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Richard Austin Freeman (1862–1943) was a British writer of detective stories1. He was a medical doctor and fiction writer1 who invented the inverted detective story (also called, “howcatchem”), in which the murder and perpetrator are disclosed at the beginning of the story, followed by a description of the detective’s attempt to solve the mystery. Freeman is best known for his fictional detective, Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke.
Dr. Thorndyke appeared in a series of 21 novels and 40 short stories. He was described by the author as a ‘medical jurispractitioner’—a term coined specifically for these mysteries. Originally a medical doctor, Thorndyke turned to the bar and became one of the first—in modern terms—forensic scientists.
The Dr. Thorndyke series written by author R Austin Freeman co
