When the Sea Gives Up Its Dead: A Thrilling Detective Story (1894) is
a novel by Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett. While she is mostly remembered
today for New Amazonia, a feminist utopian novel which depicts the
emergence of an advanced society of women in the not-so-distant future,
Corbett was also a pioneering detective novelist whose heroine Annie
Cory is one of the first female sleuths in literary history. While
little is known about Corbett, her surviving novels and stories suggest
she was a passionate campaigner for women's suffrage in an era of
conservative politics and traditional values. "'There has been a robbery
of a serious and extensive nature, and you are suspected of being the
thief, ' said the detective, carefully watching the face of the stricken
Harley. 'It is my duty to arrest you in the name of the law, and I warn
you against saying anything that may be construed against you at the
trial.'" Harley Riddell, a trustworthy jeweler, is framed for the theft
of priceless diamonds. Arrested and sentenced to five years in a penal
colony, he fears that his life will never be the same. But in his
darkest hour, Harley's fiancée Annie Cory remains by his side. With the
help of her dog Briny, her father, Harley's brother, and her formidable
aunt, Annie uses her skills as an amateur sleuth to find the real
criminals and free her love from prison. Regarded as one of the earliest
novels to feature a female detective, When the Sea Gives Up Its Dead: A
Thrilling Detective Story is true to its name from start to finish.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett's When the Sea Gives Up Its
Dead: A Thrilling Detective Story is a classic of detective fiction
reimagined for modern readers.
