After a short hiatus, we're back with our tenth episode. It's a mystery this time in the tradition of the Sherlock Holmes and Hercules Poirot stories and was written by Baroness Emma Orczy of Scarlet Pimpernel fame. It's called The Liverpool Mystery, and as the title suggests, is set in the coastal city of Liverpool. Originally published in The Royal Magazine in June 1902, it was part of a series of stories featuring a character known only as the old man in the corner, who reveals the truth behind unsolved crimes to a female journalist from the comfort of a London tea-room. Orczy was inspired to write the stories by the success of Sherlock Holmes, but made a conscious decision to make her detective as different as possible from his more famous forerunner. The stories focus entirely on the reasoning powers of the old man, and unlike Sherlock Holmes, he does nothing to bring the criminals to justice. It's an interesting take, which we think you'll enjoy. C.J. Carter-Stephenson is on narration duty as usual and music is by Kevin MacLeod. Now hold onto your hats as we fire up the Back of the Bookshelf time machine and take you back to our beloved age of steam trains and hansom cabs...
