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A biography of the real-life detective who may have inspired Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha ChristieWho was the Victorian super-sleuth "Paddington" Pollaky In fiction, he was mentioned in a Gilbert & Sullivan opera and in the bestselling biographyThe Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. In reality, he was a contradiction: a man of mystery who tried to keep out of the limelight, while at times he craved recognition and publicity. He was a busybody, a meddler, yet someone whose heart was ultimately in the right place. Newspaper accounts detail his work as a private detective in London, his association with The Society for the Protection of Young Females, his foiling of those involved in sex-trafficking, and his tracking down of abducted children - themes that remain relevant in the 21st century.