An investigator assembles a dossier of statements, letters, diary extracts and medical evidence surrounding the strange death of Madame R**, wife of a baron with an interest in mesmerism. Readers must follow names and dates closely, weighing each witness, to see the case the compiler is building against a man the law cannot touch.
First serialised in 1862–63 with George du Maurier’s illustrations, it is often cited as the earliest full-length English detective novel. Download the free EPUB.