Victorian detective story, first serialised in the London daily newspaper The Star in 1891. and the basis for three film adaptations - The Perfect Crime (1928), The Crime Doctor (1934) and The Verdict (1946). Six-page introduction by Tim Lieder, five page introduction by the author (from 1895) in which he states the novel was written in two weeks ''to meet a sudden demand from 'The Star', which made a 'new departure' with it''.