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R. Austin Freeman was a 20th century fiction author best known for detective mysteries. He went so far as to claim he invented the "inverted detective" genre, but regardless of what credit he deserves, his work continues to be read today.

Before "Bones", before "CSI", before "Quincy, M.E." there was Dr. John Thorndyke. In The Red Thumb Mark valuable diamonds are missing and the thumb print of Reuben Hornby is discovered in a drop of blood on a paper at the bottom of the safe. The experts of Scotland Yard are all... Read Full Overview

The first detective novel from Freeman which features forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke.

This is the first Dr. Thorndyke novel, from 1907, one of the earliest forensics-based mysteries. A valuable shipment of diamonds goes missing from a safe, and a nice young man is put in the dock for it. As evidence mounts, a renowned forensics expert is called in to help with... Read Full Overview

"Conflagratam An 1677. Fabricatam An 1698. Richardo Powell Armiger Thesaurar." The words, set in four panels, which formed a frieze beneath the pediment of a fine brick portico, summarised the history of one of the tall houses at the upper end of King's Bench Walk and as I,... Read Full Overview

This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature. In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards: 1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete... Read Full Overview

"The Red Thumb Mark" from Richard Austin Freeman. British writer of detective stories (1862-1943).

The Red Thumb Mark is a classic mystery novel written by R. Austin Freeman. The story follows the investigation of a bizarre crime that takes place in London. A wealthy businessman named Mr. Horace Belfer hires a young solicitor named John Thorndyke to defend his nephew, Richard,... Read Full Overview

Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He invented the inverted detective story and used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels. A large proportion... Read Full Overview

The Red Thumb Mark is the novel that introduces to the world one of the greatest "scientific" detectives in all literature: Dr. John Thorndyke. It is rightly regarded as one of the all-time classics in mystery fiction. Raymond Chandler, for example, who typically hated British... Read Full Overview

Reproduction of the original: The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman

Reproduction of the original: The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman

We are happy to announce this classic book. Many of the books in our collection have not been published for decades and are therefore not broadly available to the readers. Our goal is to access the very large literary repository of general public books. The main contents of our... Read Full Overview