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1Leavenworth Case

By Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katharine Green was one of the first female mystery writers to publish under her own name. She was never very successful as an author, but the technical excellence of her books caused several law schools to use The Leavenworth Case as a textbook in some of their classes, as an example of how misleading circumstantial evidence can be.

2Spinster Book

By Olive Green and Myrtle Reed

A cross between guidebook and social commentary, The Spinster Book gives clever and humorous insights on topics such as courting, handling men and women, love letters, marriage and spinsterhood. (Summary by Kristin Hughes)

3That Affair Next Door

By Anna Katharine Green

The dead body of a woman was found under a large cabinet. But she had been dead four hours before the cabinet fell upon her. The owners of the house had been on vacation and the place empty. Who was she and why was she in the empty house all alone? Summary by Dawn L.

4Strange Disappearance

By Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 – April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories (no doubt assisted by her lawyer father).

5Woman in the Alcove

By Anna Katharine Green

"I was, perhaps, the plainest girl in the room that night. I was also the happiest—up to one o'clock. Then my whole world crumbled, or, at least, suffered an eclipse. Why and how, I am about to relate." Thus begins this mystery told by Anna Katharine Green, one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and renowned for writing well plotted, legally accurate stories.(Summary by Annise)

6Initials Only

By Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 – April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories (no doubt assisted by her lawyer father).

7Missing: Page Thirteen

By Anna Katharine Green

Violet Strange, a clever petite detective, is called upon to solve the mystery of a page gone missing from an important document. The futures of several people, including an eccentric misanthrope, a chemical scientist, a bride and groom, depend on the quick resolution of this problem. In solving one mystery, she uncovers another which dates back many years. (Summary by Bev J. Stevens)

8Millionaire Baby

By Anna Katharine Green

A reward of five thousand dollars is offered, by Phil Ocumpaugh, to whoever will give such information as will lead to the recovery, alive or dead, of his six-year-old daughter, Gwendolen, missing since the afternoon of August the 16th, from her home in New York. (quote from the book)

9Three Thousand Dollars

By Anna Katharine Green

This short story by Anna Katharine Green revolves around a plot to steal some goods secured safely within an impenetrable vault within the confines of Mr. Stoughton's business concern. Nobody seems to have any clue as to how the vault can be accessed, and yet access is gained once a day by person or persons unknown, by a means not known to anyone, apparently Mr. Stoughton himself included! Every clerk in the office is suspect, as the devious plot to plunder the vault's contents unfolds. (Introduction by Roger Melin)

10X Y Z - A Detective Story

By Anna Katharine Green

"Sometimes in the course of his experience, a detective, while engaged in ferreting out the mystery of one crime, runs inadvertently upon the clue to another. But rarely has this been done in a manner more unexpected or with attendant circumstances of greater interest than in the instance I am now about to relate.<br /><br />For some time the penetration of certain Washington officials had been baffled by the clever devices of a gang of counterfeiters who had inundated the western portion of Massachusetts with spurious Treasury notes. Some of the best talent of the Secret Service had been expended upon the matter, but with no favorable result, when, one day, notice was received at Washington that a number of suspicious-looking letters, addressed to the simple initials, X. Y. Z., Brandon, Mass., were being daily forwarded through the mails of that region; and it being deemed possible that a clue had at last been offered to the mystery in hand, I was sent northward to investigate." (Excerpt from chapter 1)

11House of the Whispering Pines

By Anna Katharine Green

The country club house The Whispering Pines was closed for the winter, but only one day after he locked the place personally, the narrator sees smoke come out of the chimney. He decides to investigate and enters the house. Hidden in the dark, he sees the sister of his fiance, the girl he secretly loves, run out of the house with tears in her eyes. Upstairs then, he discovers the dead body of his betrothed... (Introduction by Carolin)

12Dark Hollow

By Anna Katharine Green

The small town of Shelby is shaken by a brutal murder. A man by the name of Etheridge was found beaten to death. A local inn-keeper, is convicted and executed for the crime. Many years later, "a woman in purple" shows up at the house of Ostrander, the respected judge who had sentenced the inn-keeper to be executed. This mysterious woman turns out to be the wife of the convicted man, but she does not believe he was guilty. She visits the Judge, to challenge him on his verdict. He listens to her plea, but reaffirms his belief in her husbands guilt. Having nowhere to go, Deborah is given the position of maid, which she secretly uses to obtain proof of her husband's innocence and the identity of the real killer. However, the initial evidence that Deborah collects points in troubling new directions. (Summary by Elaine Webb)

13Bronze Hand

By Anna Katharine Green

A political society secretly operates in Baltimore. When he tries to help his beautiful neighbor Miss Calhoun recover a stolen ring which might cause great unknown danger, Mr. Abbott is drawn into the midst of the conspiracy. (Introduction by Carolin)

14One of My Sons

By Anna Katharine Green

A young girl frantically summons a gentleman walking by on the street to come in and help her grandfather. Arthur Outhwaite answers her cry for help only to find himself as the last person to see her grandfather alive and left with the admonishment from the dying man to deliver a letter to someone, and to that person only. Unfortunately, he dies before he can inform Outhwaite who that particular person is. Being in a house of strangers, Outhwaite is thrust into the mystery of not only finding this unknown person, but is also faced with the mysterious circumstances under which the child's grandfather died. (Summary by Laura Victoria)

15Amethyst Box

By Anna Katharine Green

On the evening before his marriage, Sinclair loses a precious curiosity from his collection: an amethyst box, containing a tiny flask of deadly poison. He suspects that this poison is in the possession of either his betrothed or her cousin, the girl his best friend Worthington loves. Turning to Worthington for help, they try to recover the box before the poison can be administered... (Summary by Carolin)

16House in the Mist

By Anna Katharine Green

It was a night to drive any man indoors. Not only was the darkness impenetrable, but the raw mist enveloping hill and valley made the open road anything but desirable to a belated wayfarer like myself.<br /><br /> Being young, untrammeled, and naturally indifferent to danger, I was not averse to adventure; and having my fortune to make, was always on the lookout for El Dorado, which, to ardent souls, lies ever beyond the next turning. Consequently, when I saw a light shimmering through the mist at my right, I resolved to make for it and the shelter it so opportunely offered.<br /><br /> But I did not realize then, as I do now, that shelter does not necessarily imply refuge, or I might not have undertaken this adventure with so light a heart. Yet, who knows? The impulses of an unfettered spirit lean toward daring, and youth, as I have said, seeks the strange, the unknown and, sometimes, the terrible. (Exerpt from Chapter I)

17Ruby and the Caldron

By Anna Katharine Green

A valuable ruby is lost during a disturbance in the snow before a ball at The Evergreens. A detective is called for right away to recover it, but who, of the few guests, might have the jewel, and how to solve the mystery without causing a scandal? (Summary by Carolin)

18Agatha Webb

By Anna Katharine Green

A universally beloved woman has been murdered. But who would have the heart to kill Agatha Webb? Would her husband do it for money matters? Or would it be the cook, who died at about the same time? Or would it be the rich and well-connected Mr. Frederick, who ran away into the woods? Miss Page, a servant and the sweetheart of the same Mr. Frederick, wants to join the investigation, but is constantly prevented from doing so. (summary by Stav Nisser)

19Circular Study

By Anna Katharine Green

In this well-plotted, character-driven mystery, Detective Gryce receives a cryptic message calling him to the scene of a “strange” crime. He soon finds that the adjective is correct, for in a quiet brownstone house in a respectable New York City neighborhood, he finds the body of a man brutally stabbed to death, yet lovingly laid out on the floor of his study. The only apparent witnesses are a deaf and dumb butler driven mad by the event, and a caged bird that sings out a vital but puzzling clue. Before he solves the crime, with the help of the redoubtable Miss Amelia Butterworth, Gryce must uncover a motive that spans generations and the passions that have kept it alive. Anna Katharine Green was a pioneering writer of detective fiction in the United States. Her first such novel, The Leavenworth Case, was published in 1878. She is credited with changing the genre by making her stories legally accurate. She invented the "girl detective." But her works remained popular because of their lively, twisting plots and the strong characters she developed. (Summary by Christine Dufour)

20Mystery of the Hasty Arrow

By Anna Katharine Green

It is the noon hour at a museum in New York City. The date: May 23, 1913. The weekday, attendance is light; the attendees are scattered between two floors. Suddenly a cry rings out from the second floor. Scrambling to Section II, the museum director discovers a teenage girl dead with an arrow through her heart. An older woman hovers over her whispering incoherent phrases in the girl's ear and offering incomprehensible answers to the director's questions. She is the only witness to the crime, or accident, as the case may be. How will the feeble, 83 year-old Mr. Gryce unravel this mystery when this witness is apparently insane?<br><br>Anna Katharine Green was noted for her scientific approach to the murder mystery. In The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow she breaks more ground with her in-depth study of the psychological interplay between the murderer, the victim and the witnesses. Although more quietly paced, this mystery presents many elements of a current psychological thriller: blind ambition, narcissism, obsession and betrayal. Green adds a peculiar twist with the fact that two heartbroken relatives of the victim sacrifice virtually everything to protect the murderer.(Summary girlbooks/blog.com )

21Mayor's Wife

By Anna Katharine Green

Miss Saunders is out for an adventure. One, which is full of secrets, hints, and half-lies. One, which will require all of her wits. She is to be the companion to the Mayor's wife. The Lady is unhappy, and the reason for her grave unhappiness is more serious than you think. (Summary by Stav Nisser)

22Staircase at the Heart's Delight

By Anna Katharine Green

Detective Ebenezer Gryce tells the story of the case with which he begun his career in 1840. Several wealthy men were drowned and washed ashore in New York City, and the first clue leads to a dubious money lender... (Summary by Carolin)

23Hand and Ring

By Anna Katharine Green

Widow Clemmens is struck down in her parlor while the town's legal professionals chat outside the courthouse down the street. An investigation is made and two equally plausible suspects are quickly unearthed. But is either guilty? And what role does the mysterious Miss Imogene Dare play in this drama? A classic Green mystery notable particularly for the extended courtroom scenes in the second half of the book. (Summary by Richard Kilmer)

24Doctor, his Wife, and the Clock

By Anna Katharine Green

A man has been shot dead in his house. Ebenezer Gryce is on the case, but he has no leads, no witnesses, no evidence -- until he decides to talk to the neighbors of the victim, a blind doctor and his beautiful wife.. - Summary by Carolin

25Filigree Ball

By Anna Katharine Green

[The Moore House] was standing when Washington was a village. It antedates the Capitol and the White House. Built by a man of wealth, it bears to this day the impress of the large ideas and quiet elegance of colonial times; but the shadow which speedily fell across it made it a marked place even in those early days. While it has always escaped the hackneyed epithet of "haunted," families that have moved in have as quickly moved out, giving as their excuse that no happiness was to be found there and that sleep was impossible under its roof. <br><br>That there was some reason for this lack of rest within walls which were not without their tragic reminiscences, all must acknowledge. Death had often occurred there, and while this fact can be stated in regard to most old houses, it is not often that one can say, as in this case, that it was invariably sudden and invariably of one character. A lifeless man, lying outstretched on a certain hearthstone, might be found once in a house and awaken no special comment; but when this same discovery has been made twice, if not thrice, during the history of a single dwelling, one might surely be pardoned a distrust of its seemingly home-like appointments, and discern in its slowly darkening walls the presence of an evil which if left to itself might perish in the natural decay of the place, but which, if met and challenged, might strike again and make another blot on its thrice-crimsoned hearthstone. - Excerpt from Chapter I

26Forsaken Inn

By Anna Katharine Green

Told from the perspective of a Mrs. Truax, the owner of an inn during the time of the American and French Revolutions, "The Forsaken Inn" is a locked-room mystery that keeps readers guessing about what has happened. A young couple stays at the inn for the night, and goes on their way in the morning ... and several years later, the bride's body is found in a secret room of the inn. Yet, many people saw that bride leave with her husband. How can this be?<br /><br /> Green tells her tale through Mrs. Truax' diary, and through letters and discussions with other characters who were friends of the young couple. An entertaining and highly recommended read. (Summary by Richard Kilmer)

27Chief Legatee

By Anna Katharine Green

"I was married to-day in Grace Church. At the altar my bride--you probably know her name, Miss Georgian Hazen--wore a natural look, and was in all respects, so far as any one could see, a happy woman, satisfied with her choice and pleased with the éclat and elegancies of the occasion. Half-way down the aisle this all changed. I remember the instant perfectly. Her hand was on my arm and I felt it suddenly stiffen. I was not alarmed, but I gave her a quick look and saw that something had happened....<br> ...I should have passed the matter over as a mere attack of nerves, if I had not afterwards detected in her face, through all the hurry and excitement of the ensuing reception, a strained expression not at all natural to her. This was still more evident after the congratulations of a certain guest, who, I am sure, whispered to her before he passed on...<br> ...She entered the office with me and was standing close at my side all the time I was writing our names in the register; but later, when I turned to ask her to enter the elevator with me, she was gone..." (Excerpts from Chapter 1)

28Hermit of ---- Street

By Anna Katharine Green

Delight Hunter spends her days looking out of her window at her handsome but very mysterious and reclusive next door neighbor. She walks straight into a mystery when one day a fire starts in one of the upper rooms of his house and she dashes over to warn him, only to have him lock her in with instructions to let no one else in. Why is he so insistent that no one come in? What secrets are hidden within the walls of this house? - Summary by Laura Victoria

29Lost Man's Lane

By Anna Katharine Green

After several people apparently vanish into thin air while walking along the same country road, New York detective Mr Gryce calls on the skills of Miss Amelia Butterworth to help him solve this most puzzling crime.<br /><br /> The author of Lost Man’s Lane, Anna Katharine Green, has been described as the first female American writer of detective stories. (summary by Mary Bard)

30Sword of Damocles

By Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katharine Green is best known as one of the first women detective writers, and The Sword of Damocles, first published in 1881, does indeed include several mysteries. There is a very brief appearance by her famous detective, Mr Gryce, but at the heart of the book, which is subtitled A Story of New York Life, are a number of very different love stories. (Summary by Mary Bard)

Anna Katharine Green is now best-known for her popular mystery and detective stories, but she also wrote some excellent poetry. - Summary by Carolin

32Leavenworth Case (Version 2)

By Anna Katharine Green

The Leavenworth Case is a gripping detective novel set in New York, and is one of the first detective fiction novels to be written by a female. Indeed, it was the first novel by Anna Katharine Green who came to be known as 'the mother of the detective novel', and 'The Leavenworth Case' was cited by Agatha Christie as an influence on her own fiction. The story plot twists and turns leaving the reader uncertain as to the identity of the murderer until the very end. This is one of the best detective stories you will ever hear.

33Thief

By Anna Katharine Green

At a dinner party, a valuable coin is lost while being passed around among the guests to look at. One of the gentlemen insists to empty his pockets to the host to free himself of all suspicion, and the other gentlemen concur, except one, who absolutely refuses, and leaves the house. Is he the thief or did he have another reason to wish to avoid inspection of his pockets? - Summary by Carolin

34Cynthia Wakeham's Money

By Anna Katharine Green

A young lawyer is called to the house of a dying woman to draw up her will. While searching for her legal heirs, meets a beautiful woman with a mysterious scar. The lawyer soon finds that his search for the heirs leads to some very unusual occurrences. (Summary by Richard Kilmer)

Anna Katharine Green was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green has been called "the mother of the detective novel". - Summary by Wikipedia

36Mill Mystery

By Anna Katharine Green

In the quiet New England village of S--, a young and beloved minister is found dead, ignominiously drowned in a dye vat in a dilapidated mill. Almost immediately, rumors of suicide begin to circulate. But was it suicide? How could a devout man of the cloth come to believe life was hopeless? The young woman to whom he was secretly engaged is adamant that it could not be. When this young woman tragically dies on the same day as her lover, it is left to her roommate Constance Sterling, a young woman without family or prospects, to determine the truth. (Summary by Jacquerie)

37Golden Slipper, and Other Problems for Violet Strange

By Anna Katharine Green

Miss Violet Strange is young, petite and attractive and has a wealthy father. She also has the knack for solving problems. This collection contains nine mysteries or problems for her to solve in an early example of the 'girl detective' by mistress of crime, Anna Katharine Green - Summary by Lynne Thompson

38Doctor Izard

By Anna Katharine Green

The opening scene takes place in a hospital ward where two patients lie, apparently dying, when a man enters and offers a proposition to one of them. The story then shifts to another town where, years earlier, Polly Earle’s mother died of unknown causes and her father disappeared, leaving Polly, a small child, parentless and penniless. Raised by neighbors, Polly is now a beautiful young woman engaged to be married. A stranger arrives and makes an unsettling request of Polly. Doctor Izard, an intensely private person who had attended her mother, becomes involved. Anna Katherine Green, a prolific and popular mystery writer, was considered to be "The American Agatha Christie". (Lee Smalley)

39Woman in the Alcove (Version 2)

By Anna Katharine Green

Rita Van Arsdale falls in love and is proposed to by the gentleman Mr. Durand during a fancy high society party. She has landed the man of her dreams, but her wedding planning with Mr. Durand is interrupted by the beautiful Mrs. Fairbrother who is wearing a stunning diamond that attracts the attention of everyone at the party. During the course of the evening, a crime is committed and Rita’s fiance becomes the prime suspect. Rita must work to clear her fiance’s name through a series of twists and turns to discover what really occurred that night. Anna Katherine Green was one of the first American novelists to write detective fiction. Her stories are known for being well plotted and legally accurate. - Summary by Jenn Broda

Obra maestra de la «madre de la novela de detectives», Anna Katharine Green, conocida como la Agatha Christie victoriana. El misterio de Gramercy Park, publicado en 1897, es la décima novela policíaca de Anna K. Green y la primera en la que se introduce el inolvidable personaje de Amelia Butterworth(precursora de la señorita Marple), dama soltera y detective aficionada, que aparecerá en otras dos novelas, Lost Man’s Lane y The Circular Study. Pero además de la aparición de este personaje seminal que dará pie a posteriores creaciones dentro de la ficción policial, en El misterio de Gramercy Park destaca un intrincado argumento de cuidada construcción y un magnífico retrato de la sociedad de la época, los últimos años del siglo XIX en Norteamérica - Summary by Phileas Fogg

41Condiments, Spices and Flavors

By Mary Elizabeth Green

In this pamphlet no attempt has been made to give specific directions as to the uses of spices and condiments. It must be borne in mind that their usage results neither from the demands of fashion nor of a vitiated sense of taste, but from their own germicidal and preservative qualities. … A short account of the divers kinds and qualities of these excellent substances may lead, it is hoped, to a more intelligent use of them in cookery. - Excerpt from the preface.

Anna Katharine Green es considerada la madre de la novela de detectives. Fue una escritora admirada por autores de su tiempo como Wilkie Collins o Arthur Conan Doyle, y modelo y ejemplo para posteriores escritores del género como Agatha Christie. No en vano se conoce a Anna Katharine Green como la Agatha Christie victoriana. - Introducción por Phileas Fogg

43News From No Man's Land

By James Green

James Green (1864-1948) was a Methodist minister who was a chaplain to Australian troops in the Boer War and in the Australian Imperial Force in World War I. This memoir was published 1917, while the war was on-going. “In spite of necessary suppression, or vagueness of names of localities, my comrades of the Fifty-fifth Battalion, to which I was attached, will recognize many of the incidents described, and I can only hope that reading what the padre has to say may cheer them in some lonely places, or help them to be happy though miserable in some indifferent billets.” (From the Foreword) <br> Green served with distinction at Gallipoli as well as in several campaigns in western Europe. He developed and maintained all his life a huge respect for the common fighting man. Notes: "Padre" (Latin for father) was how military chaplains of all denominations were addressed and referred to. "Bomb" in infantry terms is what more modern eras term hand grenades. Horseferry Road was the London site of the headquarters for the A.I.F. It was also the site of a recreation center for Australian soldiers; it was founded by Green. (Summary by David Wales)

El caso Leavenworth propone un crimen de difícil resolución al que se enfrentarán el sagaz detective Ebenezer Gryce y el joven abogado Raymond: un asesinato en extrañas circunstancias que deja a dos jóvenes, sobrinas del acaudalado difunto, en manos de su abogado y de la voluntad policial de resolver el caso. Fue la primera obra publicada por la autora y sentó las bases de la novela de detectives. Autores de la talla de Agatha Christie o Arthur Conan Doyle reconocen haber encontrado en A.K. Green una fuente de inspiración. (Introducción por Phileas Fogg)

45Step on the Stair

By Anna Katharine Green

Green's last published detective novel, The Step on the Stair is typical of her earlier mysteries. Quenton is in love with Orpha, and thinks their marriage has been approved by her guardian. Imagine his shock when her engagement to Edgar is announced. Jealousy rears its ugly head. But then Quenton is made aware of gossip and superstition, which may affect his position in the household. Finding the lost will after their uncle's death could answer all their questions.

I desire, to place before the colored youth, of my class, another concrete proof of the fact that, even in the United States, where the handicap of color and former restrictions are so much in evidence, ambition, united with reasonable endeavor, will surely win success, along some worthy line. (Summary by the author)

47Dark Hollow, Version 2

By Anna Katharine Green

Twelve years ago, the town of Shelby was in shock at the discovery of the murder of Algernon Etheridge, one of the town's most prominent citizens. His body was found beaten to death, and robbed, on the bridge in Dark Hollow. The local Innkeeper was quickly accused, tried and found guilty. He was sentenced to die in the electric chair by Judge Ostrander, who was the victim's best friend.<br><br> Then one day, a woman shows up, dressed all in purple and acting very mysterious. Her goal, it turns out, is to get the Judge to acquit the killer. But what is the purpose? The killer is dead. No one can change that. She begins looking for circumstantial evidence the trial used for the conviction, and obtains a job in the Judge's house as his housekeeper. She is determined to clear the killer's name, no matter the cost. - Summary by Doreen Marcotte

48Strange Disappearance (Version 2)

By Anna Katharine Green

Housekeeper Mrs. Daniels brings to Detective Ebenezer Gryce and his assistant Q the case of a serving girl who has vanished from the household of the rich and eminent Mr. Blake. - Summary by Mark Leder

49That Affair Next Door (Version 2)

By Anna Katharine Green

One evening, New York society doyenne looks out her window and sees a man and woman entering the mansion opposite hers. Ten minutes later, only the man emerges. Soon, murder's afoot, and Miss Butterworth joins Detective Par Excellence Ebenezer Gryce in sleuthing out the killer! (Summary by Mark Leder)

This work has been prepared to perpetuate the memory of the women dedicated in each chapter as well as the lessons they have left behind in the making of good citizens and broader and better men and women. Notables mentioned in detail include Pocahontas, Priscilla Mullins of Plymouth, Martha Washington, and other Wives of the Signers. - Summary by progressingamerica