8 h 51 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
What if you stake your freedom on the claim that no prison can hold a trained mind?
Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen treats every problem as a sum. Known as The Thinking Machine, he claims that reason can overcome any obstacle. His friends Dr. Charles Ransome and Albert Fielding put that confidence to the test with a wager: escape from a cell built to hold dangerous men.
Van Dusen accepts a search and a cell on the death row of Chisholm Prison. Warden Ranney trusts his locks and guards. The professor studies the walls, floor and window as calmly as a laboratory experiment. In Jacques Futrelle’s short detective story, stone and iron stand against a mind determined to find a way out.
What you’ll discover
- A wager with consequences A bold claim becomes a prison challenge, with the professor’s freedom at stake.
- Meet The Thinking Machine Follow a cold, confident scientist who reduces seemingly impossible problems to cause and effect.
- Stone against reason Watch Van Dusen examine his cell with patience rather than turn to force.
- Locks you can question Test your own reasoning against a locked-room puzzle that invites you to think ahead.
- A battle of confidence Set the warden’s faith in his prison against the professor’s trust in logic.
Who will love it
For readers who love logic puzzles, fair-play mysteries and the early days of detective fiction, and anyone who enjoys a satisfying read in one short sitting.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A prison-escape wager
- The rules of the challenge are set
- A man alone with stone and iron
- What the story says about thinking
Who’s who
- Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van DusenA scientist and logician known as The Thinking Machine, who believes reason can solve any problem, and who stakes his freedom on it.
- Dr. Charles RansomeA friend of Van Dusen who doubts his bold claims and helps set the terms of the wager.
- Albert FieldingA friend of Van Dusen who takes part in the wager and watches whether the professor can make good on his boast.
- Warden RanneyThe head of Chisholm Prison, who trusts his locks and guards and agrees to hold the professor like any other prisoner.
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- Audiobook
- 8 h 51 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 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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Le Problème de la cellule 13
by Jacques Futrelle · 1905
Van Dusen stakes his freedom on a wager that his trained mind can beat a prison cell built for dangerous men.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Problem of Cell 13 is a short detective story by Jacques Futrelle, an American writer who published it in 1905. It brings in Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, a scientist with a huge forehead and a cold manner, whom the press nicknames The Thinking Machine.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A prison-escape wager
The story opens with Professor Van Dusen, a man with many degrees and a famous reputation for logic. He is known to the public as The Thinking Machine, a name that suits his habit of reducing everything to cause and effect. Two learned friends, Dr. Charles Ransome and Albert Fielding, sit with him and argue about what a mind can achieve.
Van Dusen holds a bold position. He says that the mind is master over matter, and that no problem is truly impossible for a person who thinks clearly enough. His friends push back. They think he is boasting, and they want a test with real stakes.
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What is The Problem of Cell 13 about?
It is a short detective story in which Professor Van Dusen bets that he can escape from a prison cell within a week. The tale follows his attempt and the doubts of his friends and the warden.
Who is The Thinking Machine?
The Thinking Machine is the nickname of Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, a scientist famous for his cold logic. Futrelle used him as the hero of many detective stories.
When was The Problem of Cell 13 written?
Jacques Futrelle published it in 1905. It is a work of fiction, not a true story, though it reflects the early fascination with science and reasoning in detective fiction.
The author
Jacques Futrelle
1875–1912 · American mystery writer
Jacques Futrelle (1875–1912) was an American journalist and mystery writer. He was born in Georgia and later lived in Massachusetts. In the early 1900s, he wrote detective stories featuring Professor Van Dusen, known as the Thinking Machine. He died in the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912.
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