8 h 52 minAudiobook16 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 murder, respectable faces, and a fan linked to China: what hides behind the appearance of innocence?
In The Mandarin's Fan, Fergus Hume brings together a murder, a circle of respectable people, and an object that seems to carry a dark meaning. The fan anchors an old-fashioned detective puzzle, where appearances invite trust and hidden secrets give the reader reasons to doubt.
Hume builds his crime fiction through careful clues, false trails, and sudden suspicion. Here, the mystery draws on a social world where families guard their names and scandal threatens what they value. The fan adds fear and fascination to a puzzle that asks for patience rather than a rush to judgment.
What you’ll discover
- An object worth watching Follow a fan linked to China as it anchors the mystery's sense of danger.
- Respectability under suspicion Look past respectable appearances and consider what a guarded reputation might conceal.
- Clues that invite patience Enjoy a careful puzzle built from clues, false trails, and reasons to doubt.
- Fear around a relic Explore the fascination and unease surrounding an object that seems to carry dark meaning.
- Secrets beneath social appearances Enter a world where protecting a family name can make scandal feel especially dangerous.
Who will love it
Readers who like Victorian crime with a ghost in the ruins, a secret marriage, a ticking mortgage and a puzzle object passed from hand to hand. Fans of clever detectives and colorful villains will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An heir, a curse and a newspaper slip
- Whispers about a fan's disappearance
- Ivy Lodge and a marriage kept secret
- A pirate's tale and a warning about death
- The ball at the Bristol Hotel
- A detective, an inquest and a story from Canton
- A will, a confession of sorts and a trap in Rotherhithe
- A flight, a ghost and a visitor in the night
- What the story is really about
- How the book is told
Who’s who
- Rupert AinsleighThe last of an old line, poor and proud, he wants to save Royabay and protect his secret wife.
- Olivia RaynerMiss Wharf's penniless niece, calm and loyal, she has secretly married Rupert and will not give him up.
- Major TidmanA vain, greedy old soldier living at the Bristol Hotel who once owned the fan and fears what it can do.
- Miss PewseyA shrill, flattering companion who clings to Miss Wharf and schemes to gain money and safety.
- Clarence BurghMiss Pewsey's swaggering nephew, a slangy adventurer with a past in China who wants Olivia and quick money.
- Dr. ForgeRupert's gloomy former guardian, who lives among Chinese curios and keeps many secrets about the fan and Markham's death.
- Orlando RodgersThe calm detective sent from London, who trusts evidence over rumour and wants the truth about the murder.
- Lo-KeongA powerful mandarin who wants his fan back and trusts his private god to guide his fortunes.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 52 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 16 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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Read and hear L’Éventail du mandarin in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
L’Éventail du mandarin
by Fergus Hume · 1905
A jade fan with four and a half beads could save Rupert Ainsleigh's Royabay or get him killed.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Mandarin's Fan is a mystery novel by Fergus Hume, the author of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab. It is set in the first year of the twentieth century on the Essex coast.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An heir, a curse and a newspaper slip
The story opens on a July evening at Royabay, a gray Tudor house built from the stones of a ruined abbey. Rupert Ainsleigh, twenty-five and nearly penniless, sits on the terrace with Major Tidman, a stout old soldier who enjoys other people's wine. Rupert explains that his mortgages are about to fall due. The holder of the last and worst one is Miss Wharf, a woman who hates him.
The family also carries a curse. Centuries ago an Ainsleigh burned Abbot Raoul in his own cloisters, and a blackened square of grass still marks the spot. The abbot's rough rhyme says the curse will only end when love and fortune come together in the family, through the very ashes of the abbey. Tidman laughs at all of it and blames the family's bad luck on bad management.
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What is The Mandarin's Fan about?
It follows Rupert Ainsleigh, who must save his ancestral home, Royabay. He hunts for a jade fan that a Chinese mandarin wants back. A murder at a seaside ball and a rivalry between two Chinese agents turn his search into a mystery.
Who is Lo-Keong in The Mandarin's Fan?
Lo-Keong is a learned, powerful mandarin who owns the fan. He was a friend of Rupert's father and holds a secret tied to the fan. He arrives in England in person to recover what he has lost.
What is the curse of Abbot Raoul?
It is an old rhyme spoken by a monk burned in the abbey cloisters. It says the Ainsleighs will suffer until a poor Ainsleigh marries a poor girl he loves and gold comes from the holy ashes.
The author
Fergus Hume
1859–1932 · English mystery novelist
Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was a British novelist born in England. He grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, and moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1885. He published The Mystery of a Hansom Cab in 1886. He returned to England in 1888 and continued writing crime novels, including The Green Mummy.
More by Fergus Hume
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