14 h 11 minAudiobook4 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 locked room, a hidden motive, a sudden danger: where does the truth begin?
In The Lock and Key Library: Classic Mystery and Detective Stories, editor Julian Hawthorne gathers short tales of crime, secrecy and detection. The English volume brings together stories from the nineteenth century and the years around it. A crime, a disappearance or a strange event opens the way into a puzzle, with a hidden truth waiting to be found.
Crime, atmosphere and the slow work of discovery give these tales their pull. The wider library groups stories by country and kind, tracing the growth of the puzzle story in English and other languages. Here, the English tradition takes shape beside the modern city, its police and newspaper accounts of crime. Read slowly, and let each mystery hold your attention.
What you’ll discover
- Locked rooms and secrets Enter tales where secrecy and hidden motives make the search for truth compelling.
- Crime and strange events Follow mysteries that begin with a crime, a disappearance or something difficult to explain.
- The roots of detection Explore the early puzzle story through tales chosen by a writer of detective fiction.
- An English atmosphere Discover a tradition where crime and atmosphere develop alongside city life and its police.
- One tale at a time Settle into an older pace, with room to pause between mysteries and consider each puzzle.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like short stories, puzzles and the roots of the detective tale, and for anyone who enjoys Victorian atmosphere. If you want fast modern thrillers, the older pace and style may feel slow.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A novelist gathers the genre's early tales
- Every tale begins with a hidden truth
- The English tradition mixes crime and atmosphere
- How to read these stories today
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- 15-minute summary
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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La Bibliothèque du verrou et de la clé : récits classiques de mystère et d’enquête
Short mystery stories follow crimes, secrets and the search for truth.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
A novelist gathers the genre's early tales
Julian Hawthorne was the son of the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, and he made his own career as a writer of novels, articles and tales. He also wrote crime fiction, which made him a natural editor for a library devoted to the mystery story. His task was to choose stories that would show readers what the form could do.
The series name points to its theme. A lock keeps a secret, and a key opens it. Nearly every tale in the collection works that way. Something is hidden at the start, and the story is the search for the means to open it.
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The author
Julian Hawthorne
1846–1934 · American novelist and journalist
Julian Hawthorne was an American novelist and journalist, born in Boston in 1846. He was the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody Hawthorne. He wrote novels, short stories, biographies, and journalism. His novel Idolatry appeared in 1874. He lived in Europe and the United States and died in San Francisco in 1934.
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Questions about La Bibliothèque du verrou et de la clé : récits classiques de mystère et d’enquête
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What is The Lock and Key Library?
It is a multi-volume anthology of mystery, crime and detective stories edited by Julian Hawthorne. The volumes are grouped by language, country and kind, so readers can compare how different traditions shaped the genre.
Who edited The Lock and Key Library?
Julian Hawthorne edited it. He was an American novelist and journalist, the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and he also wrote crime and detective fiction of his own.
Is The Lock and Key Library one book or a series?
It is a series of volumes, each gathering short stories. This English volume focuses on classic mystery and detective tales from English writing, while other volumes cover other languages and kinds of crime story.
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