Matthias McDonnell Bodkin was a prolific author, writing across a wide range of genres including history, novels, plays, and political texts. He earned a place in the history of the detective novel by creating the first detective family. His most famous character is the detective Paul Beck, who appears in a series of stories and eventually marries another of Bodkin's characters, Dora Myrl, the "Lady Detective".
Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (8.10.1850 – 7.6.1933) war ein irischer Schriftsteller, Journalist, und Politiker. Der von Ihm erschaffene Charakter Paul Beck hat Ähnlichkeit mit Sherlock Holmes mit einer ihm eigenen, aber logischen Art, Verbrechen aufzuklären.