A nameless old man sits in the corner of a cozy London tea shop, and without leaving his seat, solves baffling crimes reported to him by an admiring lady journalist. Using only methods of pure deduction, the eccentric, self-assured sleuth unravels the mysteries behind a wide range of criminal acts - from gruesome murders (The Lisson Grove Mystery) and daring thefts (The Affair at the Novelty Theatre) to brilliant deceptions (The Liverpool Mystery) and deadly blackmail schemes (The Murder of Miss Pebmarsh). Set in the fog-shrouded streets of London, where gas lamps flicker in the gloom and details of lurid crimes splash across the pages of the daily papers, these ingenious, well-crafted stories by the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel are among the first and great collections of detective fiction. They will delight devotees of Sherlock Holmes and other mystery-loving fans. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.