“MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB.”

Gisborne Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 10140, 28 October 1925, Page 7

“MYSTERY OF A HANSOM CAB.”

FERGUS HUME IN POVERTY

Fergus Hume, author of “The Mystery of a Hansom Cab” and many other popular stories, has .fallen on evil days in England. " He is 66 years of age, hrs undergone a severe operation, and, to use liis own words, “I am unable to write, owing to illness, and having passed through many years of trouble, I am in want of money to keep going.” [The information- is contained in a pathetic, letter received a few days ago by Mr Arthur Sh Hey, the wellknown moving picturo actor in Sydney. Mr Shirley recently produced a film of “The Mystery of a Hansom Cab,” and, thinking' that the author would be interested in the Australian picture, sent a series of photographs to the author. The reply came as a grort surprise: “When I wrote the story in Melbourne, I was young and inexperienced, and. not knowing how to deal with business 'matters, J sold the book outright for £SO to a frend of mine. . . . While the book has gone through 559,000 copies, has been filmed and dramatised frequently, earning thousands of pounds for others, I, who wrote .the story, only benefit to the extent* of £SO. Of course, the original selling;.was; a fair, bargain.,. . . But even now, after 40 years, it is still popular, st'll bringing in money to those who hold the copyright and to others. . . . I have received .no mohoy from p etures. lam 66,’ and much'in need, of rest and comfort.” Fergus Hume. who is the son of a Dunedin (New Zealand) lawyer, went to Melbourne as a young man, and afterwards settled in England as a story-writer.