The Major's Case single work   short story   detective  
Is part of The Detective's Album Mary Fortune , Hugh Dalmore , Rex Grayson , A. C. Eiseman , M. Joseph Lynch , 1865 series - publisher
Issue Details: First known date: 1895... 1895 The Major's Case
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Detective Barnett, a friend of Sinclair's - tells the story of a case which he worked on through the Melbourne private detective agency he ran with a friend. A major calls him in on a case of suspected poisoning by his elder sister who, he claimed, was dependent on him. Barnett was taken in but his sister, Eliza, and the man-servant Crump, between them reveal the major's guilt. He finally murders his sister to prevent her leaving her money to a calculating thief disguised as a Christian woman, who had fooled her - and who robbed her the night of the murder. Eliza is shown to be more perceptive and more humanly motivated than her brother - she breaks detective rules and solves the case but is unable to prevent the murder. Written in the voices of detective Barnett and Eliza. (PB)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Australian Journal vol. 30 no. 363 August 1895 Z1077246 1895 periodical issue 1895 pg. 683-690
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Anthology of Colonial Australian Crime Fiction Ken Gelder (editor), Rachael Weaver (editor), Carlton : Melbourne University Publishing , 2008 Z1519666 2008 anthology short story crime

    'From the editors of The Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction comes this fascinating collection of disturbing mysteries and gruesome tales by authors such as Mary Fortune, James Skipp Borlase, Guy Boothby, Francis Adams, Ernest Favenc, 'Rolf Boldrewood' and Norman Lindsay, among many others.
    In the bush and the tropics, the goldfields and the city streets, colonial Australia is a troubling, bewildering place and almost impossible to regulate—even for the most vigilant detective.
    'Ex-convicts, bushrangers, ruthless gold prospectors, impostors, thieves and murderers flow through the stories that make up this collection, challenging the nascent forces of colonial law and order. The landscape itself seems to stimulate criminal activity, where identities change at will and people suddenly disappear without a trace.
    'The Anthology of Colonial Australian Crime Fiction is a remarkable anthology that taps into the fears and anxieties of colonial Australian life.'  (Publication summary)

         Carlton : Melbourne University Publishing , 2008     pg. 40-66
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()
Last amended 24 Oct 2007 11:59:13
Subjects:
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X