R Austin Freeman Author

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R. Austin Freeman - Amazon Author Page

R. Austin Freeman (1862–1943) was a British author of detective stories. A pioneer of the inverted detective story, in which the reader knows from the start who committed the crime, Freeman is best known as the creator of the “medical jurispractitioner” Dr. John Thorndyke. First introduced in The Red Thumb Mark (1907), the brilliant forensic investigator went on to star in dozens of novels and short stories over the next decades.

Richard Austin Freeman at wikipedia

Richard Austin Freeman (11 April 1862 – 28 September 1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He claimed to have invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective’s attempt to solve the mystery). Freeman used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.

Thorndyke novels and story collections

  • The Red Thumb Mark (1907)
  • John Thorndyke's Cases (1909), published in the USA as Dr. Thorndyke's Cases [story collection]
  • The Eye of Osiris (1911), published in the USA as The Vanishing Man
  • The Mystery of 31 New Inn (1912)
  • The Singing Bone (1912), published in the USA as The Adventures of Dr. Thorndyke [story collection]
  • A Silent Witness (1914)
  • Helen Vardon's Confession (1922)
  • The Cat's Eye (1923)
  • Dr. Thorndyke's Casebook (1923), published in the USA as The Blue Scarab [story collection]
  • The Mystery of Angelina Frood (1924)
  • The Shadow of the Wolf (1925)
  • The Puzzle Lock (1925) [story collection]
  • The D'Arblay Mystery (1926)
  • A Certain Dr. Thorndyke (1927)
  • The Magic Casket (1927) [story collection]
  • As A Thief in the Night (1928)
  • The Famous Cases of Dr. Thorndyke (1928), published in the USA as The Dr. Thorndyke Omnibus [These two volumes differ in the number and arrangement of stories].
  • Mr. Pottermack's Oversight (1930)
  • Pontifex, Son and Thorndyke (1931)
  • When Rogues Fall Out (1932), published in the USA as Dr. Thorndyke's Discovery
  • Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes (1933)
  • For the Defence: Dr. Thorndyke (1934)
  • The Penrose Mystery (1936)
  • Felo de Se (1937), published in the USA as Death At The Inn
  • The Stoneware Monkey (1938)
  • Mr. Polton Explains (1940)
  • Dr. Thorndyke's Crime File (1941) -- omnibus including "Meet Dr. Thorndyke" (essay), The Eye of Osiris (novel), "The Art of the Detective Story" (essay), The Mystery of Angelina Frood (novel), "5A King's Bench Walk" (essay), and Mr. Pottermack's Oversight (novel).
  • The Jacob Street Mystery (1942), published in the USA as The Unconscious Witness