The Leavenworth Case

The Leavenworth Case
John Curran

Anna K. Green

THIS DETECTIVE STORY CLUB CLASSIC is introduced by Dr John Curran, who looks at how Anna Katherine Green was a pioneer who inspired a new generation of crime writers, in particular a young woman named Agatha Christie.When the retired merchant Horatio Leavenworth is found shot dead in his mansion library, suspicion falls on his nieces, Mary and Eleanore, who stand to inherit his vast fortune. Their lawyer, Everett Raymond, infatuated with one of the sisters, is determined that the official investigator, detective Ebenezer Gryce, widens the inquiry to less obvious suspects.The Leavenworth Case, the first detective novel written by a woman, immortalised its author Anna Katharine Green as ‘The Mother of Detective Fiction’. Admired for her careful plotting and legal accuracy, the book enjoyed enormous success both in England and America, and was widely translated. It was republished by The Detective Story Club after Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, speaking at the 1928 Thanksgiving Day dinner of the American Society in London, remarked: ‘An American woman, a successor of Poe, Anna K. Green, gave us The Leavenworth Case, which I still think one of the best detective stories ever written.’

Copyright (#u20167c21-19b4-523d-a4be-3b8628f3d827)

Published by COLLINS CRIME CLUB

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons 1878

Published by The Detective Story Club for Wm Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1929

Introduction © John Curran 2016

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1929, 2016

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008137595

Ebook Edition © August 2016 ISBN: 9780008137601

Version: 2016-06-22

Table of Contents

Cover (#u7e989841-33e6-5814-94bd-34c714f4a95f)

Title Page (#u0e7d987b-8201-5cd3-bbc5-106365fa0f45)

Copyright (#u3c9933ae-406b-5744-8a14-017771f81c82)

Introduction (#ud3298378-b41b-55f0-9776-b2a0cd87f12f)

Book One: The Problem (#ue07ad7be-98a6-5b94-8b29-19dd6ae96900)

Chapter I: ‘a Great Case’ (#u51169e65-80d8-5016-9e5b-d0842375e62b)

Chapter II: The Coroner’s Inquest (#u92a146a5-652f-52f6-892c-00d66386cb34)

Chapter III: Facts and Deductions (#u65b41070-b06f-52ef-8776-449278f612d6)

Chapter IV: A Clue (#u99acb254-575e-5720-a784-dd0473e2e7b4)

Chapter V: Expert Testimony (#uff222d00-f4d0-57f5-a3b6-02b6270492fc)

Chapter VI: Side-Lights (#ueaefd1d5-4b17-5a04-a6c4-56dd92702222)

Chapter VII: Mary Leavenworth (#u231a9bd9-f2fd-5b6d-95f1-e8c95da32f1e)

Chapter VIII: Circumstantial Evidence (#u24c872a1-a7a2-5bae-b592-436664e86bc6)

Chapter IX: A Discovery (#ub4bde90c-f4e5-5730-a72a-0937301e25a0)

Chapter X: Mr Gryce Receives New Impetus (#u1e74afca-b5bc-5cb9-ac4c-6e5c83fd87a2)

Chapter XI: The Summons (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XII: Eleanore (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XIII: The Problem (#litres_trial_promo)

Book Two: Henry Clavering (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XIV: Mr Gryce at Home (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XV: Ways Opening (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XVI: The Will of a Millionaire (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XVII: The Beginning of Great Surprises (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XVIII: On the Stairs (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XIX: In My Office (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XX: ‘Trueman! Trueman! Trueman!’ (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XXI: A Prejudice (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XXII: Patch-Work (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XXIII: The Story of a Charming Woman (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XXIV: A Report Followed by Smoke (#litres_trial_promo)