Audiobook · read by volunteers
À Master of Mysteries
Robert Eustace (1868–1943) · L. T. Meade (1844–1914)
Read by J. M. Smallheer · 10 chapters · 4 h 17
About the book
Ghosts, haunted rooms and unexplained terrors are the stock in trade of the narrator of these stories, who has made a profession of exposing them. Wealthy enough to follow his own inclinations, he investigates the weird and the mysterious, and each case offers a new puzzle: a circular chamber with a deadly secret, a warder at a door, a tunnel with a sinister reputation. In Master of Mysteries, Robert Eustace and L. T. Meade combine the Victorian fascination with the supernatural with the cool logic of the detective story, so that each shiver is followed by a rational explanation. The tales are brisk, atmospheric and full of ingenious touches. Ten chapters, read by J. M. Smallheer in about four hours and twenty minutes, will appeal to fans of classic mystery and gothic atmosphere in equal measure.
Introduction
The Master of Mysteries appeared in 1898 and was written by two authors who worked together on a series of crime and mystery stories. Robert Eustace (1868-1943) was a doctor and a collaborator on several detective works, while L. T. Meade (1844-1914) was an extremely prolific Irish writer, best known for her stories for girls, who also turned her hand to crime and medical mystery fiction. Together they produced tales that were published in magazines of the day.
The book belongs to the golden age of the magazine detective story, which followed the success of Sherlock Holmes. Many writers of the period created their own investigators with distinctive specialisms, and the speciality in this case is the exposure of apparently supernatural events. The narrator describes how, from his earliest youth, the weird and the mysterious held an irresistible fascination for him, and how his private means allowed him to follow a unique profession as an exposer of ghosts. Each story then takes him to a different setting where something seemingly inexplicable has occurred.
The tales rely on the idea that a ghost story can be solved by careful observation and scientific reasoning. Readers who enjoy this combination of eerie atmosphere and logical resolution will find plenty to please them here. Titles such as The Mystery of the Circular Chamber, The Warder of the Door and The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel suggest the variety of the cases.
This LibriVox recording is read by J. M. Smallheer, runs for about four hours and twenty minutes and is divided into ten files. It is well suited to dark evenings.
Public domain
Robert Eustace died in 1943: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
L. T. Meade died in 1914: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text