10 h 33 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 33 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Beneath an elm tree, a sleepwalker digs and weeps where a murdered man once lay.
Edgar Huntly cannot leave his friend Waldegrave’s murder unexplained. Writing to Mary Waldegrave, his betrothed and the dead man’s sister, he describes a search that begins with a strange sight in the dark. The sleepwalker is Clithero Edny, an Irish servant whose troubled past seems to promise an answer.
In Charles Brockden Brown’s Gothic novel, the Pennsylvania frontier takes the place of haunted castles. Edgar’s pursuit leads from a farming district into caves, cliffs, and forest. As danger draws him onward, his faith in his own reason becomes part of the mystery. What can he trust when his own mind offers no firm ground?
What you’ll discover
- A mystery beneath the elm Follow Edgar toward the stranger he believes can explain his close friend’s violent death.
- A sleepwalker’s hidden burden Meet Clithero, whose secret past in Ireland gives Edgar fresh reasons to pursue him.
- Gothic terror close to home Enter a landscape of caves and forests where the wilderness replaces the haunted castle.
- A mind beyond certainty Explore the uneasy gap between Edgar’s good intentions and impulses he cannot fully understand.
- A letter shaped by grief Feel the urgency of Edgar’s account to Mary, whose brother’s murder sets everything in motion.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to Gothic suspense, dark caves, and midnight chases will love this novel. It also suits those fascinated by the early American novel, unreliable minds, and the unsettling atmosphere of a story told through letters.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Grief draws Edgar back to the elm
- A sleeper leads Edgar through the wilderness
- Clithero tells how kindness shaped his life
- A night in the city brings Clithero to ruin
- Edgar hunts for Clithero on a hidden hill
- A locked box, a buried book, and a missing packet
- Edgar wakes in darkness and fights to live
Who’s who
- Edgar HuntlyA young man from Solesbury who writes the story. He wants to understand his friend's murder and soon follows secrets he can hardly bear.
- Clithero EdnyAn Irish servant who sleepwalks and carries a terrible burden of guilt. He wants to bury his past and suffer alone.
- SarsefieldEdgar's teacher and old friend, a surgeon who returns from Europe with great wealth and with a hatred of Clithero.
- WaldegraveEdgar's close friend, a gentle schoolmaster whose unexplained death near an elm drives Edgar to search for answers.
- WeymouthA friend of Waldegrave, back from shipwreck and illness, who comes to claim a sum of money he believes is his.
- Mrs. LorimerClithero's patroness, a wise and generous widow whose love for her wicked brother shapes the whole tragedy.
- Old DebAn elderly Delaware woman, called Queen Mab by Edgar, who lives alone with her dogs in the wilderness and claims it as hers.
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 9 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.
Edgar Huntly, ou Mémoires d’un somnambule
by Charles Brockden Brown · 1799
A sleepwalker digs beneath an elm at night, and Edgar Huntly follows him into the wilderness.
Medium level10–20 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
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
In short
What would you do if you saw a man dig a hole at midnight beneath a lonely elm, weep over it, and then walk straight past you as if you were not there? That is where Edgar Huntly begins.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Grief draws Edgar back to the elm
The story opens with a promise kept. Edgar Huntly sits down to write to the sister of his friend Waldegrave, who was shot dead near an old elm close to the home of an old man named Inglefield. Edgar says he can now hold a pen steady, though his memory still burns.
He was walking home at night to his uncle's house. He could have taken a plain road. Instead grief and a hunger for answers pull him toward the elm. He has searched that ground a hundred times without result. He remembers the pistol shot, Inglefield's alarm, and his friend stretched on the grass with a mortal wound. No killer was seen and no clue was left.
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 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1799
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 6 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Brown, Charles Brockden. Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/edgar-huntly-or-memoirs-of-a-sleep-walker.
Brown, C. B. (2026). Edgar Huntly; or, memoirs of a sleep-walker. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/edgar-huntly-or-memoirs-of-a-sleep-walker (Original work published 1799)
Brown, Charles Brockden. Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/edgar-huntly-or-memoirs-of-a-sleep-walker.
@book{brown2026edgar,
author = {Brown, Charles Brockden},
title = {Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/edgar-huntly-or-memoirs-of-a-sleep-walker},
note = {First published 1799}
}
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 Edgar Huntly, ou Mémoires d’un somnambule
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 Edgar Huntly about?
It follows Edgar Huntly, a young man in Pennsylvania who traces the murder of his friend Waldegrave and meets a sleepwalking Irishman named Clithero. The search leads him into caves, cliffs, and a bitter struggle for survival on the frontier.
Who is Clithero in Edgar Huntly?
Clithero Edny is an Irish servant in the household of a man named Inglefield. He sleepwalks, carries a secret guilt from his past in Ireland, and tells Edgar a long confession about his patroness Mrs. Lorimer.
When was Edgar Huntly written and is it a true story?
Charles Brockden Brown published it in 1799. It is a work of fiction, set in the Pennsylvania backcountry, and it uses real dangers of the frontier such as caves, wild animals, and raids to build its suspense.
The author
Charles Brockden Brown
1771–1810 · American novelist and historian
Charles Brockden Brown was an American novelist, historian, and editor. He was born in Philadelphia in 1771 and died there in 1810. He also lived in New York City. His novels include Wieland, published in 1798, and Edgar Huntly, published in 1799. He edited magazines and wrote historical and political works.
More by Charles Brockden Brown
All 2 booksMore 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
