9 h 45 minAudiobook3 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can a stolen jewel reveal when respectable names and polite manners hide dangerous secrets?
In The Amethyst Cross, Fergus Hume draws you into a mystery of stolen jewels and hidden identities in Edwardian England. Country houses and drawing rooms form a world where reputation matters, appearances carry weight, and a familiar name may conceal more than it reveals.
At the heart of the puzzle is a cross set with amethysts. Around it gather questions of identity, suspicion and secrets. Hume invites you to read alongside the characters, watching small details and testing what people seem to know. Who is present? Who leaves? Who seems too calm?
What you’ll discover
- A jewel worth watching Follow the amethyst cross into a puzzle shaped by stolen jewels and concealed identities.
- Respectability under suspicion Look beyond polite manners, where respectable families and old secrets share the same rooms.
- An Edwardian world Enter country estates and London houses shaped by strict rules of class and reputation.
- Small details that matter Watch arrivals, departures and quiet reactions as you weigh each person's place in the mystery.
- The pleasure of puzzling Enjoy a plain, old-fashioned mystery that asks you to question what you see.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy period detective fiction, tangled secrets and the slow tightening of a puzzle. If you want deep psychology or modern pacing, you may find its plain, old-fashioned manner less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Hume wrote mysteries for a wide public
- Edwardian England sets the stage
- Jewels and identities drive the puzzle
- How to read a mystery of this kind
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Das Amethystkreuz
by Fergus Hume· 1908
A mystery of jewels, hidden identities and family secrets.
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Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
Hume wrote mysteries for a wide public
Fergus Hume was a writer of crime and mystery fiction who produced a very large number of novels. He aimed at readers who wanted a clear puzzle, a brisk plot and a satisfying answer. His work belongs to the age when detective stories were becoming a popular habit.
Readers of his books expect a crime at the centre, a circle of suspects, and clues scattered along the way. The tone is usually direct rather than literary. The pleasure lies in following the threads and guessing which one matters.
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The author
Fergus Hume
1859–1932 · English mystery novelist
Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was a British novelist born in England. He grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, and moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1885. He published The Mystery of a Hansom Cab in 1886. He returned to England in 1888 and continued writing crime novels, including The Green Mummy.
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Who wrote The Amethyst Cross?
The Amethyst Cross was written by Fergus Hume, a prolific author of mystery and detective novels in the late Victorian and Edwardian years. He died in 1932 and is best known for The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.
What kind of book is The Amethyst Cross?
It is a mystery novel set in Edwardian England. Like much popular crime fiction of its time, it centres on a puzzle, hidden secrets and a valuable jewel, and it invites readers to follow the clues.
When is The Amethyst Cross set?
It is set in Edwardian England, the years of the early 1900s when class, reputation and family name carried great weight. This background helps explain why characters guard their secrets so closely.
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