{"product_id":"madame-midas-9781513278360","title":"Madame Midas","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMadame Midas\u003c\/i\u003e (1888) is a mystery novel by Fergus Hume. Although not as successful as \u003ci\u003eThe Mystery of a Hansom Cab\u003c\/i\u003e (1886), an immediate bestseller for Hume, \u003ci\u003eMadame Midas\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping novel with forbidden romance and a tightly wound mystery worthy of the best of Victorian fiction. From an author whose work inspired Arthur Conan Doyle, \u003ci\u003eMadame Midas\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of fortune and loss set in the shadow of Australia’s nineteenth century gold rush.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the mid-nineteenth century, Robert Curtis—along with countless other desperate and adventurous men—journeyed to Australia in search of fortune. Having established a successful mine in Ballarat, Curtis settled in Melbourne, where he married and had a daughter. In her youth, Miss Curtis was the talk of the town, and though she could have chosen any man for her husband, she found herself attracted to Mr. Villiers, a charming-yet-suspicious gentleman. Not long after their wedding, his intentions become all too clear, and soon his gambling threatens to erase the Curtis fortune. Outraged and disgraced, Mrs. Villiers flees to Ballarat, where she turns her attention to managing her father’s mine. Known to the local people as Madame Midas, she maintains a hard exterior in order not only to hide the truth of her past, but to guard herself from the cruelty of men. When a pair of escaped prisoners lands on the nearby shore, however, her newfound security faces a formidable threat. \u003ci\u003eMadame Midas\u003c\/i\u003e is a tale of love lost and found, of violence and greed in a country built on shallow, unstable foundations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Fergus Hume’s \u003ci\u003eMadame Midas\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic of Australian mystery and detective fiction reimagined for modern readers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Graphic Arts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51359552176471,"sku":"9781513278360","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781513278360.jpg?v=1754124991","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/madame-midas-9781513278360","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}