The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a mystery novel by the British writer Fergus Hume. Fergus Hume was born in the UK and when he was 6 months old his parents emigrated with him to New Zealand. At 25 he moved to Melbourne where he lived for 3 years. He then departed for the UK where he lived for the rest of his life. He had some minor success in the UK as a playwright. The book was first published in Australia in 1886. Set in Melbourne, the story focuses on the investigation of a homicide involving a body discovered in a hansom cab, as well as an exploration into the social class divide in the city. The book was successful in Australia, selling 100,000 copies in the first two print runs. It was then published in Britain and the United States, and went on to sell over half a million copies worldwide, outselling the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, A Study in Scarlet (1887).

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab received praise in works including A Companion to Crime Fiction, A History of the Book in Australia 1891–1945, and A History of Victoria, and was featured in the book Vintage Mystery and Detective Stories. A parody version was published in 1888, and film adaptations were produced in 1911, 1915 and 1925. The story was adapted into a BBC Radio serial in 1958, a stage play in 1990, a radio promotion in 1991 and a telemovie in 2012.