{"id":3180,"date":"2025-06-07T01:35:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T01:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3180"},"modified":"2025-06-07T01:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T01:35:28","slug":"three-detective-anecdotes-by-charles-dickens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3180","title":{"rendered":"Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>First published in 1850, Three Detective Anecdotes by <a href=\"https:\/\/quizlit.org\/15-best-historical-fiction-books\">Charles Dickens<\/a> was an early example of the detective genre. <\/p>\n<p><em>This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens<\/h2>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade no-lazyload\"><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I.\u2014THE PAIR OF GLOVES<\/h3>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s\u00a0a singler story, sir,\u2019 said Inspector Wield, of the Detective Police, who, in company with Sergeants Dornton and Mith, paid us another twilight visit, one July evening; \u2018and I\u2019ve been thinking you might like to know it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s concerning the murder of the young woman, Eliza Grimwood, some years ago, over in the Waterloo Road.\u00a0 She was commonly called The Countess, because of her handsome appearance and her proud way of carrying of herself; and when I saw the poor Countess (I had known her well to speak to), lying dead, with her throat cut, on the floor of her bedroom, you\u2019ll believe me that a variety of reflections calculated to make a man rather low in his spirits, came into my head.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That\u2019s neither here nor there.\u00a0 I went to the house the morning after the murder, and examined the body, and made a general observation of the bedroom where it was.\u00a0 Turning down the pillow of the bed with my hand, I found, underneath it, a pair of gloves.\u00a0 A pair of gentleman\u2019s dress gloves, very dirty; and inside the lining, the letters\u00a0Tr, and a cross.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Well, sir, I took them gloves away, and I showed \u2019em to the magistrate, over at Union Hall, before whom the case was.\u00a0 He says, \u201cWield,\u201d he says, \u201cthere\u2019s no doubt this is a discovery that may lead to something very important; and what you have got to do, Wield, is, to find out the owner of these gloves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was of the same opinion, of course, and I went at it immediately.\u00a0 I looked at the gloves pretty narrowly, and it was my opinion that they had been cleaned.\u00a0 There was a smell of sulphur and rosin about \u2019em, you know, which cleaned gloves usually have, more or less.\u00a0 I took \u2019em over to a friend of mine at Kennington, who was in that line, and I put it to him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you say now?\u00a0 Have these gloves been cleaned?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThese gloves have been cleaned,\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cHave you any idea who cleaned them?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cNot at all,\u201d says he; \u201cI\u2019ve a very distinct idea who didn\u2019t clean \u2019em, and that\u2019s myself.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll tell you what, Wield, there ain\u2019t above eight or nine reg\u2019lar glove-cleaners in London,\u201d\u2014there were not, at that time, it seems\u2014\u201cand I think I can give you their addresses, and you may find out, by that means, who did clean \u2019em.\u201d\u00a0 Accordingly, he gave me the directions, and I went here, and I went there, and I looked up this man, and I looked up that man; but, though they all agreed that the gloves had been cleaned, I couldn\u2019t find the man, woman, or child, that had cleaned that aforesaid pair of gloves.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018What with this person not being at home, and that person being expected home in the afternoon, and so forth, the inquiry took me three days.\u00a0 On the evening of the third day, coming over Waterloo Bridge from the Surrey side of the river, quite beat, and very much vexed and disappointed, I thought I\u2019d have a shilling\u2019s worth of entertainment at the Lyceum Theatre to freshen myself up.\u00a0 So I went into the Pit, at half-price, and I sat myself down next to a very quiet, modest sort of young man.\u00a0 Seeing I was a stranger (which I thought it just as well to appear to be) he told me the names of the actors on the stage, and we got into conversation.\u00a0 When the play was over, we came out together, and I said, \u201cWe\u2019ve been very companionable and agreeable, and perhaps you wouldn\u2019t object to a drain?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWell, you\u2019re very good,\u201d says he; \u201cI shouldn\u2019t object to a drain.\u201d\u00a0 Accordingly, we went to a public-house, near the Theatre, sat ourselves down in a quiet room up-stairs on the first floor, and called for a pint of half-and-half, apiece, and a pipe.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Well, sir, we put our pipes aboard, and we drank our half-and-half, and sat a-talking, very sociably, when the young man says, \u201cYou must excuse me stopping very long,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause I\u2019m forced to go home in good time.\u00a0 I must be at work all night.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAt work all night?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t a baker?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d he says, laughing, \u201cI ain\u2019t a baker.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI thought not,\u201d says I, \u201cyou haven\u2019t the looks of a baker.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d says he, \u201cI\u2019m a glove-cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I never was more astonished in my life, than when I heard them words come out of his lips.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re a glove-cleaner, are you?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d he says, \u201cI am.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThen, perhaps,\u201d says I, taking the gloves out of my pocket, \u201cyou can tell me who cleaned this pair of gloves?\u00a0 It\u2019s a rum story,\u201d I says.\u00a0 \u201cI was dining over at Lambeth, the other day, at a free-and-easy\u2014quite promiscuous\u2014with a public company\u2014when some gentleman, he left these gloves behind him!\u00a0 Another gentleman and me, you see, we laid a wager of a sovereign, that I wouldn\u2019t find out who they belonged to.\u00a0 I\u2019ve spent as much as seven shillings already, in trying to discover; but, if you could help me, I\u2019d stand another seven and welcome.\u00a0 You see there\u2019s\u00a0Tr\u00a0and a cross, inside.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c<em>I<\/em>\u00a0see,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cBless you,\u00a0<em>I<\/em>\u00a0know these gloves very well!\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen dozens of pairs belonging to the same party.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cThen you know who cleaned \u2019em?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cRather so,\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cMy father cleaned \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cWhere does your father live?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cJust round the corner,\u201d says the young man, \u201cnear Exeter Street, here.\u00a0 He\u2019ll tell you who they belong to, directly.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWould you come round with me now?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cCertainly,\u201d says he, \u201cbut you needn\u2019t tell my father that you found me at the play, you know, because he mightn\u2019t like it.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAll right!\u201d\u00a0 We went round to the place, and there we found an old man in a white apron, with two or three daughters, all rubbing and cleaning away at lots of gloves, in a front parlour.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Father!\u201d says the young man, \u201chere\u2019s a person been and made a bet about the ownership of a pair of gloves, and I\u2019ve told him you can settle it.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGood evening, sir,\u201d says I to the old gentleman.\u00a0 \u201cHere\u2019s the gloves your son speaks of.\u00a0 Letters\u00a0Tr, you see, and a cross.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOh yes,\u201d he says, \u201cI know these gloves very well; I\u2019ve cleaned dozens of pairs of \u2019em.\u00a0 They belong to Mr. Trinkle, the great upholsterer in Cheapside.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cDid you get \u2019em from Mr. Trinkle, direct,\u201d says I, \u201cif you\u2019ll excuse my asking the question?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d says he; \u201cMr. Trinkle always sends \u2019em to Mr. Phibbs\u2019s, the haberdasher\u2019s, opposite his shop, and the haberdasher sends \u2019em to me.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps you wouldn\u2019t object to a drain?\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cNot in the least!\u201d says he.\u00a0 So I took the old gentleman out, and had a little more talk with him and his son, over a glass, and we parted excellent friends.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This was late on a Saturday night.\u00a0 First thing on the Monday morning, I went to the haberdasher\u2019s shop, opposite Mr. Trinkle\u2019s, the great upholsterer\u2019s in Cheapside.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Phibbs in the way?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cMy name is Phibbs.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOh!\u00a0 I believe you sent this pair of gloves to be cleaned?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes, I did, for young Mr. Trinkle over the way.\u00a0 There he is in the shop!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOh! that\u2019s him in the shop, is it?\u00a0 Him in the green coat?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe same individual.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWell, Mr. Phibbs, this is an unpleasant affair; but the fact is, I am Inspector Wield of the Detective Police, and I found these gloves under the pillow of the young woman that was murdered the other day, over in the Waterloo Road!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGood Heaven!\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a most respectable young man, and if his father was to hear of it, it would be the ruin of him!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m very sorry for it,\u201d says I, \u201cbut I must take him into custody.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGood Heaven!\u201d says Mr. Phibbs, again; \u201ccan nothing be done?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNothing,\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cWill you allow me to call him over here,\u201d says he, \u201cthat his father may not see it done?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t object to that,\u201d says I; \u201cbut unfortunately, Mr. Phibbs, I can\u2019t allow of any communication between you.\u00a0 If any was attempted, I should have to interfere directly.\u00a0 Perhaps you\u2019ll beckon him over here?\u201d\u00a0 Mr. Phibbs went to the door and beckoned, and the young fellow came across the street directly; a smart, brisk young fellow.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cGood morning, sir,\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cGood morning, sir,\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cWould you allow me to inquire, sir,\u201d says I, \u201cif you ever had any acquaintance with a party of the name of Grimwood?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGrimwood!\u00a0 Grimwood!\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou know the Waterloo Road?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOh! of course I know the Waterloo Road!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHappen to have heard of a young woman being murdered there?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes, I read it in the paper, and very sorry I was to read it.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHere\u2019s a pair of gloves belonging to you, that I found under her pillow the morning afterwards!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He was in a dreadful state, sir; a dreadful state I \u201cMr. Wield,\u201d he says, \u201cupon my solemn oath I never was there.\u00a0 I never so much as saw her, to my knowledge, in my life!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI am very sorry,\u201d says I.\u00a0 \u201cTo tell you the truth; I don\u2019t think you are the murderer, but I must take you to Union Hall in a cab.\u00a0 However, I think it\u2019s a case of that sort, that, at present, at all events, the magistrate will hear it in private.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018A private examination took place, and then it came out that this young man was acquainted with a cousin of the unfortunate Eliza Grimwood, and that, calling to see this cousin a day or two before the murder, he left these gloves upon the table.\u00a0 Who should come in, shortly afterwards, but Eliza Grimwood!\u00a0 \u201cWhose gloves are these?\u201d she says, taking \u2019em up.\u00a0 \u201cThose are Mr. Trinkle\u2019s gloves,\u201d says her cousin.\u00a0 \u201cOh!\u201d says she, \u201cthey are very dirty, and of no use to him, I am sure.\u00a0 I shall take \u2019em away for my girl to clean the stoves with.\u201d\u00a0 And she put \u2019em in her pocket.\u00a0 The girl had used \u2019em to clean the stoves, and, I have no doubt, had left \u2019em lying on the bedroom mantelpiece, or on the drawers, or somewhere; and her mistress, looking round to see that the room was tidy, had caught \u2019em up and put \u2019em under the pillow where I found \u2019em.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the story, sir.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">II.\u2014THE ARTFUL TOUCH<\/h3>\n<p>\u2018One of the most beautiful things that ever was done, perhaps,\u2019 said Inspector Wield, emphasising the adjective, as preparing us to expect dexterity or ingenuity rather than strong interest, \u2018was a move of Sergeant Witchem\u2019s.\u00a0 It was a lovely idea!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Witchem and me were down at Epsom one Derby Day, waiting at the station for the Swell Mob.\u00a0 As I mentioned, when we were talking about these things before, we are ready at the station when there\u2019s races, or an Agricultural Show, or a Chancellor sworn in for an university, or Jenny Lind, or anything of that sort; and as the Swell Mob come down, we send \u2019em back again by the next train.\u00a0 But some of the Swell Mob, on the occasion of this Derby that I refer to, so far kidded us as to hire a horse and shay; start away from London by Whitechapel, and miles round; come into Epsom from the opposite direction; and go to work, right and left, on the course, while we were waiting for \u2019em at the Rail.\u00a0 That, however, ain\u2019t the point of what I\u2019m going to tell you.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018While Witchem and me were waiting at the station, there comes up one Mr. Tatt; a gentleman formerly in the public line, quite an amateur Detective in his way, and very much respected.\u00a0 \u201cHalloa, Charley Wield,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u00a0 On the look out for some of your old friends?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes, the old move, Mr. Tatt.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cCome along,\u201d he says, \u201cyou and Witchem, and have a glass of sherry.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe can\u2019t stir from the place,\u201d says I, \u201ctill the next train comes in; but after that, we will with pleasure.\u201d\u00a0 Mr. Tatt waits, and the train comes in, and then Witchem and me go off with him to the Hotel.\u00a0 Mr. Tatt he\u2019s got up quite regardless of expense, for the occasion; and in his shirt-front there\u2019s a beautiful diamond prop, cost him fifteen or twenty pound\u2014a very handsome pin indeed.\u00a0 We drink our sherry at the bar, and have had our three or four glasses, when Witchem cries suddenly, \u201cLook out, Mr. Wield! stand fast!\u201d and a dash is made into the place by the Swell Mob\u2014four of \u2019em\u2014that have come down as I tell you, and in a moment Mr. Tatt\u2019s prop is gone!\u00a0 Witchem, he cuts \u2019em off at the door, I lay about me as hard as I can, Mr. Tatt shows fight like a good \u2018un, and there we are, all down together, heads and heels, knocking about on the floor of the bar\u2014perhaps you never see such a scene of confusion!\u00a0 However, we stick to our men (Mr. Tatt being as good as any officer), and we take \u2019em all, and carry \u2019em off to the station.\u2019\u00a0 The station\u2019s full of people, who have been took on the course; and it\u2019s a precious piece of work to get \u2019em secured.\u00a0 However, we do it at last, and we search \u2019em; but nothing\u2019s found upon \u2019em, and they\u2019re locked up; and a pretty state of heat we are in by that time, I assure you!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was very blank over it, myself, to think that the prop had been passed away; and I said to Witchem, when we had set \u2019em to rights, and were cooling ourselves along with Mr. Tatt, \u201cwe don\u2019t take much by\u00a0<em>this<\/em>\u00a0move, anyway, for nothing\u2019s found upon \u2019em, and it\u2019s only the braggadocia,\u00a0<a><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/872\/872-h\/872-h.htm#footnote426\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">[426]<\/a>\u00a0after all.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you mean, Mr. Wield?\u201d says Witchem.\u00a0 \u201cHere\u2019s the diamond pin!\u201d and in the palm of his hand there it was, safe and sound!\u00a0 \u201cWhy, in the name of wonder,\u201d says me and Mr. Tatt, in astonishment, \u201chow did you come by that?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell you how I come by it,\u201d says he.\u00a0 \u201cI saw which of \u2019em took it; and when we were all down on the floor together, knocking about, I just gave him a little touch on the back of his hand, as I knew his pal would; and he thought it\u00a0WAS\u00a0his pal; and gave it me!\u201d\u00a0 It was beautiful, beau-ti-ful!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Even that was hardly the best of the case, for that chap was tried at the Quarter Sessions at Guildford.\u00a0 You know what Quarter Sessions are, sir.\u00a0 Well, if you\u2019ll believe me, while them slow justices were looking over the Acts of Parliament, to see what they could do to him, I\u2019m blowed if he didn\u2019t cut out of the dock before their faces!\u00a0 He cut out of the dock, sir, then and there; swam across a river; and got up into a tree to dry himself.\u00a0 In the tree he was took\u2014an old woman having seen him climb up\u2014and Witchem\u2019s artful touch transported him!\u2019<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">III.\u2014THE SOFA<\/h3>\n<p>\u2018What young men will do, sometimes, to ruin themselves and break their friends\u2019 hearts,\u2019 said Sergeant Dornton, \u2018it\u2019s surprising!\u00a0 I had a case at Saint Blank\u2019s Hospital which was of this sort.\u00a0 A bad case, indeed, with a bad end!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The Secretary, and the House-Surgeon, and the Treasurer, of Saint Blank\u2019s Hospital, came to Scotland Yard to give information of numerous robberies having been committed on the students.\u00a0 The students could leave nothing in the pockets of their great-coats, while the great-coats were hanging at the hospital, but it was almost certain to be stolen.\u00a0 Property of various descriptions was constantly being lost; and the gentlemen were naturally uneasy about it, and anxious, for the credit of the institution, that the thief or thieves should be discovered.\u00a0 The case was entrusted to me, and I went to the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cNow, gentlemen,\u201d said I, after we had talked it over; \u201cI understand this property is usually lost from one room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Yes, they said.\u00a0 It was.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cI should wish, if you please,\u201d said I, \u201cto see the room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was a good-sized bare room down-stairs, with a few tables and forms in it, and a row of pegs, all round, for hats and coats.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cNext, gentlemen,\u201d said I, \u201cdo you suspect anybody?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Yes, they said.\u00a0 They did suspect somebody.\u00a0 They were sorry to say, they suspected one of the porters.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cI should like,\u201d said I, \u201cto have that man pointed out to me, and to have a little time to look after him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He was pointed out, and I looked after him, and then I went back to the hospital, and said, \u201cNow, gentlemen, it\u2019s not the porter.\u00a0 He\u2019s, unfortunately for himself, a little too fond of drink, but he\u2019s nothing worse.\u00a0 My suspicion is, that these robberies are committed by one of the students; and if you\u2019ll put me a sofa into that room where the pegs are\u2014as there\u2019s no closet\u2014I think I shall be able to detect the thief.\u00a0 I wish the sofa, if you please, to be covered with chintz, or something of that sort, so that I may lie on my chest, underneath it, without being seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The sofa was provided, and next day at eleven o\u2019clock, before any of the students came, I went there, with those gentlemen, to get underneath it.\u00a0 It turned out to be one of those old-fashioned sofas with a great cross-beam at the bottom, that would have broken my back in no time if I could ever have got below it.\u00a0 We had quite a job to break all this away in the time; however, I fell to work, and they fell to work, and we broke it out, and made a clear place for me.\u00a0 I got under the sofa, lay down on my chest, took out my knife, and made a convenient hole in the chintz to look through.\u00a0 It was then settled between me and the gentlemen that when the students were all up in the wards, one of the gentlemen should come in, and hang up a great-coat on one of the pegs.\u00a0 And that that great-coat should have, in one of the pockets, a pocket-book containing marked money.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018After I had been there some time, the students began to drop into the room, by ones, and twos, and threes, and to talk about all sorts of things, little thinking there was anybody under the sofa\u2014and then to go up-stairs.\u00a0 At last there came in one who remained until he was alone in the room by himself.\u00a0 A tallish, good-looking young man of one or two and twenty, with a light whisker.\u00a0 He went to a particular hat-peg, took off a good hat that was hanging there, tried it on, hung his own hat in its place, and hung that hat on another peg, nearly opposite to me.\u00a0 I then felt quite certain that he was the thief, and would come back by-and-by.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When they were all up-stairs, the gentleman came in with the great-coat.\u00a0 I showed him where to hang it, so that I might have a good view of it; and he went away; and I lay under the sofa on my chest, for a couple of hours or so, waiting.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018At last, the same young man came down.\u00a0 He walked across the room, whistling\u2014stopped and listened\u2014took another walk and whistled\u2014stopped again, and listened\u2014then began to go regularly round the pegs, feeling in the pockets of all the coats.\u00a0 When he came to the great-coat, and felt the pocket-book, he was so eager and so hurried that he broke the strap in tearing it open.\u00a0 As he began to put the money in his pocket, I crawled out from under the sofa, and his eyes met mine.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018My face, as you may perceive, is brown now, but it was pale at that time, my health not being good; and looked as long as a horse\u2019s.\u00a0 Besides which, there was a great draught of air from the door, underneath the sofa, and I had tied a handkerchief round my head; so what I looked like, altogether, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 He turned blue\u2014literally blue\u2014when he saw me crawling out, and I couldn\u2019t feel surprised at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201cI am an officer of the Detective Police,\u201d said I, \u201cand have been lying here, since you first came in this morning.\u00a0 I regret, for the sake of yourself and your friends, that you should have done what you have; but this case is complete.\u00a0 You have the pocket-book in your hand and the money upon you; and I must take you into custody!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was impossible to make out any case in his behalf, and on his trial he pleaded guilty.\u00a0 How or when he got the means I don\u2019t know; but while he was awaiting his sentence, he poisoned himself in Newgate.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>We inquired of this officer, on the conclusion of the foregoing anecdote, whether the time appeared long, or short, when he lay in that constrained position under the sofa?<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Why, you see, sir,\u2019 he replied, \u2018if he hadn\u2019t come in, the first time, and I had not been quite sure he was the thief, and would return, the time would have seemed long.\u00a0 But, as it was, I being dead certain of my man, the time seemed pretty short.\u2019<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Best Charles Dickens Books to Read<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3SRg0pW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3SwoRvy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3OzZmse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/485pLFc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><br \/>\nClick on the image to Buy on Amazon<\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/quizlit.org\/the-last-laugh-by-d-h-lawrence\">The Last Laugh by D. H. Lawrence<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Narrated by Peter Thomlinson, courtesy of Librivox<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First published in 1850, Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens was an early example of the detective genre. This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens Three Detective Anecdotes by Charles Dickens I.\u2014THE PAIR OF GLOVES \u2018It\u2019s\u00a0a singler story, sir,\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}