Description

Futrelle (1875-1912) was an American journalist and mystery writer best known for his short detective stories featuring Professor Augustus S F X Van Dusen, also known as "The Thinking Machine" for his application of logic to any situation. Born in Pike County, Georgia, Futrelle began his career on the sports section of the Atlanta Journal, later writing for the New York Herald, the Boston Post and the Boston American where, in 1905, his Thinking Machine character first appeared in a serialized version of the short story The Problem of Cell 13. The following year he left the Boston American to focus on novel writing. Returning from Europe aboard the Titanic in 1912 he refused to board a lifeboat when the liner was sinking, forcing his wife aboard instead. He perished in the Atlantic and his body was never found. This collection of seven Thinking Machine stories is reprinted from an edition of 1917.