4 h 0 minAudiobook11 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
A thief robs the rich, the public cheers, and Scotland Yard cannot put a name to her.
In Edgar Wallace’s Four Square Jane, a bold thief turns robbery into a battle of wits. The public knows her only by a nickname. Newspapers follow her exploits, wealthy victims lose their comfort, and skilled detectives struggle to discover who she is. Jane plays by her own rules, with Scotland Yard always one step behind.
This collection of short crime stories follows Jane’s schemes, her choice of rich targets, and the determined officers who pursue her. Her robberies suggest a code: she picks people who can bear the loss. Short scenes and plain language keep the chase moving toward neat surprises. The pleasure lies in watching one sharp mind challenge an entire police force.
What you’ll discover
- A name without a face Follow a thief whose hidden identity keeps both detectives and newspaper readers guessing.
- A worthy police pursuit Watch skilled Scotland Yard officers pursue an opponent who keeps slipping beyond their reach.
- Robbery by her rules Meet an outlaw who chooses wealthy targets and unsettles their comfortable lives.
- The crowd takes sides Discover a public that follows Jane’s exploits and often cheers against the authorities.
- Quick turns and surprises Enjoy short, direct tales that put clever schemes and the chase at their heart.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy a clever thief, a calm detective and a puzzle that keeps its answer to the last page, or if drawing rooms, disguises and quick, witty talk are your idea of a good evening.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A house party and a convenient fever
- A hospital receives a stolen armlet
- Dawes studies the thief and loses a painting
- A rich girl, a will and a wedding
- Murder at the office on St James's Street
- Justice, disguise and the sting of the puzzle
Who’s who
- Four Square JaneA veiled thief who robs rich men with shady fortunes, leaves a label of four squares, and sends part of her loot to hospitals.
- Peter DawesA calm young Scotland Yard superintendent who loves puzzles and wants to learn who Jane really is.
- Lord ClaythorpeA miserly, yellow-faced peer with ten hidden safes, who controls a young woman's fortune and wants her married to his son.
- Joe LewinsteinA self-made financier who throws grand parties to win influence, and who learns early that Jane is no ordinary burglar.
- Joyce WilberforceA sharp-tongued heiress who refuses to marry Francis Claythorpe and wants the freedom her uncle's will denies her.
- Jamieson SteeleA young civil engineer, once accused of forging a cheque, who ran away and is still loved by Joyce.
- Donald RemingtonLord Claythorpe's sour confidential clerk, who knows too much about his master's affairs and wants the money owed to him.
- Dr ParsonsThe chairman of a struggling women's hospital, who needs eight thousand pounds and receives a very odd gift.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 4 h 0 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 11 minutes, to read or to hear.
- 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.
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Four Square Jane
by Edgar Wallace · 1919
A veiled thief leaves four squares and a letter J behind, and Peter Dawes of Scotland Yard must learn who she is.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Four Square Jane is a crime story by Edgar Wallace, the British writer whose thrillers filled the bookstalls of his day. It follows a thief nobody can catch.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A house party and a convenient fever
Joe Lewinstein is a financier who rose from nothing and wants the right people to owe him favours. He is giving a ball and shooting party at Adchester Manor House in Buckinghamshire, and rain pours down on his prize lawns. His wife Miriam worries about something else. A burglar called Four Square Jane has been emptying the jewel boxes of the wealthy, and she leaves a small label behind with four squares and the letter J. Lord Belchester lost his wife's emeralds to her only a month after buying them.
Joe answers the danger by hiring a detective. A young woman arrives calling herself Miss Caroline Smith, a lady detective from the Ross agency, with rimless glasses, a soft southern drawl and a smile that comes and goes. She asks to go where she likes in the house and refuses to dine with the guests, since a dinner partner would only distract her. She tells Lewinstein not to find anything she does strange, because she has set her heart on catching Four Square Jane. Mrs Lewinstein, listening from the doorway, plainly does not approve of pretty lady detectives.
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What is Four Square Jane about?
It is a crime story about a lady thief who robs wealthy men and leaves a label marked with four squares and the letter J. Peter Dawes of Scotland Yard tries to find out who she is and why she strikes.
Who is Four Square Jane in the book?
She is the mysterious thief whose name comes from her calling card. Few people have seen her face, because she appears in disguise and veiled. Her identity is the central puzzle that Peter Dawes tries to solve.
Who is Peter Dawes?
Peter Dawes is a chief superintendent at Scotland Yard, calm and fond of unusual crimes. He studies the thief's methods closely, admires her cleverness and tries to guess her next target before she strikes.
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.
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