9 h 3 minAudiobook7 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 a speck of dust tells you more about a crime than a confession?
In R. Austin Freeman's John Thorndyke's Cases, crimes that baffle the police meet a patient investigator. Dr. John Thorndyke is both a London barrister and a medical expert. From his chambers in the Temple, he studies the small physical traces that others overlook, asking not merely what seems likely, but what can be proved.
His friend and junior colleague, Dr. Christopher Jervis, tells these eight mysteries, learning the meaning of clues alongside the reader. The collection brings together puzzling events, worried clients, laboratory work and questions of legal proof. Behind the investigations stands Polton, whose skilled hands prepare the instruments and specimens that help turn observation into evidence.
What you’ll discover
- Clues in ordinary things Follow dust, fibers and stains as small details become the key witnesses to a crime.
- A mind that demands proof Watch Thorndyke test each claim with the care of both doctor and barrister.
- A companion in discovery Join Jervis as he learns to see what the evidence really means.
- The workshop behind detection Meet Polton, the craftsman whose instruments and prepared specimens support Thorndyke's patient investigations.
- Science meets the courtroom Explore the gap between suspecting an answer and showing why it holds.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like clever puzzles, clues you can follow yourself, and a calm detective who trusts evidence over hunches. It suits fans of Sherlock Holmes and of scientific crime stories.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Footprints on a lonely beach tell a tale
- Small clues can describe a stranger completely
- A battered hat carries traces of its wearer
- A sequin and a sketch can save a life
- A strange script hides a message
- A ghostly story may hide an earthly trick
- A locked room can have a surprising answer
- Tiny shells carry a message from the sea
- The method behind every case
Who’s who
- Dr. John ThorndykeA medical jurist and barrister who solves crimes by scientific observation and refuses to take any fact for granted.
- Dr. Christopher JervisThorndyke's friend and assistant, a doctor who tells the stories and often falls a step behind his colleague.
- PoltonThorndyke's skilled laboratory assistant, who builds casts, instruments and exact copies for experiments.
- Mr. MarchmontA solicitor who brings Thorndyke difficult cases and cares for his clients.
- Inspector BadgerA shrewd Scotland Yard detective who trusts the obvious evidence and likes to tease Thorndyke.
- Superintendent MillerA senior Scotland Yard officer who often turns to Thorndyke when official methods fail.
- Sergeant PayneA sharp village police sergeant who makes the first arrest in the opening case.
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Les affaires de John Thorndyke
by R. Austin Freeman · 1909
On an empty beach, Thorndyke reads two sets of footprints before a stretcher party arrives.
Medium level5–10 hours to readfrançais
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In short
How much can a lonely stretch of sand tell you about a killing? In John Thorndyke's Cases, R. Austin Freeman gives eight mysteries solved by a medical lawyer with a lens, a tape measure and plaster of Paris.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Footprints on a lonely beach tell a tale
The first story, The Man with the Nailed Shoes, opens in the remote village of Little Sundersley. Dr. Jervis is minding a small practice when his friend John Thorndyke arrives for a visit. On the beach, Thorndyke reads the sand like a printed page and tells Jervis how many people passed, how long ago, and what one of them carried.
Then a body is found in St. Bridget's Bay, stabbed above the heart. The sand is trampled as if after a fight, and a set of nailed shoes leads up the cliff path. Sergeant Payne follows the plain evidence and arrests a local gentleman named Draper, whose strange shoes seem to match.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1909
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 5 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
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What is John Thorndyke's Cases about?
It is a collection of eight detective stories in which Dr. John Thorndyke, a medical expert and lawyer, solves murders and thefts by studying footprints, hairs, dust, ink and other small clues.
Who is Dr. Jervis?
Dr. Jervis is Thorndyke's friend and assistant. He tells the stories, shares in the investigations, and often follows Thorndyke's reasoning a step behind, which gives readers a chance to guess alongside him.
Is the science in the stories real?
Freeman says in his preface that the stories use authentic facts and practical methods, and that he performed the experiments himself. The methods are based on real medical and scientific work of his time.
The author
R. Austin Freeman
1862–1943 · British detective novelist
Richard Austin Freeman (1862–1943) was a British doctor and writer. He was born in London and died in Gravesend, Kent. He wrote detective novels and short stories featuring the medical investigator Dr John Thorndyke. His first Thorndyke novel, The Red Thumb Mark, was published in 1907.
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