Trent's Last Case

by E.C. Bentley

Overview

Detective Classics presents you Trent’s Last Case in a fantastic ebook edition.
 
Trent’s Last Case is a detective novel written by E.C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character reappeared subsequently in the novel Trent’s Own Case (1936) and the short-story collection Trent Intervenes (1938).
 
Trent’s Last Case is actually the first novel in which gentleman sleuth Philip Trent appears. The novel is a whodunit with a place in detective fiction history because it is the first major sendup of that genre: Not only does Trent fall in love with one of the primary suspects—usually considered a no-no—he also, after painstakingly collecting all the evidence, draws all the wrong conclusions.
 
Convinced that he has tracked down the murderer of a business tycoon who was shot in his mansion, he is told by the real perpetrator over dinner what mistakes in logical deduction he has made in trying to solve the case. On hearing what really happened, Trent vows that he will never again attempt to dabble in crime detection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781508085164
Publisher:	Detective Classics
Publication date:	10/13/2015
Series:	Detective Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	735 KB

About the Author

E.C. Bentley was born in 1875 and educated at St Paul’s School, London, where he met eminent critic and author G K Chesterton, who became his closest friend.

Bentley began a lifelong career in journalism in 1902, working for ten years on the editorial staff of the Daily News and for a further twenty years on the Daily Telegraph. In 1905, he published ‘Biography for Beginners’ (under the pseudonym E Clerihew), which was a volume of nonsense verse consisting of four-lines and called ‘Clerihews’ (in his honour), which became as popular as the limerick form. Two further volumes followed in 1929 and 1939.

Bentley’s masterpiece, ‘Trent’s Last Case’ (1913), was written in exasperation at the infallibility of Sherlock Holmes and marked the beginning of a new era in detective fiction. Indeed, it has long been hailed as marking the start of the 'Golden Age of Crime Fiction' and the first truly modern mystery. The sequel, ‘Trent’s Own Case’, did not appear for a further twenty three years and this was then followed by a book of short stories; ‘Trent Intervenes’.

Of ‘Trent's Last Case’ Agatha Christie wrote: 'One of the three best detective stories ever written’, whilst Dorothy L Sayers stated ‘It is the one detective story of the present century which I am certain will go down to posterity as a classic. It is a masterpiece’.

What People are Saying About This

Jon L. Breen

One of the first important modern detective novels was E.C. Bentley's Trent's Last Case, often cited as the precursor of the Golden Age. The impact of the world war may have delayed Bentley's influence from being fully felt before the next decade.

Editorial Reviews

Bentley's 1912 mystery masterpiece, Trent's Last Case, which introduced Philip Trent, a fallible, human detective with reconizable emotions, was astounding for its time and still stands up well today.

Encyclopedia Mysteriosa

It is the one detective story of the present century which I am certain will go down to posterity as a classic. It is a masterpiece.

Dorothy L Sayers

One of the three best detective stories ever written.

Agatha Christie

One of the few classics of detective fiction.

New York Times