Dr. Thorndyke

by R. Austin Freeman

"There is no type of fiction that is more universally popular than the detective story. It is a familiar fact that many famous men have found in this kind of reading their favourite recreation, and that it is consumed with pleasure, and even with enthusiasm, by many learned and intellectual men, not infrequently in preference to any other form of fiction."

-- R[ichard] Austin Freeman, The Art of the Detective Story

I had searched for Dr. Thorndyke books to add to my collection for quite some time. Twice over a period of several years I ran across an odd volume in one of New York City's murder mystery bookstores. But each time it was way beyond my budget. (I seem to recall a price around $125 for each volume.)

Then the very excellent Dover Publications reprints of several Thorndyke books came to my attention. These "trade size" books (about the size of a hardcover but actually extremely durable paperbacks. I still have them some thirty years later, I've read them several times, and they are still intact -- far from falling apart, Dover Books are built to last).

These were my introduction to Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke -- a detective in a class by himself.

"The Mystery of 31, New Inn" -- a novelette that introduced Thorndyke, and which author R[ichard] Austin Freeman later developed into a novel -- is a simply fascinating account of how arsenic poisoning can be administered so that the victim could breathe it in (rather than the typical administration in food or drink, which is so commonly used in fiction). It also demonstrated how the detective could scientifically evaluate the method used to administer the poison.
This same Dover volume (The Best Dr. Thorndyke Detective Stories) included some short stories about Dr. Thorndyke, including the world's first "inverted" detective story. (Read "The Case of Oscar Brodski" for FREE in the Reading Room.) Freeman decided to try something entirely new in detective fiction: Begin with the crime, show the reader everything from the criminal's plan to the execution and getaway; the reader now knows all -- who the criminal is, exactly why and how he committed the crime (step by step), and what he did to cover up his trail. Then bring the detective into the case; let the detective scientifically examine the clues; finally, let him reveal in detail his analysis of the evidence. The result is astounding, as you'll see when you read it for yourself. (Freeman was to produce half-a-dozen two-part "inverted" short stories that used this technique.)
A second Dover reprint included two novels. The Stoneware Monkey and The Penrose Mystery: Two Dr. Thorndyke Detective Novels also demonstrated scientific analysis and explication.
A third Dover book reprinted the "inverted" full-length novel -- Mr. Pottermack's Oversight, in which Dr. Thorndyke discerned from a series of photographs that something was amiss. (The photographs were of a series of footprints made by a pair of shoes worn by a man walking along a dirt path. At some point, Dr. Thorndyke discerned a discrepancy worthy of his investigation.)