The Professor's Mummy: Egyptian artifacts, abuse, love and murder all mix in this Victorian thriller

When he was three the family emigrated to Dunedin in New Zealand. Here he started his education at the Otago Boys' High School before studying law at the University of Otago. Hume was admitted to the New Zealand bar in 1885.

He moved to become a barrister’s clerk to Melbourne and once there also began writing plays. The local theatres were not interested in his works, and it was only after one was stolen and presented as being by someone else that his stock rose at all. Hume now moved in a different direction and wrote a novel based on those that were proving popular in Melbourne at that time. The result ‘The Mystery of a Hansom Cab’ with its vivid descriptions of poor urban life was initially self-published and became a great success, albeit that was only after he had sold the copyright for a mere £50. This Victorian age detective novel pre-dated Sherlock Holmes but is said to have inspired Conan Doyle.

Shortly thereafter Hume returned to England and began a writing career that would eventually exceed over 130 novels as well as short story collections, plays, song lyrics and even book reviews for the plethora of literary journals of the day. Most of his output was detective stories, thrillers and mysteries.

Hume was known to be deeply religious as well as intensely private and avoided almost all publicity, except in later life, when he lectured at debating societies and young people’s clubs. He travelled regularly to Europe and primarily to Italy, France and Switzerland.

Fergus Hume died on the 12th July 1932 at Thundersley in Essex. He was 73 and was buried in an unmarked grave.