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The Filigree Ball
Paperback
Publisher: Indoeuropeanpublishing.com
Published: Jun 2 2025
Pages: 166
Weight: 0.46
Height: 0.42 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The Filigree Ball is a detective novel written by Anna Katharine Green, first published in 1903. Green is often regarded as one of the pioneers of the detective fiction genre, predating even Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes in some respects. Her works are known for their intricate plots, legal accuracy (influenced by her father's legal background), and strong characterization.
The novel follows a mysterious crime centered around a filigree ball, an ornate and delicate object that becomes key to solving the case. The story involves:
While not as widely remembered today as Doyle or Agatha Christie, Anna Katharine Green was instrumental in shaping detective fiction. The Filigree Ball is a fine example of her ability to blend mystery, gothic atmosphere, and legal precision.
About the Author
Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 - April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green has been called the mother of the detective novel.
Green was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 11, 1846. She had an early ambition to write romantic verse and corresponded with Ralph Waldo Emerson. When her poetry failed to gain recognition, she produced her first and best known novel, The Leavenworth Case (1878), praised by Wilkie Collins, and the hit of the year. She became a bestselling author, eventually publishing 37 books over 40 years.
On November 25, 1884, Green married the actor and stove designer, and later noted furniture maker, Charles Rohlfs (1853 - 1936). Rohlfs toured in a dramatization of Green's The Leavenworth Case. After his theater career faltered, he became a furniture maker in 1897, and Green collaborated with him on some of his designs. Together they had one daughter and two sons: Rosamund Rohlfs, Roland Rohlfs, and Sterling Rohlfs. Her daughter Rosamund married Robert Twitty Palmer.
Green died on April 11, 1935, in Buffalo, New York, at the age of 88. Her husband died the following year.
In 2002, Buffalo Literary Walking Tours began an annual series of weekend walking tours highlighting authors with local connections. Green is included along with Mark Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Herman Melville, Taylor Caldwell, and others.
Green's short story The Intangible Clue featuring Violet Strange was adapted by Chris Harrald for the second series of BBC Radio 4's drama series The Rivals and starred Jeany Spark as Violet Strange. (wikipedia.org)
15 different editions
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