9 h 19 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 19 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if claiming a fortune means staying in a lonely house where you cannot tell friend from rival?
John Glenarm inherits a fortune from his grandfather, but a strange condition stands between him and the money. He must live in the old family house before he can claim it. In the Indiana countryside, that sounds simple enough—until hidden spaces, odd happenings, and watchful neighbours make the house feel anything but empty.
Among those neighbours is Marian Devereux, whose friendship draws John closer while her mystery leaves him uncertain. As he tries to understand the people around him, romance grows beside danger. Meredith Nicholson lets John tell the story himself, so you share his doubts and discover the house's secrets only as he does.
What you’ll discover
- A will with conditions Follow John into an inheritance that gives him a place, a past, and a task.
- A house full of secrets Explore hidden spaces and odd happenings in a lonely house that holds more than money.
- Romance beside the danger Meet Marian Devereux, whose friendship and mystery leave John wondering whether he can trust her.
- Watchful eyes all around Weigh the motives of neighbours, servants, and strangers who take an interest in John's movements.
- The puzzle through John's eyes Learn each secret alongside the young narrator, with no knowledge beyond what he sees.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like secret passages, loyal friends, sharp banter and a love story that grows through mistaken identities, all wrapped in a puzzle about where a fortune is hidden.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A strange will sends Jack Glenarm to Indiana
- The house of candles hides danger from the first night
- A girl in a red cap and a caretaker with a hammer
- A sketch leads to a tunnel under the wall
- Bates is not who he seems, and neither is Olivia
- A secret trip to a Christmas ball
- Jack faces a puzzle about loyalty
- A house worth defending
- What the story is really about
Who’s who
- John GlenarmCalled Jack, a restless young engineer who must live a year in his late grandfather's house to claim his inheritance.
- BatesThe grave, polite servant who runs the house, cooks superbly and keeps his own counsel, leaving Jack unsure whether to trust him.
- Marian DevereuxA graceful young woman named in the will, who appears under many guises and leaves Jack guessing about her side.
- Arthur PickeringJack's boyhood rival, a smooth New York lawyer and executor who wants the estate and also wants Marian.
- Laurance DonovanCalled Larry, Jack's witty Irish friend and fellow traveler, who is on the run from the British police.
- Paul StoddardThe big, cheerful young chaplain of St. Agatha's, who offers Jack warmth and friendship.
- MorganThe yellow-bearded caretaker of the summer cottages, who searches the house at night with a hammer.
- Sister TheresaThe gracious head of St. Agatha's School and aunt of Marian, who is pressed by Pickering over a fifty thousand dollar claim.
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- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Das Haus der Tausend Kerzen in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Das Haus der Tausend Kerzen
by Meredith Nicholson · 1905
A young engineer must spend a year in a candlelit house in Indiana, where someone shoots at him on night one.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if your grandfather's will ordered you to live a year in a house of candles, and on your first night a bullet whistled past your head? The House of a Thousand Candles is a mystery adventure by Meredith Nicholson, set in Indiana in 1901.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A strange will sends Jack Glenarm to Indiana
Jack Glenarm is a wandering young engineer who has spent his own inheritance on travel. In New York, a lawyer named Arthur Pickering reads him the will of his grandfather, John Marshall Glenarm. Jack can have the old man's property only if he lives a year at Glenarm House near Annandale, Indiana.
There is a second rule that seems stranger still. If Jack marries or promises to marry Marian Devereux within five years of accepting the will, the whole estate goes to St. Agatha's School. He has never met her. If he fails the first rule, the property goes to her. Pickering, whom Jack has disliked since boyhood, says the fortune has mostly vanished and little remains but land and an unfinished house.
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What is The House of a Thousand Candles about?
A young engineer, Jack Glenarm, must live for a year in his late grandfather's strange Indiana house to inherit it. Mysterious attacks, a secret tunnel and a hidden fortune soon turn the year into a mystery with a romance at its heart.
Why is it called The House of a Thousand Candles?
The old owner loved candlelight and collected candlesticks. He joked that his house would hold a thousand lights when finished, so he gave it that name, and fills the library with candlelight.
Who is Marian Devereux in the book?
Marian is a young woman named in the grandfather's will, the niece of Sister Theresa of St. Agatha's School. Jack meets her under several guises before he learns who she is.
The author
Meredith Nicholson
1866–1947 · American novelist and diplomat
Meredith Nicholson (1866–1947) was an American novelist and diplomat. He was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and lived for much of his life in Indianapolis. He wrote The House of a Thousand Candles, published in 1905. He also served as a United States diplomatic representative in Paraguay, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
More by Meredith Nicholson
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