Looking for Project Gutenberg detective stories and mysteries? Good news: you can find the books we’re reading on Project Gutenberg!
Project Gutenberg Detective Stories
“Discovering forgotten classics in the public domain.” This slogan on Project Gutenberg’s website explains perfectly what the site is all about. Thousands of books are available for free download in a wide range of categories. Project Gutenberg detective stories are among those categories, but they can also be found in a variety of sub-categories.
While exploring this fascinating resource, I learned that Project Gutenberg detective stories can be discovered by using several different search methods – all of which can be seen by clicking “Search and Browse” in the top navigation menu.
One method is a Book Search, opening the door to four specific types of searches, including Advanced Search (author, title, subject, etc.) and Browsing Options (authors, titles, language, categories).
In my opinion, the quickest method for finding popular 19th-century mysteries, thrillers, and detective stories on Project Gutenberg’s website is clicking on the Bookshelves link under “Search and Browse,” then clicking “Crime Bookshelf.”
The subcategories displayed on the new screen include Detective Fiction, Mystery Fiction and Crime Fiction – links that take you to hundreds of titles that are immediately accessible for download. (The default for sorting is by popularity.)
Easy Access to Books Featured on Our Podcast
All 12 of the books for 2022 that are featured on Tea, Tonic, & Toxin’s podcast are available at Project Gutenberg’s website. And because all of those titles are among the most popular books in the genre, many show up on the first two or three pages.
However, the fastest way to find the title you want is to type it in the Quick Search window, immediately below the navigation menu. Click “Go!” to see the book appear, then click the title to see a list of download options.
For example, the options I found when I searched for The Mystery of a Hansom Cab included being able to read the book online (HTML), or downloading it in one of the following formats: EPUB (with or without images), Kindle (with or without images), and Plain Text.
The page also showed me the date the eBook was released (July 1, 2003) and said there had been 68 downloads in the last 30 days.
One of the great things about eBooks is you don’t have to wait until someone returns a book to the library or transfers it to your local branch. You have access to it as soon as you download it!
Listen to the Tea, Tonic & Toxin Podcast!
In 2021, Project Gutenberg celebrated the 50-year anniversary of the first eBook – created in 1971 by Project Gutenberg’s founder, Michael S. Hart. Other interesting facts about this organization are listed in the site’s About section.
If reading Project Gutenberg detective stories is something you’d like to try, visit their website and explore all the different options open to you. You may discover new authors and books you haven’t even heard of yet!
Be sure to check out the Tea, Tonic, & Toxin podcast. You can also read blog posts about previous podcasts and book reviews on their site’s “Teasers & Tidbits” page.
