A Bid for Fortune, or Dr Nikola's Vendetta (Oxford Popular Fiction)

The only edition available, A Bid for Fortune takes place in London during the decadent 1890s. This stirring crime novel begins with a mysterious meeting called in a private room at the sumptuous Imperial Hotel. The sinister Dr. Nikola is presiding, but what masterpiece of crime is he planning? Meanwhile in Sydney, Australia, a rugged young man rescues a girl from attack by ruffians. These two events are skillfully woven together in one of the classics of late Victorian crime fiction.
Before his tragically early death, Boothby split his time equally between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and in this novel he creates a narrative that moves breathtakingly from the West to the East Ends of London to a thrilling climax in the South Seas via Egypt and Australia.