R. Austin Freeman (1862–1943)

Phyllis Dudley rents her cousin's London rooms while he is hiding from his creditors, and on a lark tries on some of his clothes, to discover that with her cropped hair from a recent illness she makes a plausible young man. Creating a male alter-ego in the next flat, she gets into various scrapes and courts a struggling sculptor who fails to penetrate her disguise.

This is an unusual offering from Freeman, best known for his scientific detective, Dr. Thorndyke; where Thorndyke can be plodding show more and didactic, Phyllis is breezy and charming throughout. Set at a turning point in women's role in society, Phyllis looks back to traditional propriety while consciously -- but innocently -- violating convention at every turn. show less

I haven’t read a lot from this era and so can’t really comment on whether or not THE RED THUMB MARK is indicative of contemporary crime fiction but it certainly fits my personal notion of what older crime novels offer. The primary element is the story’s plot – there’s not much room for character development in around 200 pages pages – and it hinges on minutiae and evidentiary details that only a lone genius can spot. In this instance the genius is a doctor turned lawyer who has show more at his disposal a compliant and technically competent manservant-come-laboratory operator and an old medical school chum who is currently unemployed and fulfils the Watson role to Thorndyke’s Holmes-like one. I know the comparison is probably unfair but like Watson Christopher Jervis is a doctor and he acts as the narrator of the story and dutifully awed recorder of the brilliance that is Dr. Thorndyke. Jervis is not only concerned with the intellectual superiority of his friend but his remarkable outwardly appearance too, as evidenced by this passage which appears towards the end of the novel when Thorndyke takes to the stand in Court for the first time

…I had never before appreciated what now impressed me most: that Thorndyke was actually the handsomest man I had ever seen. He was dressed simply, his appearance unaided by the flowing gown or awe-inspiring wig, and yet his presence dominated the court. Even the judge, despite his scarlet robe and trappings of office, looked commonplace by comparison, while the jurymen, who turned to look at him, seemed like beings of an inferior order.

He goes on for a another page or so in the same vein. This kind of hero worship is pretty common in the classic whodunnit which is one of the reasons it will never be my favourite kind of crime fiction.

The story here is remarkable mainly because it is a mystery that doesn’t involve a murder, though this was probably more common in 1907 than it is today. Instead we learn about a robbery of some uncut diamonds from the safe of a family business. One of the business owner’s two nephews, Reuben Hornby, is accused of the theft thanks to a piece of paper left at the scene of the crime which helpfully (for police) has Reuben’s thumb print clearly left in blood. The young man’s family don’t really believe Reuben to be guilty but the police are sure they’ve got their man and even his lawyer recommends a guilty plea. Thorndyke is almost immediately convinced of the man’s innocence and proceeds to collect alternative evidence to support this line of thinking. The real culprit was blindingly obvious to me too but that’s got more to do with my knowledge of whodunnits than my skills in fingerprint forgery, typewriter analysis and cigar manufacture.

It wasn’t just Jervis’ over-the-top adoration of the novel’s hero that had me wondering if R. Austin Freeman was actually a pseudonym for a female writer (perhaps a teenage one). The whole text was pretty melodramatic and Jervis in particular was swooning over more than just his chum. He falls rather heavily for Juliet Gibson, a friend of the Hornby family, after knowing her for all of a nano-second. Juliet possesses many fine qualities and “…was in nowise lacking in that womanly softness that so strongly engages a man’s sympathy” but poor Jervis has to hide his emotions (from her, not from the reader) for reasons of honour.

So, THE RED THUMB MARK is, I suppose, a decent example of crime fiction of the era but not really my cup of tea. The writing is too flowery. Why use one word when 17 can be used instead such as when Jervis is researching suicide or, in his words, “…[undertaking] the consideration of the various methods by which a man might contrive to effect his exit from the stage of human activities“. There really isn’t much substance to the story and a lot of the arcane details are repeated multiple times which diminishes what little interest they offered to begin with. The last quarter of the book, which takes place in court, is about as dull as it gets for me as it repeated many of the details we’d already gleaned. There is a hint of social commentary when Thorndyke waxes lyrical about the fiction of the presumption of innocence in the legal system, but even this lost its lustre for me when it became clear that Thorndyke (or Freeman) only really thought that people of the middle and upper classes ought to be spared the indignities of a flawed judicial system. show less

This book is a mystery for classic mystery lovers. Complete with not only a case of identity theft, a cryptic cipher, ruins that date back to the 1500s, and a treasure trove waiting to be discovered, the book is the epitome of (imho) a good old-fashioned, expertly-told mystery story. There really is no Clifford Ashdown; it is a combination of John J. Pitcairn and one of my favorite mystery writers, R. Austin Freeman that wrote this book.

Set in England during the Edwardian period, the story show more opens on a boat returning two men from a prolonged stay along Africa's Gold Coast. The first man, Medway Gardiner, is looking forward to his return to England; the second, William Sanders, is fearful that the minute they land he will be arrested for some swindle he pulled off while in Africa when he was desperate for money. But something weird happens: a strange accident knocks Gardiner off of the boat; he is presumed drowned. As the police rush onto the boat to make their arrest, Sanders gets a brilliant idea: he's been away from England for a while, he may not be recognized, so why not change his identity? He tells the police that the man they're after, Sanders, just fell off the boat and was probably dead. He gets away with his charade; his first stop upon disembarking is to a boyhood friend of Gardiner's, to whom he brings one of Gardiner's possessions: a small book of vespers, written in 1583. There is a cryptic cipher on the cover and Gardiner's friend, Blakemore, is an expert in code-breaking. It is discovered that there is a treasure still buried somewhere near the original Gardiner family lands; Sanders decides he should have it and escape England eventually. So far so good, but ... the real Gardiner shows up.

A very excellent novel in the classic tradition; I absolutely LOVE these old stories! show less

I have been obsessed with Golden Age detective stories since I was 9 years old and found a box set of five Agatha Christie novels at a neighbor's garage sale. I was immediately hooked on detective stories, spreading out to encompass other greats like Arthur Conan Doyle and more contemporary crime fiction writers like Anne Perry, Robert B. Parker and Michael Connelly. I even delved into the adventurous side with Clive Cussler and the opposite, more gentle sub-genre, the cozy mystery. If there show more was any sleuthing going on, I was in line, eyes at the ready to read any and all that came my way. Everything from Trixie Belden to Dr. Kay Scarpetta....loved it all!

But, I missed a few great, classic writers while stampeding my way through many great writers of mysteries and mayhem. For instance, I had never read anything by Jacques Futrelle until this year. Futrelle wrote detective stories in the early 1900s. His well-known character, Professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Duren, was known as the The Thinking Machine. Futrelle died in the Titanic disaster in 1912 after publishing 7 detective novels and 50 short stories. I eagerly devoured Futrelle's writing, amazed that I had never come across his works before. I had the same feeling when I saw this anthology of Dr. Thorndyke stories available for review. Another great mystery writer that was new to me! I pounced eagerly on the chance to review this "best of'' collection. I'm glad I did!!

R. Austin Freeman wrote 22 novels and 40 short stories starring Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke from 1907 to 1942. Thorndyke is a doctor who uses his medical knowledge and experience to investigate crimes. Freeman's stories give details about the crime itself first, then follow Thorndyke as he unravels the mystery using scientific methods. I'm not sure how I missed Freeman's work during my 40 years of avid mystery reading....but I'm ecstatic that I have another classic detective character to enjoy! This anthology of stories whetted my appetite for enjoying the other books and stories featuring Dr. Thorndyke.

The 8 stories included in this anthology are: The Case of Oscar Brodski, A Case of Premeditation, The Echo of A Mutiny, The Mandarin's Pearl, The Blue Sequin, The Moabite Cipher, The Aluminum Dagger, and 31 New Inn.

These stories are definitely beautiful examples of the classic detective story, but with an added scientific approach. Lots of detail is given about Thorndyke's experiments and equipment, putting more emphasis on the science behind his sleuthing, rather than just powers of deduction. It's CSI 1900's style. I enjoy Freeman's writing. I found it refreshingly different. He brings his readers along for the crime, first detailing how the suspect commits the criminal act before setting Thorndyke on the trail to ferreting out the facts. It's like a backwards detective story. First he shows us who did it, how and why it was done, then details how Thorndyke can deduce that information from evidence at the crime scene.

I enjoyed all 8 of these stories! Despite their age, the stories remain quite readable and interesting. I found Freeman's style of detective story to be engaging and witty. I am definitely going to read the rest of the Dr. Thorndyke stories!

I highly recommend this anthology of Dr. Thorndyke stories to any fan of classic or golden age detective stories. It's an awesome introduction to a great writer and a fabulous classic detective!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy from Dover Publications via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own** show less