MobileRead Forums - Mystery and Crime Bramah, Ernest: Max Carrados Omnibus. v2, 11 Jan 2008

An omnibus collection of stories featuring Max Carrados, the blind detective.

From Wikipedia:

It was not until 1914 the eponymous Max Carrados, the blind detective, appeared. Crime literature up to that time had its share of detectives with a variety of disabilities – paraplegic, amputees, deafness, facial disfigurement, asthma as well as bumblers, alcoholics and outright certifiable idiots. Carrados was not a tawdry attempt just to be different. It was a serious contribution to show that the blind did not live in total darkness and are as capable in many respects as of seeing as well as the sighted. Given the somewhat outlandish idea that a blind man could be a detective, albeit an amateur one, Bramah was forced to justify Carrados’s uncanny powers as a response to the criticism the first book received.

In the second Carrados book The Eyes of Max Carrados, in a long introduction, Bramah compared his hero’s achievements with the equally incredible achievements of real life blind people such as Nicholas Saunderson, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, Blind Jack of Knaresborough the road builder, John Fielding the Bow Street Magistrate of whom it was said he could identify 3,000 thieves by their voices and Helen Keller. Bramah’s sympathy for and understanding of the blind was both sincere and practical.

The Max Carrados stories appeared alongside Sherlock Holmes in the Strand Magazine, indeed they had top billing and frequently outsold his eminent contemporary even if they never achieved the longevity of Holmes.

Enjoy!

NB: I believe that this is now a complete collection of Max Carrados stories. If I come across any more, I'll add them to this omnibus.

EDIT: 11 Jan 08

My previous comment about the collection being complete was far from accurate! Added 8 more stories to the omnibus; I'm aware of about half a dozen more which are still missing. Uploaded v2.

Previous download count: 36