Fergus Hume

Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was an English-born New Zealand lawyer and prolific author, best known for his debut novel, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), which became an international bestseller. He wrote over 130 novels, primarily detective fiction and mysteries, and spent much of his later life in England. Despite his success, he earned little from his most famous work due to selling the rights early.