The volume is Checklisted below for convenience, as are the Stories from the Diary of a Doctor volumes with Clifford Halifax, some of which edge into sf territory. The three authors involved are all long since with the angels, so I think we can enjoy their stories without any guilt.Working name of UK author Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith (1844-1914), now best remembered for her numerous and sometimes inventive books for girls, but some of whose romances of detection and sedition are of sf interest, though the sometimes-cited John Bell sequence – assembled as A Master of Mysteries (coll of linked stories June-November 1897 Cassell's Magazine 1898) with Robert Eustace – is not, as the mysteries are invariably rationalized in nonfantastic terms. Eustace intentionally steal an idea from Collins? Epublishing is said to have set up fertile ground for literary theft, but maybe it's not a new phenomenon at all. Wilkie Collins (the father of the Victorian mystery) used the idea in his story 'A Terribly Strange Bed.' I don't know when that one was published, but Collins died in 1889. The closing story ('To Prove an Alibi') uses a device that sounded very familiar to me. Highly unusual for a Victorian Era detective. Since the other man couldn't be less than thirty, apparently Bell is in his sixties. It's interesting that I had pictured him as a young (or youngish) man and was surprised to find him giving advice to another character on the basis of being twice as old. Bell is an excellent story-teller and a likeable man. I couldn't really pick out a favorite of these stories. I think it's a testament to Meade's talent that these very good stories aren't even considered to be her best. Before the advent of epublishing, most work from that era was out of print and only a few of the very best were available in anthologies. Maybe he's found some real ghosts in the course of his career, but in these six stories human ingenuity and greed drive the plot.Īlthough I've read a lot of Victorian mysteries, these are all new to me.

He's a wealthy man who investigates paranormal activity.

It contains six stories narrated by 'ghost-hunter' John Bell. This one appeared in 1898 and was co-authored by Robert Eustace.

Maybe she wanted help with medical details or maybe she felt having a man's name on her mysteries would make them more appealing. Most were for children, but she wrote some wonderful mysteries, usually collaborating with one of two doctor/writers. She certainly succeeded, with over 300 published books. I'm fascinated by the idea of a woman born in Ireland in 1844 who moved to London with the determination to become a writer. I read several of Meade's 'Madame Sara' stories in anthologies and have been hoping to find more by her. Who needs ghosts? Humans are scary enough.

A Master of Mysteries by L.T. Meade