Page "Detective fiction" Paragraph 21

Another early example of a whodunit is a subplot in the novel Bleak House ( 1853 ) by Charles Dickens.

The conniving lawyer Tulkinghorn is killed in his office late one night, and the crime is investigated by Inspector Bucket of the Metropolitan police force.

Numerous characters appeared on the staircase leading to Tulkinghorn's office that night, some of them in disguise, and Inspector Bucket must penetrate these mysteries to identify the murderer.