Paul Beck is the greatest detective in England, though he would never admit it. Modest and unassuming, Beck attributes his success to luck and common sense, insisting that the solution to most mysteries can be gained by the application of a 'rule of thumb'. But his clients know better and Beck is consulted eagerly by all members of society, whether the case is one of murder, blackmail or even the treasonous theft of state secrets. In these twelve ingenious detective stories, originally collected in book form in 1898, the barrister Matthias McDonnell Bodkin introduced readers to a sleuth to rival Sherlock Holmes himself - one whose exploits are sure to delight all fans of classic crime fiction.
Author
Matthias McDonnell Bodkin was an Irish nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Anti-Parnellite representative for North Roscommon, 1892–95, a noted author, journalist and newspaper editor, and barrister, King’s Counsel and County Court Judge for County Clare, 1907-24. Bodkin was a prolific author, in a wide range of genres, including history, novels (contemporary and historical), plays, and political campaigning texts. Bodkin earned a place in the history of the detective novel by virtue of his invention of the first detective family. His most famous character is the detective Paul Beck, who appears in a series of stories and eventually marries another of Bodkin's series characters, Dora Myrl, "Lady Detective".
