A Slender Clue; or, The Mystery of Mardi-Graz. A detective story.

LYNCH, Lawrence L., pseud. (Emma Murdoch van Deventer)

Published by Ward, Lock, Bowden & Co. 1891, 1891

About this Item

FIRST EDITION. Orig. olive green cloth, blocked & lettered in red & black, spine lettered in gilt. Contemp. child's pencil signature on leading f.e.p. verso, dated Xmas 1891. Glover & Greene 318. Not in Wolff. Cover art depicts a boy showing a seated man a picture. Beginning with two men being released from prison and going their separate ways in their own carriages; the reader discovers that one is an undercover detective, and the other is out to make up for the years he lost while incarcerated. Emma Murdoch van Deventer, 1853-1914, was an American author from Oswego in upstate New York. Her first novel was published in 1879 under the name of her first husband Lawrence L. Lynch, possibly a theatrical agent whom she had married on Valentine's Day in 1877. She continued to use Lynch as a pen-name for the rest of her life despite the marriage ending around 1886 - it is unknown whether Lawrence died or the two were divorced. In 1887, she married the prominent physician Dr Abraham Van Deventer, and she went on to publish 17 more novels before her death. A reviewer from the Topeka State Journal branded her 'the American Conan Doyle' in March 1906, for her 'highly fascinating, thrilling and mysterious' stories.

Seller Inventory # 100091

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Slender Clue; or, The Mystery of Mardi-Graz. A detective story.
• Publisher: Ward, Lock, Bowden & Co. 1891
• Publication Date: 1891
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition