In writing the following story, the author has had in view no purpose other than that of affording entertainment to such readers as are interested in problems of crime and their solutions; and the story itself differs in no respect from others of its class, excepting in that an effort has been made to keep within the probabilities of ordinary life, both in the characters and in the incidents.Nevertheless it may happen that the book may serve a useful purpose in drawing attention to certain popular misapprehensions on the subject of finger-prints and their evidential value; misapprehensions the extent of which may be judged when we learn from the newspapers that several Continental commercial houses have actually substituted finger-prints for signed initials.The facts and figures contained in Mr. Singleton's evidence, including the very liberal estimate of the population of the globe, are, of course, taken from Mr. Galton's great and important work on finger-prints; to which the reader who is interested in the subject is referred for much curious and valuable information.
The Red Thumb Mark
The Red Thumb Mark
It is enough to convict him of the crime until physician Dr. John Thorndyke dares to ask?and answer?the question, ?Can a fingerprint be forged?”The first detective novel to engage in scientific technology, The Red Thumb Mark has become a ...
His first Thorndyke story, The Red Thumb Mark, was published in 1907 and shortly afterwards he pioneered the inverted detective story, in which the identity of the criminal is shown from the beginning: some short stories with this feature ...
Originally written in 1907, "The Red Thumb Mark" opens the series by R. Austin Freeman featuring Dr. Thorndyke, who is a sort of Sherlock-Holmes type character.
Many of the Dr. Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.
R. Austen Freeman's mystery novel, "The Red Thumb Mark", tells the story of missing diamonds, untouched safe, two blood smeared thumb prints and a mysterious Mr X. If these are present, Dr Thorndyke must be there too.
He invented the inverted detective story and used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.
R. Austin Freeman (1862 - 1943) was a British author best known for writing detective fiction. Freeman's most famous works are centered around the fictional forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke.
Many of the Thorndyke volumes have been difficult to obtain for decades.