The Old Man in the Corner is an undistinguished armchair detective who can often be found in a corner of the
ABC Teashop on the corner of Norfolk Street and the
Strand. His listener and protégé is an attractive young journalist (named some editions as Polly Burton), who brings him details of obscure crimes baffling the police, which he helps her to solve. She is fascinated by the unlikely unravellings she hears, but despite her sarcasm and pride in her own investigative talents, she remains the learner, impressed in spite of herself. Although The Old Man does not hide his upper class attitudes, he sometimes feels sympathy for the criminals. The Old Man's cases include a wide range of sensational and complex detective puzzles: • murder ("The Tremarn Case"), • blackmail ("The Murder of Miss Pebmarsh"), • perfect alibis ("The Case of Miss Elliott"), • and thefts ("The Affair at the Novelty Theatre"). == References ==