''The Dorrington Deed-Box'' is a collection of short stories by the British writer

Arthur Morrison Arthur George Morrison (1 November 1863 – 4 December 1945) was an English writer and journalist known for realistic novels, for stories about working-class life in the East End of London, and for detective stories featuring a specific detecti ...

published in 1897. It contains six stories featuring cases of the unscrupulous

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Horace Dorrington, told from the viewpoint of one his clients and potential victims, James Rigby. It was part of a general boom of detective stories in the wake of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

's creation of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

. Morrison had previously written stories about an honest private detective Martin Hewitt, but with Dorrington he created a more cynical character who does not hesitate to commit armed robbery or murder to suit his ends.Clarke p.128-129

Stories

1) ''The Narrative of Mr. James Rigby''
2) ''The Case of Janissary''
3) ''The Case of the "Mirror of Portugal"''
4) ''The Affair of the "Avalanche Bicycle and Tyre Co., Limited"''
5) ''The Case of Mr. Loftus Deacon''
6) ''Old Cater's Money''

Adaptation

The 1970s British television series '' The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'' featured two episodes based on Dorrington stories, with

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best known ...

portraying the detective.

References

Bibliography

* Clarke, Clare. ''Late Victorian Crime Fiction in the Shadows of Sherlock''. Springer, 2014.

External links

The Dorrington Deed-Box by Arthur Morrison (eBook)
at Project Gutenberg * 1897 short story collections British short story collections Detective fiction short story collections {{1890s-mystery-story-collection-stub