R. Austin Freeman

Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medicolegal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. He invented the inverted detective story and used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels. A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology. His first stories were written in collaboration with Dr John James Pitcairn (1860-1936), medical officer at Holloway Prison and published under the nom de plume "Clifford Ashdown." His first Thorndyke story, The Red Thumb Mark, was published in 1907 and shortly afterwards he pioneered the inverted detective story, in which the identity of the criminal is shown from the beginning: some short stories with this feature were collected in The Singing Bone in 1912. His other works include John Thorndyke's Cases (1909), The Eye of Osiris (1911), The Vanishing Man (1911), The Mystery of 31 New Inn (1912), The Uttermost Farthing: A Savant's Vendetta (1913) and The Cat's Eye (1923).

The Red Thumb Mark (Dodo Press)

The "urgent call"-the instant, peremptory summons to professional duty-is an experience that appertains to the medical rather than the legal practitioner, and I had supposed, when I abandoned the clinical side of my profession in favour of the forensic, that henceforth I should know it no more; that the interrupted meal, the broken leisure, and the jangle of the night-bell, were things of the past; but in practice it was otherwise. The medical jurist is, so to speak, on the borderland of the two professions, and exposed to the vicissitudes of each calling, and so it happened from time to time that the professional services of my colleague or myself were demanded at a moment's notice. And thus it was in the case that I am about to relate.

A Dr John Thorndyke Mystery: (R Austin Freeman Masterpiece Collection)

The Aluminium Dagger

8 British Mystery Novels

Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries Collection, Volume Two Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries Collection, Volume Two

DR. THORNDYKE VOL.2. 15 Novels & 30 Short Stories

The Case of the White Footprints is a murder mystery set in Margate. A lady has been found dead in her room in a boarding house. At first glance it looks like a clear case of suicide, but then the two doctors attending the death spot a set of white footprints in paint on the red linoleum of the floor. As the house is currently being repainted, and the window-sills were still covered in wet paint, it is clear that the woman has been murdered by someone who entered and left through the window. Moreover, the footprints have some strange peculiarities. They are bare footprints...and on both feet it appears that the little toe is missing. When Dr. Thorndyke is called onto the case these extraordinary footprints lead him immediately to the track of the murderer.

The Case of the White Footprints

Thirty-Seven of His Criminal Investigations, Part 1

The Famous Cases of Dr. Thorndyke

The Adventures of Romney Pringle

The Dr. Thorndyke Series

"This man Austin Freeman is a wonderful performer"- -- Raymond Chandler The contrariety of human nature is a subject that has given a surprising amount of occupation to makers of proverbs and to those moral philosophers who make it their province to discover and expound the glaringly obvious; and especially have they been concerned to enlarge upon that form of perverseness which engenders dislike of things offered under compulsion, and arouses desire of them as soon as their attainment becomes difficult or impossible. They assure us that a man who has had a given thing within his reach and put it by, will, as soon as it is beyond his reach, find it the one thing necessary and desirable; even as the domestic cat which has turned disdainfully from the preferred saucer, may presently be seen with her head jammed hard in the milk-jug, or, secretly and with horrible relish, slaking her thirst at the scullery sink. To this peculiarity of the human mind was due, no doubt, the fact that no sooner had I abandoned the clinical side of my profession in favour of the legal, and taken up my abode in the chambers of my friend Thorndyke, the famous medico-legal expert, to act as his assistant or junior, than my former mode of life--that of a locum tenens, or minder of other men's practices--which had, when I was following it, seemed intolerably irksome, now appeared to possess many desirable features; and I found myself occasionally hankering to sit once more by the bedside, to puzzle out the perplexing train of symptoms, and to wield that power--the greatest, after all, possessed by man--the power to banish suffering and ward off the approach of death itself.

A Dr. John Thorndyke Forensic Mystery

The Stranger's Latchkey

Dr. Thorndyke Investigates

Thorndyke stood looking up and down the platform with anxiety that increased as the time drew near for the departure of the train. "This is very unfortunate," he said, reluctantly stepping into an empty smoking compartment as the guard executed a flourish with his green flag. "I am afraid we have missed our friend." He closed the door, and, as the train began to move, thrust his head out of the window. "Now I wonder if that will be he," he continued. "If so, he has caught the train by the skin of his teeth, and is now in one of the rear compartments." The subject of Thorndyke's speculations was Mr. Edward Stopford, of the firm of Stopford and Myers, of Portugal Street, solicitors, and his connection with us at present arose out of a telegram that had reached our chambers on the preceding evening. It was reply-paid, and ran thus:

(R Austin Freeman Classic Collection)

The Blue Sequin: a Dr John Thorndyke Mystery

The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack collects 19 mystery tales featuring the forensic sleuth Dr. Thorndyke (and others) plus a bonus essay by the author. Included in this volume are: INTRODUCTION: MEET DR. THORNDYKE, by R. Austin Freeman THE BLUE SCARAB (1923) THE NEW JERSEY SPHINX (1923) THE TOUCHSTONE (1923) A FISHER OF MEN (1923) THE STOLEN INGOTS (1923) THE FUNERAL PYRE (1923) THE CAT’S EYE (1923) THE MYSTERY OF ANGELINA FROOD (1924) THE SHADOW OF THE WOLF (1925) THE PUZZLE LOCK (1925) THE GREEN CHECK JACKET (1925) THE SEAL OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR (1925) PHYLLIS ANNESLEY’S PERIL (1925) A SOWER OF PESTILENCE (1925) REX V. BURNABY (1925) A MYSTERY OF THE SAND-HILLS (1925) THE APPARITION OF BURLING COURT (1925) THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR (1925) THE D'ARBLAY MYSTERY (1926) If you enjoy this ebook, check out the other volumes in the series, covering not only mystery and detective fiction, but science fiction, fantasy, westerns, ghost stories, and classic authors. Search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see the complete list.

R. Austin Freeman

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