âPrince Zaleskiâ (1895) represents Shielâs contribution to the mystery genre, and is his answer to Sherlock Holmes. This is a set of three short detective mysteriesâ but the stories are clever and even wonderfully creepy at times â which can only be solved by Prince Zaleski the worldâs greatest historian! It includes the following mysteries: âThe Race of Orvenâ, âThe Stone of the Edmundsbury Monksâ, âThe S.S.â. Prince Zaleski is an eccentric gentleman detective who suffers from ennui but might sometimes be induced to take an absorbing interest in questions that had proved themselves too profound, or too intricate, for ordinary solution. Those who like mystery/detective fiction and weird fiction with fin-de-siecle British Decadence will enjoy this blend of the genres.