The Green Mummy

This fully annotated edition of The Green Mummy includes:

• Chapter-by-chapter reading notes
• Explanations of historical language and social customs
• Author biography and literary context
• Critical essays on themes, style, and detective fiction
• Reading pathways, discussion questions, and writing prompts
• Selective glossary for modern readers

A mysterious mummy, a murdered man, and a chain of secrets linking an English village to a disputed South American treasure.

Professor Braddock, an eccentric scholar and collector, eagerly awaits the arrival of a rare green mummy purchased for his private museum. But when the packing case is opened, the ancient body has vanished. In its place lies the recently murdered corpse of Sidney Bolton, the professor’s assistant.

The discovery draws artist Archie Hope into a tangled investigation involving a missing manuscript, valuable emeralds, concealed identities, disputed ownership, blackmail, and conflicting accounts of the mummy’s journey. As suspicion moves from one member of the household to another, every new revelation changes the meaning of the evidence already uncovered.

First published in 1908, The Green Mummy combines detective fiction, Gothic atmosphere, romantic intrigue, and darkly comic characterisation. Fergus Hume creates a mystery in which money, scholarship, social ambition, and personal loyalty are almost as important as the physical clues.

Prepared for modern readers, this annotated and enriched edition preserves Hume’s original novel while providing substantial original editorial material. Reading notes introduce each chapter without revealing its decisive events, while explanatory comments clarify period vocabulary, legal procedures, social customs, historical references, and details important to the investigation.

The supplementary sections explore Fergus Hume’s life and literary career, the development of early detective fiction, the novel’s historical and cultural background, its major themes, narrative methods, and distinctive style. A glossary, discussion questions, reading pathways, and writing prompts make this edition suitable for independent readers, book clubs, students, and anyone interested in classic mystery fiction.