Hilda Wade, A Woman With Tenacity of Purpose

In an era when female detectives were virtually unknown, Grant Allen gave readers Hilda Wade, a nurse whose quiet competence conceals an unwavering determination that will take her across the globe. From the moment she arrives at a London hospital, something about her captivates the brilliant Dr. Hubert Cumberledge. Yet Hilda shares nothing of her past and reveals only that she has one purpose in life, one task she must see through to the end. With Cumberledge devotedly at her side, she follows that purpose from the foggy streets of London to South Africa, Rhodesia, the markets of India, the mountains of Nepal, and beyond. What makes Hilda Wade remarkable is not merely her extraordinary logic and powers of deduction, but her refusal to abandon her mission regardless of the deadly perils in her path. One of the earliest novels to place a woman's intelligence and tenacity at the center of a detective story, this is adventure fiction with an unexpectedly modern heroine at its heart.