ON TOUR WITH DEAD WRITERS: Evidence of Birth

by | Nov 12, 2024 | Mystery Minute, The Writer's Life | 3 comments

By Z.J. Czupor

ZJ Czupor‘s On Tour with Dead Writers brings us clues to a mystery author each second Tuesday of the month. Dust off your investigative skills and send your answer to mysteryminutecontest@gmail.com by the 20th of the month. From the correct responses, one will be randomly drawn to win a copy of Trace Evidence by Lisa Black!

When our dead writer first wrote his famous detective's first story in a British magazine in 1887, he was paid the measly sum of £25.

Photo courtesy: Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

When this famous author’s detective first materialized in a British magazine in 1887, he was paid the measly sum of £25 (worth about £3,615 today, or $4,744). Today, the franchise for this author’s sleuth spans TV, film, theater, comics, games, and other novels which generate millions worldwide.

This struggling author’s first short story was rejected multiple times by publishers before it appeared in the November edition of 1887. At the time, the publication was considered a “Christmas giveaway.” Critics called it a “shilling shocker” selling for 5 pence, or pulp fiction for the masses.

Interestingly, this author held more passion for writing historical fiction and military history books than detective fiction. But by the turn of the century, thanks to his unofficial private detective, he became one of the wealthiest British authors.

In addition to being a writer, he participated in two wars, first as a correspondent in Egypt and later ran a hospital in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1902). And he was an avid sportsman, adventurer, and campaigned in support of spiritualism and psychic research.

Who was this famous author?

Did you guess Washington Irving last month? Rose in Pennsylvania won A Different Dawn by Isabella Maldonado!

Subscribe to our Newsletter to receive an extra clue at the beginning of each month as well as automatic entry to several more monthly Giveaways and first looks at weekly blogs!

Contest rules:
1. All US addresses are eligible to win.
2. Each month’s prize will be a book written by one of the Rogues and donated by that author.
3. All subscribers who email us with the correct answer before the 20th will be entered in a drawing to win.

Z.J. Czupor’s new murder mystery, When The Fog Rises, is published at zjames.substack.com. He’s also the author of the thriller Cut Right Through Me (also at Substack) and a book of poetry THE BIG WEIRD: Haikus in Times of Pandemic and Chaos. Z.J. is immediate past president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He is represented by Terrie Wolf, founder and owner of AKA Literary Management.

Z.J. Czupor's author image. He wrote this month's installment of On Tour with Dead Writers: Evidence of Birth.

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3 Comments

  1. Lisa Black

    Actually almost $5K for a magazine article doesn’t sound that bad to me! Sheesh that’s what some of us get for a novel these days. Maybe times haven’t changed that much!

  2. Pamela Meyer

    This is a blast! Thanks, Z.J. ( ;

  3. Karna Small Bodman

    No clue t identity – but I agree with Lisa about his payment for that first article. Good for him!!! Thanks for your usual clever posting here.