Saint Paul Public Library librarian János reads "The Lenton Croft Robberies" by Arthur Morrison, from The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.

When Arthur Conan Doyle first began publishing his Sherlock Holmes short stories in 1891, they became an instant hit in Britain and North America. The popularity grew so overwhelming to Doyle, who feared that the stories were overshadowing his "serious" literary work, that he killed off his own hit character just two years later. With the public still clamoring for more short crime fiction, a flood of other authors launched their own detective series. Though little remembered today—particularly since Doyle relented and resurrected Holmes a decade later—many nevertheless remain worthy reads.

One of the first authors to churn out his own series of detective stories was Arthur Morrison. He deliberately made his character, Martin Hewitt, the opposite of Sherlock Holmes in many respects. Where Holmes was irascible, hard to deal with, and disparaging of the police, Martin Hewitt is a genial, easygoing fellow who often works closely with authorities. Unfortunately, this also makes him a rather blander character, but Arthur Morrison makes up for this with really good plots for most of his stories.

"The York Mystery" by Baroness Emma Orczy, from The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

Adult StorytimeBy Saint Paul Public LibraryJul 15, 2020