The Leavenworth Case

by Anna Katharine Green, Michael Sims (Introduction)

Overview

The classic genre-defining whodunit, by the mother of the detective novel

Introducing the first American series detective, Ebenezer Gryce, The Leavenworth Case was published nine years before the debut of Sherlock Holmes, and made author Anna Katharine Green an enormously popular and influential writer who changed the mystery genre forever. Showcasing Green's verve and style, The Leavenworth Case opens with the shocking murder of Horatio Leavenworth, a wealthy New York merchant, philanthropist, and well-known member of the community. His favorite niece, Mary, is to inherit his fortune, and all of the evidence seems to implicate her or her sister. Yet surprises greet Gryce at every turn-even before the second murder.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143106128
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/27/2010
Series:	Penguin Classics Series
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	427,528
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Anna Katharine Green (1846–1935) was an American writer and prominent figure in the detective genre. Born in New York City, Green developed an affinity for literature at an early age. She studied at Ripley Female College in Vermont and was mentored by poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson. One of Green’s best-known works is The Leavenworth Case, which was published in 1878. It was a critical and commercial success that made her one of the leading voices in literature. Over the course of her career, Green would go on to write nearly 40 books.

Table of Contents

BOOK I. THE PROBLEM

I. "A GREAT CASE"

II. THE CORONER'S INQUEST

III. FACTS AND DEDUCTIONS

IV. A CLUE

V. EXPERT TESTIMONY

VI. SIDE-LIGHTS

VII. MARY LEAVENWORTH

VIII. CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

IX. A DISCOVERY

X. MR. GRYCE RECEIVES NEW IMPETUS

XI. THE SUMMONS

XII. ELEANORE

XIII. THE PROBLEM

BOOK II. HENRY CLAVERING

XIV. MR. GRYCE AT HOME

XV. WAYS OPENING

XVI. THE WILL OF A MILLIONAIRE

XVII. THE BEGINNING OF GREAT SURPRISES

XVIII. ON THE STAIRS

XIX. IN MY OFFICE

XX. "TRUEMAN! TRUEMAN! TRUEMAN!"

XXI. A PREJUDICE

XXII. PATCH-WORK

XXIII. THE STORY OF A CHARMING WOMAN

XXIV. A REPORT FOLLOWED BY SMOKE

XXV. TIMOTHY COOK

XXVI. MR. GRYCE EXPLAINS HIMSELF

BOOK III. HANNAH

XXVII. AMY BELDEN

XXVIII. A WEIRD EXPERIENCE

XXIX. THE MISSING WITNESS

XXX. BURNED PAPER

XXXI. "THEREBY HANGS A TALE."

XXXII. MRS. BELDEN'S NARRATIVE

XXXIII. UNEXPECTED TESTIMONY

BOOK IV. THE PROBLEM SOLVED

XXXIV. MR. GRYCE RESUMES CONTROL

XXXV. FINE WORK

XXXVI. GATHERED THREADS

XXXVII. CULMINATION

XXXVIII. A FULL CONFESSION

XXXIX. THE OUTCOME OF A GREAT CRIME

Editorial Reviews

First published in 1878, nine years before the debut of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet, this atmospheric and suspenseful mystery well deserves a modern audience. When someone shoots Horatio Leavenworth, a wealthy retired merchant, through the head in his library late one night, the evidence at the inquest indicates that no one could have left the victim's locked Manhattan mansion before the discovery of the body the next morning. Suspicion thus falls on members of the household, specifically the dead man's nieces, Mary and Eleanore, only one of whom stands to benefit from their uncle's death. Everett Raymond, a junior partner in a New York law firm that had Leavenworth as a client, teams with unassuming official investigator Ebenezer Gryce to seek the truth. Green (1846-1935), whose smooth prose remains fresh, makes Gryce an interesting enough character to leave fans of traditional whodunits eager to see more of the detective in reissues of his further exploits. (May)

Publishers Weekly