Uncle Abner, the mystery solving West Virginian backwoodsman, is the best-known literary creation of Melville Davisson Post. Uncle Abner solved the mysteries that confronted him in a backwoods West Virginia community, immediately prior to the American Civil War and before the infant nation had any proper police system. He had two great attributes for his self-imposed task: a profound knowledge of and love for the Bible, and a keen observation of human actions. One example of Uncle Abner's keen deductive skills is his showing a deaf man had not written a document, because a word in it was...

Melville Davisson Post (1869-1930) was an American author, born in West Virginia. Post's best-known character is the mystery solving, justice dispensing West Virginian backwoodsman, Uncle Abner. Post also wrote number of stories about Randolph Mason, a brusque New York lawyer who is highly skilled at turning legal loopholes and technicalities to his clients' advantage. Post's other recurring characters include Sir Henry Marquis of Scotland Yard, the French policeman Monsieur Jonquelle and the Virginia lawyer Colonel Braxton. Table of Contents: - The Strange Schemes of Randolph Mason - The...