Freeman Wills Crofts?

bobcdy · 03-07-2013, 10:56 PM

I enjoyed reading mystery books by this Irish author who died in 1957. Some of this books were published as early as 1920. He was considered as one of the 'big four' in the Golden Age of Detective stories, yet I've been unable to find any of his books on MR or other free ebook download sites except for the Pit-Prop Syndicate (1922), nor are any available from GoogleBooks. The absence of others suggests there is a problem with copyrights, yet from the date of his death his books should be pd in Canada and Australia.

Does anyone know why so few of his books have been reissued as free ebooks? If there is no copyright issue, I probably will scan a few and upload them to MR

AlexBell · 03-08-2013, 12:21 AM

I think you'll find they are already in the MobileRead library, in a series of compendia by HarryT.

bobcdy · 03-08-2013, 01:08 AM

Alex,
You may be correct but I can't find them: I've used the MR search for 'Crofts' and only find the one I mentioned. Also looked under 'c' and couldn't find other ones. There are two uploads of the Pit-Prop Syndicate but no others that I've been able to find. Also, I looked at all 43 pages of HarryT's attachments and found nothing by Crofts.

HarryT · 03-08-2013, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

I think you'll find they are already in the MobileRead library, in a series of compendia by HarryT.

Are they really? The name doesn't ring any bells for me, I'm afraid.

bobcdy · 03-08-2013, 10:45 PM

I guess I'll assume his books are pubic domain; when I have time I plan to scan a few and eventually upload them to MR

AlexBell · 03-09-2013, 12:32 AM

My apologies, I should have checked. I was of course thinking of R. Austin Freeman.

malcy · 05-25-2013, 09:59 AM

He is my favourite golden age crime author.
Have all his books as physical copies, some as hardbacks which have been published in the UK over the last 20 years, plus a complete set of the paperbacks published by House of Stratus in the UK and US around the year 2000. That publisher went bust but a number of titles have been issued as print on demand physical books and on Kindle by Langtail Press in 2011.

You can get
The Cask
Inspector French and the Starvel Tragedy
Fatal Venture
Inspector French's Greatest Case
The Loss of the Jane Vosper

As these are still in copyright in the UK the Kindle versions are £4 to £5 each. It will be a long wait here as copyright is until 70 years after death now.

For some reason The Ponson Case is a paid Kindle ebook from Resurrected Press in both UK and US at around £2.

No others are available as ebooks I believe.

bobcdy · 05-31-2013, 11:49 PM

malcy,
I haven't read many of his stories, but I have read in detail and almost finished creating an epub of The Cask. I was most impressed with this novel. Hopefully it will soon be posted on MR.

03-07-2013, 10:56 PM	#1
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	Freeman Wills Crofts? I enjoyed reading mystery books by this Irish author who died in 1957. Some of this books were published as early as 1920. He was considered as one of the 'big four' in the Golden Age of Detective stories, yet I've been unable to find any of his books on MR or other free ebook download sites except for the Pit-Prop Syndicate (1922), nor are any available from GoogleBooks. The absence of others suggests there is a problem with copyrights, yet from the date of his death his books should be pd in Canada and Australia. Does anyone know why so few of his books have been reissued as free ebooks? If there is no copyright issue, I probably will scan a few and upload them to MR

03-08-2013, 01:08 AM	#3
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	Alex, You may be correct but I can't find them: I've used the MR search for 'Crofts' and only find the one I mentioned. Also looked under 'c' and couldn't find other ones. There are two uploads of the Pit-Prop Syndicate but no others that I've been able to find. Also, I looked at all 43 pages of HarryT's attachments and found nothing by Crofts. Last edited by bobcdy; 03-08-2013 at 01:22 AM.

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03-08-2013, 12:21 AM	#2
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	I think you'll find they are already in the MobileRead library, in a series of compendia by HarryT.

03-08-2013, 10:45 PM	#5
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	I guess I'll assume his books are pubic domain; when I have time I plan to scan a few and eventually upload them to MR

03-09-2013, 12:32 AM	#6
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	My apologies, I should have checked. I was of course thinking of R. Austin Freeman.

05-25-2013, 09:59 AM	#7
malcy Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Device: Kindle	He is my favourite golden age crime author. Have all his books as physical copies, some as hardbacks which have been published in the UK over the last 20 years, plus a complete set of the paperbacks published by House of Stratus in the UK and US around the year 2000. That publisher went bust but a number of titles have been issued as print on demand physical books and on Kindle by Langtail Press in 2011. You can get The Cask Inspector French and the Starvel Tragedy Fatal Venture Inspector French's Greatest Case The Loss of the Jane Vosper As these are still in copyright in the UK the Kindle versions are £4 to £5 each. It will be a long wait here as copyright is until 70 years after death now. For some reason The Ponson Case is a paid Kindle ebook from Resurrected Press in both UK and US at around £2. No others are available as ebooks I believe.

05-31-2013, 11:49 PM	#8
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	malcy, I haven't read many of his stories, but I have read in detail and almost finished creating an epub of The Cask. I was most impressed with this novel. Hopefully it will soon be posted on MR.