investigator Ebenezer Gryce and lawyer Everett Raymond look into the case, it is revealed that no one could have left the Manhattan Mansion before the body was discovered the next day. As the story progresses, Leavenworth's orphaned nieces Mary and Eleanore, Hannah the maid, and a mysterious gentleman who appears on the scene all factor into the investigation

Anna Green was an early 20th century novelist. She was one of the first authors to write detective stories in America. Her stories are known for their well thought out plots and their legal accuracy. Although Green wrote in a genre previously dominated by men she did n think much of feminists and opposed women's suffrage. Her second novel A Strange Disappearance was published in 1880. Other books by Ana Green include: The House of the Whispering Pines, Miss Hurd, An Enigma, Leavenworth Case, That Affair Next Door, and Sword of Damocles

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1906. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... XLIII. THE DOORS SWUNG BACK. Some six weeks later, Mr. Gryce received the following communication: "During the last few days, I have been told by my husband of the fearful suspicion which my conduct had given rise to in the minds of the police. Though I have done much that was blameworthy, and am in no degree worthy of the happiness which has fallen to my lot, I did no wrong to my sister, nor could I have done any, though consequences worse than any I anticipated had followed the disappointment of her return. To convince you of this I write these explanations, for though I can have no hope of regaining your regard, I certainly may expect from you that just estimate of my character, which is due to the wife of so noble a man as Walter Cameron. "I was never happy as a girl. Born with an ambitious spirit, and a strong taste for all that is elegant and inspiring in life, I not only was prevented by poverty from indulging in any of my numerous aspirations, but was kept back from that culture of my own powers, which is torture to one who feels her capabilities, but is denied all opportunity of exercising them. Then, I had to work, and work hard, and though it was a labor of love, I could not rid myself of the feeling that I ought not to be subjected to so many sacrifices; that I was fitted for better things and was in a measure trod upon. "For I knew that a sister, so like myself that our mother could see no physical difference between us, was in the direct possession of those very things for which my whole soul longed. She had wealth, she had leisure, she had accomplishments, she had love. She rode in a carriage, while I walked dismally on foot. She entered, as a welcome guest, houses which were palaces of romance to me, as remote and inaccessible as though they were...

Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VI. A SURPRISE. To the sound of a scream from the signorina's lips, young Degraw turned. Before him, in the doorway I have mentioned, he saw standing the slight, dark and unprepossessing figure of a man so evidently Italian in his appearance and bearing, that it did not need the hurried bound and startled exclamation of the Portuguese for him to recognize in this menacing intruder the Signor Montelli. "So, so, we are to wind up with a scene," thought he; and instinctively stepped between this stranger and the shrinking figure of the signorina. But the precaution seemed needless. At the first words uttered by the Portuguese, the Italian broke into a harsh laugh, and drawing the old crone after him, left the room and shut the door behind him. Mr. Degraw, surprised by this sudden departure, stood staring, while the signorina trembled so that she seemed in danger of falling. "It is very strange," quoth the former, "He did not seem to notice that the couch was empty and that you stood living and breathing before him. The Portuguese cannot be as true to you as you thought. She must have told him that you would wake—" " Oh ! oh ! hush !" broke from the young girl's lips, as the door opened again and the old woman stepped in. " I am so bewildered, I do not know what to make of all this." And leaving him, she advanced toward the crone, who met her with a look that added to his surprise and her perplexity. A short interchange of words followed, and then the old woman drew back and the signorina turned. But with what a different air and with what a different look. Young Degraw would hardly have known h...

There is a murder; a blind physician confesses himself the murderer, and to prove that he could shoot a man through the heart offers to hit a small clock placed at a suitable distance, guided only by the sound it makes in striking. The ending is horrible enough to suit even the boy in German folklore who complained that he could not shudder.

First published in 1897, That Affair Next Door is another fascinating study in human motivations intertwined with bits and pieces of circumstantial evidence that at first make very little sense. True to Green’s style, she calls up and explains each motivation, each piece of evidence with mathematical precision until the mystery unravels and the perpetrator is punished in a most fitting fashion.

A strange crime!

\*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the author). \*An active Table of Contents has been added by the publisher for a better customer experience. \*This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errors. A young girl frantically summons a gentleman walking by on the street to come in and help her grandfather. Arthur Outhwaite answers her cry for help only to find himself as the last person to see her grandfather alive and left with the admonishment from the dying man to deliver a letter to someone, and to that person only. Unfortunately, he dies before he can inform Outhwaite who that particular person is. Being in a house of strangers, Outhwaite is thrust into the mystery of not only finding this unknown person, but is also faced with the mysterious circumstances under which the child's grandfather died.

The hour of noon had just struck, and the few visitors still lingering among the curiosities of the great museum were suddenly startled by the sight of one of the attendants running down the broad, central staircase, loudly "Close the doors! Let no one out! An accident has occurred, and nobody's to leave the building." There was but one person near either of the doors, and as he chanced to be a man closely connected with the museum,-being, in fact, one of its most active directors,-he imme-diately turned about and in obedience to a gesture made by the attendant, ran up the marble steps, followed by some dozen others. At the top they all turned, as by common consent, toward the left-hand gallery, where in the section marked II, a tableau greeted them which few of them will ever forget.