Tall, rake-thin and copiously moustachioed with a high, piping voice, Henry St Liver is at first glance not an impressive specimen. But the moment he is confronted with a mystery to solve – one with a risqué element – he is transformed into a positive genius of detection and decision.

In this first collection, he and his assistant Olive Salter solve eight cases that have baffled Scotland Yard’. Dexter never allows the parody to get in the way of the story: this is an immensely skilful, enjoyable, erudite and eccentric book that will appeal to the many fans of the Victorian detective genre.