7 h 57 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 57 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the sharpest mind in the case never leaves his seat in a London tea shop?
In Baroness Orczy’s The Old Man in the Corner, young journalist Polly Burton meets a stranger with little patience for police methods. He ties and unties a length of string while describing crimes that baffle the authorities. Polly listens, doubts and tests his claims as he reasons his way toward an answer.
This collection of short detective stories begins with The Fenchurch Street Mystery and includes The Glasgow Mystery, The Liverpool Mystery, The York Mystery and The Dublin Mystery. The talk stays in London, but the cases reach beyond it. Murder, theft and disappearance turn on the gap between what seems clear and what the reports actually reveal.
What you’ll discover
- A detective who stays put Meet an odd, vain stranger who tackles baffling crimes through thought rather than legwork.
- A listener with doubts Follow Polly Burton as she questions bold claims and learns to respect a sharp mind.
- Knots beside the teacups Watch a length of string twist and loosen as the Old Man builds his arguments.
- Appearances against the facts Explore puzzles that ask you to look beyond the obvious and weigh what reports reveal.
- Crimes beyond London Move from Fenchurch Street to cases bearing the names of Glasgow, Liverpool, York and Dublin.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love puzzles with clear clues, courtroom scenes, Edwardian London, and detectives who solve everything from an armchair.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger in the corner challenges a journalist
- The Fenchurch Street case hangs on a millionaire's alibi
- A robbery in Phillimore Terrace has two victims
- Two women in the dock divide the public
- A face nobody can describe, and a prince nobody can trust
- A bank, a wife, and a will leave the police guessing
- Staged crimes in Brighton and Regent's Park
- A peerage and a caretaker's death in the snow
- Intelligence beats the police because it follows people
- The string, the snapshots, and a narrator who tells too much
Who’s who
- The Man in the CornerA pale, nervous, vain old man who ties knots in string and solves the crimes of London from his seat in a tea shop.
- Polly BurtonA young newspaper reporter who disputes his answers, wants to prove him wrong, and finds she cannot stay away from his table.
- Dick FrobisherA journalist on the London Mail who courts Polly and grows jealous of the odd old man who steals her lunch hours.
- Sir Arthur InglewoodA fashionable, drawling lawyer who defends the supposed Siberian millionaire and surprises the court with witnesses who saw Kershaw alive.
- Sir James FenwickA tall, gaunt Edinburgh advocate who takes apart the prosecution's witnesses when defending Edith Crawford.
- Francis SmethurstAn eyebrowless man posing as a Siberian millionaire who is arrested for murder and whom the old man identifies as Kershaw in disguise.
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.
Le vieil homme dans le coin
by Baronne Orczy · 1909
A nervous man with a piece of string drinks milk in a London tea shop and solves the city's unsolved crimes.
Medium level5–10 hours to readfrançais
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
Picture a tea shop in London, a marble table, and a young journalist sipping coffee over her newspaper. A thin, pale man with a bald head slides into the seat across from her, ties knots in a piece of string, and says no crime is a mystery if intelligence is brought to bear on it.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stranger in the corner challenges a journalist
The book opens in a London tea shop of the Aerated Bread Company. Polly Burton writes for a halfpenny paper called the Evening Observer, and she has eaten her cheap lunch at the same marble table for two years.
Then a strange man takes the seat opposite. He is pale and thin, with light hair brushed over a bald head and long fingers that tie and untie a piece of string. He says there is no such thing as a mystery when intelligence is used.
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
- 1909
- Language
- français
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Orczy, Emmuska. The Old Man in the Corner. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-old-man-in-the-corner.
Orczy, E. (2026). The old man in the corner. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-old-man-in-the-corner (Original work published 1909)
Orczy, Emmuska. The Old Man in the Corner. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-old-man-in-the-corner.
@book{orczy2026old,
author = {Orczy, Emmuska},
title = {The Old Man in the Corner},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-old-man-in-the-corner},
note = {First published 1909}
}
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 Le vieil homme dans le coin
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 Old Man in the Corner about?
It is a collection of twelve linked detective tales. A young journalist, Polly Burton, meets a strange man in a London tea shop who solves famous crimes from his chair, and tells her each solution while tying knots in a piece of string.
Who is the man in the corner?
He is never named. He is a thin, pale, nervous man with a bald head, a checked tweed suit, and a habit of tying string. He studies crimes through newspapers and courtrooms, and he believes the police miss obvious answers.
Is The Old Man in the Corner a true story?
No, the cases are invented, though they use real London places such as Fenchurch Street and Oxford Street. Baroness Orczy wrote them in the early twentieth century in the style of newspaper crime reports.
The author
Baroness Orczy
1865–1947 · Hungarian-born British novelist
Baroness Orczy (1865–1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. Born Emma Orczy in Tarnaörs, Hungary, she moved to London in 1880. She wrote The Scarlet Pimpernel, published in 1905, and detective stories, including The Old Man in the Corner and Lady Molly of Scotland Yard. She died in London.
More by Baronne Orczy
Voir tous ses livresMore 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
