Audiobook · read by volunteers
Angel of Terror (version 2)
Edgar Wallace (1875–1932)
Read by Allyson Hester · 20 chapters · 6 h 58
About the book
Jean Briggerland is young, beautiful and utterly without scruple. Behind her charming manner lies a patient mind that studies wealthy men, wins their trust and finds ways to make their fortunes her own. When her latest victim dies, only one person suspects that something is badly wrong: Jack Glover, the lawyer who looked after the man’s affairs. Glover is clever and stubborn, but Jean is always a step ahead, and the people who stand in her way have a habit of meeting with misfortune. Edgar Wallace keeps the pace brisk, with sudden reversals, secret meetings and a growing sense of danger as the lawyer closes in. This is a classic thriller of the early twenties, full of atmosphere and pleasantly wicked fun. Twenty short sections invite you to settle in and keep listening.
Introduction
Edgar Wallace, born in London in 1875, was one of the most productive and popular writers of the first decades of the twentieth century. He wrote crime novels, thrillers, plays and journalism at astonishing speed, and he was said to dictate his stories rather than type them. He died in 1932 in the United States, where he had gone to work on film projects, and he is often remembered as one of the writers who helped shape the modern thriller.
Angel of Terror appeared in 1922. Like many of his books, it relies on a clear central idea, a lively cast and a plot that keeps turning. It belongs to the great age of the popular detective novel, when readers enjoyed a villain who was charming, resourceful and always one step from being caught. The book gives its female antagonist unusual prominence, which makes it feel livelier than many stories of its time.
This is the second LibriVox version of the book, and it is read by a single volunteer. It runs for about seven hours across twenty sections, which makes it a convenient length for a long journey or a few quiet evenings. If you enjoy old-fashioned suspense, with period atmosphere and plenty of twists, this is a satisfying way to spend an afternoon.
Wallace’s plots were famously quick to construct and quick to read, and the book has the headlong energy that this method gives. The sections are short, which is part of the fun when listening: you will often want just one more before turning off the light.
Public domain
Edgar Wallace died in 1932: 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