Other editions of book The Middle-Temple Murder

The Middle Temple Murder by Joseph Smith Fletcher was first published in 1919 and is a great example of the classical English detective story. Joseph Smith Fletcher initially embarked on a career in law but soon switched to journalism. He was also a gifted poet and his first published work was a book of poetry. He went on to write some very notable books of historical fiction and history. This led to his becoming a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.However, he turned to writing mysteries in 1914, the era which is considered the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. He wrote more than 100 detective novels which were extremely well received and gave him good financial returns.

a murder mystery from one of the most prolific detective fiction writers. Joseph Smith Fletcher (7 February 1863 – 30 January 1935) was an English journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction, and was one of the most prolific English writers of detective fiction.Fletcher was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, the son of a clergyman. His father died when he was eight months old, and after which his grandmother raised him on a farm in Darrington, near Pontefract. He was educated at Silcoates School in Wakefield, and after some study of law, he became a journalist.At age 20, Fletcher began working in journalism, as a sub-editor in London. He subsequently returned to his native Yorkshire, where he worked first on the Leeds Mercury using the pseudonym A Son of the Soil, and then as a special correspondent for the Yorkshire Post covering Edward VII's coronation in 1902

When an elderly man's body is found on the steps of chambers in the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court, it falls to newspaperman Frank Spargo and Detective-Sergeant Rathbury to solve the crime. The murdered man was found with no money or identification, but with the address of a young barrister scrawled on a piece of paper. The Middle Temple murder case must be solved by uncovering not only the identity of the murderer, but also that of the victim.

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“Mr. Fletcher is a master of plot, and he never goes beyond the bounds of reason in its procedure and development. He, moreover, can write the English language as a vital means to the end both of narrative and description, and he never fails to show that he is its master. It is therefore a pleasure to read his stories, not merely for their entertaining qualities, but also for the agreeable appeal of their manner and their style.” -Boston Evening Transcript “An ingenious, cleverly constructed tale, distinctive in plot and incidents and written with as much zest and freshness as if it were his first…..A marvel.” -The New York Times “I believe I got my interest in criminology right from the fact that a famous case of fraud was heard at the Quarter Sessions at a town where I was at school - its circumstances were unusual and mysterious and the truth hard to get at; oddly enough, I have never yet used this as the basis of a story. Then, when I left school, I meant to be a barrister and I read criminal law and attended a great many queer trials for some time. But turning to journalism instead, I knew of a great many queer cases on famous murder trials. Also, I learnt a good deal about criminology in conversations with the late HB Irving the famous actor, who was an expert.” – J. B. Fletcher While walking home late one evening, Frank Spargo, assistant editor of London's Watchman newspaper, sees a dead body that the police have just discovered in Middle Temple Lane, that has no identification. At first it appears that this might simply be a case of a drunk who fell down some stairs, but by working alongside New Scotland Yard's Detective Sergeant Rathbury, he learns who the man was, what caused his death, and about some diamonds, rare stamps, and a mysterious leather box. The Middle Temple Murder is universally considered Fletcher's best detective novel and the novel that led to his great success in the United States in the 1920s.