7 h 47 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 47 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A murder breaks the surface of busy London, and the hunt begins behind its polite faces.
In The Daffodil Mystery, Edgar Wallace sets a killing near the start and lets the search for the killer drive the story. London provides a world of contrasts: comfortable houses and cramped lodgings, polite drawing rooms and dark streets. Beneath that busy surface lies a crime waiting to be understood.
Deception stands between the search and the truth. The face someone shows in public may conceal a different private life. Wallace keeps the questions moving through short chapters, clear scenes and plenty of dialogue. This is a London thriller built around murder, concealment and the steady urge to turn another page.
What you’ll discover
- A city of contrasts Move between London's comfortable rooms and dark streets as the murder hunt unfolds.
- A crime that propels An early killing gives the story its urgent question: who is behind it?
- The pull of deception Consider the distance between a public face and a private life.
- Swift, clear storytelling Short sentences and lively dialogue keep your attention on the unfolding search.
- The next page beckons Follow short chapters that keep the central mystery firmly in view.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like classic London crime, a detective with a strange past, clues you can weigh yourself, and romance beside murder.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A cashier refuses her millionaire employer
- A detective will not frame an innocent girl
- A poseur sends a devoted burglar after her
- A body in Hyde Park carries strange clues
- The trail leads to Hertford and a false telegram
- A flat, a pistol and a girl in hospital
- Fire, a confession and a night at Hertford
- Vanity and devotion drive every crime
- Appearances deceive, and small things speak
- How Wallace tells it: symbols, speed and fair clues
Who’s who
- Jack TarlingA detective from the Shanghai police, called the Hunter of Men, who works with Ling Chu and cannot stop thinking about Odette Rider.
- Odette RiderA brave young cashier at Lyne's Stores who refuses her employer's advances and guards a secret she will not share.
- Thornton LyneThe wealthy owner of Lyne's Stores, a vain poet who cannot bear to be refused and plots revenge.
- MilburghThe smiling, hand rubbing manager of the store, who lives far above his salary and wants to keep it.
- Ling ChuTarling's silent Chinese assistant, a gifted tracker who hides his own reasons for hating Lyne.
- Sam StayA small burglar fresh from prison who worships Lyne and wants to punish the girl who hurt him.
- Inspector WhitesideA cheerful Scotland Yard man and fingerprint expert who works beside Tarling and follows the facts.
- Mrs. RiderOdette's gracious, anxious mother, who lives in a Hertford mansion and knows less about her husband than she should.
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Das Geheimnis der gelben Narzisse
by Edgar Wallace · 1920
A cashier turns down her millionaire boss, and he soon lies dead in Hyde Park with daffodils on his chest.
Medium level2–5 hours to readDeutsch
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanischFranzösischDeutschItalienischJapanischPortugiesischEnglischHow we measure levels
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In short
A shop girl tells her millionaire employer that she wants a man, not a poet, and walks out of his office. Within days he is dead in Hyde Park, a woman's silk nightdress wound around his chest and daffodils laid on his body.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cashier refuses her millionaire employer
The novel opens in Thornton Lyne's office above the shop floor of Lyne's Stores. A great bay window lets him watch every girl below. He has called in Odette Rider, a cashier who earns three pounds a week, and he asks what she thought of his little book of poems.
He loves his own image. He scorns marriage as a foolish ceremony, and he offers Odette a life with no wedding at all. He expects her to be flattered, because very few women have ever told him no.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- Deutsch
- Reading time
- 5 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wallace, Edgar. The Daffodil Mystery. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-daffodil-mystery.
Wallace, E. (2026). The daffodil mystery. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-daffodil-mystery (Original work published 1920)
Wallace, Edgar. The Daffodil Mystery. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-daffodil-mystery.
@book{wallace2026daffodil,
author = {Wallace, Edgar},
title = {The Daffodil Mystery},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-daffodil-mystery},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is The Daffodil Mystery about?
It follows Jack Tarling, a detective from Shanghai, as he investigates the death of the store owner Thornton Lyne, found in Hyde Park with daffodils on his chest, a nightdress around him and a Chinese slip in his pocket.
Who is Ling Chu in The Daffodil Mystery?
Ling Chu is Tarling's Chinese assistant, a skilled tracker who speaks few words and keeps his thoughts private. He has a personal link to Lyne's past, and his loyalty and methods shape several key turns of the case.
What do the daffodils mean in the story?
The daffodils are both a clue and a puzzle. Tarling traces which kind they are and where they were picked, and the inspector thinks they show pity. Their meaning is the last thing the book explains.
The author
Edgar Wallace
1875–1932 · British crime writer
Edgar Wallace was a hugely prolific British writer of thrillers and crime fiction who later co-created the story for King Kong. The Adventures of Heine follows Heine, a German secret agent, through a series of comic misadventures in Britain during the First World War.
More by Edgar Wallace
Alle Bücher des Autors ansehenMore like this
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