The Danvers jewels and Sir Charles Danvers

The Danvers Jewels is a very brief proto-detective novel with a wonderfully clueless narrator.

The sequel, Sir Charles Danvers, which takes up three-fourths of the book, is also wonderfully narrated (this time in a very witty third person) but is not a crime novel (though it does include crimes) but rather a romantic comedy of manners that doesn't stint on 19th-century sensation and quaint moral dilemmas. Especially likely to appeal to lovers of Anthony Trollope and/or Georgette Heyer.

Cholmondeley's writing is a delight, and these stories don't deserve to have become so obscure. Recommended (and widely available as a free ebook)!

These two stories, which were published anonymously, were highly acclaimed in their day and there was much speculation as to the author. The intricate plots and finely-drawn characters cannot be described without giving away the story. The vignettes of 19th century English country life are worth reading in their own right.