6 h 58 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a city full of big plans, an ordinary man finds that chance has plans of its own.
Mr. Middleton is an ordinary man caught up in odd events in Chicago, where business, railroads and the lure of fast money fill the streets. In The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton, Wardon Allan Curtis builds a comic tale around chance, schemes and sudden changes of fortune.
Luck and scheming push the story along, while humor keeps gloom at bay. The pleasure lies in watching an ordinary life meet unlikely events against a busy city backdrop. This is period comedy with its own rhythm, drawing its wit from manners, misunderstandings and well-turned phrases rather than slapstick alone.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely adventurer Follow Mr. Middleton into odd events that pull an ordinary man beyond his familiar world.
- Chicago in motion Enter a lively city of railways, tall new buildings, business and big plans.
- The power of chance Enjoy a plot where luck helps steer events and fortune can change without warning.
- Schemes with comic promise Explore the pull of fortune in a commercial city ripe with subjects for humor.
- Wit at its own pace Settle into period comedy that finds its fun in manners, misunderstandings and turns of phrase.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy tall tales, gentle satire of city life, Arabian Nights flavor with a Midwestern grin, and stories nested inside stories.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rainstorm drives a clerk into the emir's shop
- A virtuous spinster marries a man under her bed
- A trusting country boy meets a two-nosed man
- A golden beetle leads to a ring and a millionaire
- A cabbage, a giant guinea pig and a haunted bottle
- A doctor is hunted by a gang that taps
- A razor clerk plays page boy to find a butler
- A sleeping scholar and a drunk partner in a box
- Every gift turns into money, until one does not
- A voice that mocks as it tells the tale
Who’s who
- Edward MiddletonA twenty-three-year-old law clerk from Wisconsin who owns one suit, studies for the bar, and keeps finding profit in the emir's odd gifts.
- Achmed Ben DaoudAn Arab emir who runs a small bazaar on Clark Street and collects adventure stories to free his brother from a tower.
- MesrourThe emir's giant servant, who bows in splendid robes at night and wears checked trousers and a raincoat outside.
- The young lady of EnglewoodA pleasant, proper young woman whom Mr. Middleton hopes to marry when he can afford it, and who is sometimes cross with him.
- Chauncy StackelbergMr. Middleton's cheerful friend, newly married, whose wedding started the whole evening and who later asks him to be his son's godfather.
- Augustus Alfonso BrockelsbyThe senior partner of the law firm where Mr. Middleton works, an important lawyer with a weakness for banquets.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Die seltsamen Abenteuer des Herrn Middleton
by Wardon Allan Curtis · 1903
A young clerk ducks into a dark Chicago shop to escape the rain and meets an Arab emir who hands out strange gifts.
Medium level2–5 hours to readDeutsch
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanischFranzösischDeutschItalienischJapanischPortugiesischEnglischHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do if a stranger in a dark shop handed you a gift, then told a tale to go with it? Edward Middleton, a law clerk from Wisconsin, ducks out of the rain on a Chicago street and finds an Arab prince smoking a water pipe.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A rainstorm drives a clerk into the emir's shop
Edward Middleton is twenty-three years old and owns exactly one suit. On a gloomy night he hurries along Clark Street, carrying his own suit and planning to change at the tailor's. When the rain starts, he runs into the first doorway he sees.
A gigantic man in crimson silk and a snowy turban booms out a greeting in Arabic. Mr. Middleton, who knows no Arabic, politely answers that he does not understand German.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
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
- 1903
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Curtis, Wardon Allan. The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-adventures-of-mr-middleton.
Curtis, W. A. (2026). The strange adventures of Mr. Middleton. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-adventures-of-mr-middleton (Original work published 1903)
Curtis, Wardon Allan. The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-adventures-of-mr-middleton.
@book{curtis2026strange,
author = {Curtis, Wardon Allan},
title = {The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-adventures-of-mr-middleton},
note = {First published 1903}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Die seltsamen Abenteuer des Herrn Middleton
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton about?
A young Chicago law clerk, Edward Middleton, meets an Arab emir who tells him a tale each week and gives him a gift. The gifts lead to comic adventures, small fortunes and trouble with a young lady.
Who is Mesrour in The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton?
Mesrour is the emir's giant servant. In the shop he wears crimson silk and a turban and bows low, but outside he wears checked trousers and a raincoat and uses American slang.
Is The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton a true story?
No. It is a comic invention by Wardon Allan Curtis, set in early twentieth century Chicago, and it playfully imitates the frame of the Arabian Nights with stories inside stories.
The author
Wardon Allan Curtis
1867–1940 · American writer
Wardon Allan Curtis was an American writer, born in 1867 and died in 1940. He wrote The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton, published in 1904. The information supplied does not establish his birthplace or where he lived.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
