Ferguson Wright Hume (1859-1932) was born in England. At the age of three his father emigrated with his family to New Zealand. He attended high school in Dunedin and studied law at the University of Otago. Shortly after graduation he left for Melbourne where he obtained a post as a barrister's clerk.
After failed attempts to become a playwright, he penned the novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), which became a great success after he self-published. He sold the English and American rights to the novel for fifty pounds, and thus derived little benefit from its success.
After the success of his first novel, Hume returned to England. He resided in London for few years and then he moved to the Essex countryside where he lived in Thundersley for thirty years, eventually producing over 100 novels and short stories.
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