Charles Felix

Published under the pseudonym Charles Felix, the writer behind The Notting Hill Mystery is now generally identified as Charles Warren Adams (1833–1903), an English lawyer and publisher. The novel first appeared in serial form in Once a Week in 1862–1863 and was later issued as a book in 1865.

Adams has drawn lasting attention because The Notting Hill Mystery is often described as one of the earliest full-length detective novels in English. Its mix of witness statements, letters, and investigative documents gives it a surprisingly modern feel, which helps explain why it still interests crime-fiction readers today.

Beyond writing, Adams was also known as a publisher and as an opponent of vivisection. Since the work originally appeared under a pseudonym and his authorship was clarified later through documentary evidence, some details of his literary life remain less visible than those of better-known Victorian novelists.