Guy Newell Boothby

Thrill to the uncanny adventures of occult detective Dr Nikola and his companion William Bruce.

Doctor Nikola

This is the first in Boothby's series of Dr. Nikola novels. It opens with the manager of a fine London restaurant preparing for a dinner reserved in an odd letter originating from Brazil 3 months prior, for 4 persons in a private room, where 3 guests will arrive showing cards with a red dot. One will be from China, one from South Africa, one from England, plus the host, Dr Nikola, who is of unknown nationality but is later revealed to travel the world widely. The letter specifies certain preparations, such as no electric lighting but rather candles with red shades, a small jug of fresh milk, and a porcelain saucer. After the 3 guests arrive, Dr Nikola makes his appearance. He is a somewhat tall slim man, "irreproachably dressed, with a neatness that bordered on the puritanical." After they dine and the servants leave the room, Dr Nicola opens a strange basket and removes a mysterious black cat, for whom the milk had of course been requested. Dr Nikola explains why he called them together -- to execute his plans of revenge against a very wealthy someone who did him great harm. He offers each of them a large sum of money if they perform as he asks: "I demand from you your whole and entire labour. While you are serving me you are mine body and soul. I know you are trustworthy. I have had good proof that you are--pardon the expression--unscrupulous, and I flatter myself you are silent. What is more, I shall tell you nothing beyond what is necessary for the carrying out of my scheme, so that you could not betray me if you would. Now for my plans!"Guy Newell Boothby was an Australian novelist and writer, born in Adelaide, son of Thomas Wilde Boothby, who for a time was a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly. Guy Boothby's grandfather was Benjamin Boothby (1803-1868), judge of the supreme court of South Australia from 1853 to 1867. When Boothby was six, he traveled to England with his mother. Around 1890, he took the position of private secretary to the mayor of Adelaide, Australia, but was not content with the work due to little opportunity for advancement. He turned to his writing talents, writing librettos for 2 comic operas and stories about Australian life. Boothby moved back to the United Kingdom in 1894. He wrote over 50 books in the course of a decade, before dying of pneumonia in Bournemouth. Some of Boothby's earlier works were non-fiction, but later he turned to writing novels. He was once well known for his series of five novels about Doctor Nikola, an occultist anti-hero seeking immortality and world domination. In A Prince of Swindlers he created the character of Simon Carne, a gentleman thief in the Raffles mold, with an alter ago as the eccentric detective Klimo: Carne first appeared in Pearson's Magazine in 1897, predating Raffles by two years.

A Bid for Fortune Or Dr Nikola's Vendetta

A Bid for Fortune or Dr Nikola's VendettaBy Guy Newell BoothbyThis is the first in Boothby's series of Dr. Nikola novels. It opens with the manager of a fine London restaurant preparing for a dinner reserved in an odd letter originating from Brazil 3 months prior, for 4 persons in a private room, where 3 guests will arrive showing cards with a red dot. One will be from China, one from South Africa, one from England, plus the host, Dr Nikola, who is of unknown nationality but is later revealed to travel the world widely. The letter specifies certain preparations, such as no electric lighting but rather candles with red shades, a small jug of fresh milk, and a porcelain saucer.

A Bid for Fortune Or Dr. Nikola's Vendetta Illustrated

In this the third of Boothby's Dr. Nikola novels, Nikola applies his almost hypnotic persuasion to convince an out-of-luck Australian, formerly from England, named Gilbert Pennethorne to assist Nikola unwittingly in an evil scheme. Nikola takes advantage of Pennethorne's intense desire for revenge against a former boss in Australia who stole information about the location of a gold field that would have made Pennethorne immensely wealthy. Using that information the boss made himself rich, living a high life in London, while Pennethorne remained penniless. Nikola contrives a plan and a device for Pennethorne to commit the perfect murder of the wealthy thief. Unknowingly, Pennethorne thus becomes a party to another one of Nikola's insidious schemes.

Guy Newell Boothby

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