Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di La ragazza di Scotland Yard
A chi è rivolto
For readers who like clever heroines, London fog and fast clues, and for anyone who enjoys a classic Scotland Yard puzzle with a wronged man, a drawing-room villain and a child who needs rescuing.
Che cos’è questo libro
The Girl from Scotland Yard is a detective novel by Edgar Wallace, who died in 1932. It follows Leslie Maughan, a young woman who works as assistant to Chief Inspector Coldwell at Scotland Yard, and a case that begins with an odd bank withdrawal and ends in murder.
The story opens in a London drawing room in February. Lady Raytham waits for a telegram from her husband while two friends arrive for tea, one of them a towering princess with a monocle. Her butler, Druze, watches everything with a quiet smile. Then the police call, and a frightened hostess puts on rouge to hide her fear.
You get a quick mystery with a clever heroine, a man fresh out of Dartmoor prison, a house of secrets in Lambeth and a gang of silent attackers. It also carries a quiet plea for children nobody wants. Let us begin with the night Leslie comes to Berkeley Square.
In questo riassunto
- 1A visit that frightens Lady RaythamFree
- 2Leslie gives Peter a challenge
- 3A lodging house full of secrets
- 4A body on Barnes Common
- 5The butler who was a woman
- 6Greta, the document and a hidden marriage
- 7The child Peter never knew
- 8Traps in the dark
- 9What the stories say, and how they are told
Punto chiave 1 di 9
A visit that frightens Lady Raytham
The book begins on a sleet-soaked February evening in Berkeley Square. Lady Raytham, twenty-eight, cold-eyed and beautiful, reads a telegram from her husband in Constantinople. He has changed his plans again and will not be home before April. She seems more uneasy than lonely.
Her friends come for tea. Princess Anita Bellini is a tall, gray-haired woman who cuts her hair short, wears a monocle and speaks with shocking frankness. Greta Gurden is a gushing, painted woman who once danced in a chorus and now lives on the princess's charity. Their talk turns to Peter Dawlish, the princess's nephew, who is about to leave prison after a forgery on his employer, Lord Everreed. Peter has always blamed the butler, Druze, who cashed the check.
Then the butler announces a Miss Leslie Maughan of Scotland Yard. Lady Raytham goes pale, hurries to her room and paints color onto her cheeks. She expects a hard-faced official. She finds instead a lovely girl of about twenty-two in a nutria coat with violets pinned to the lapel.
Leslie asks politely why Lady Raytham drew twenty thousand pounds from her bank last Monday. Lady Raytham refuses to answer and shows her to the door. As Leslie leaves, Druze sees her out with a twitching cheek, and she feels she is looking into the eyes of a man already dead.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about La ragazza di Scotland Yard
What is The Girl from Scotland Yard about?
It follows Leslie Maughan, a young Scotland Yard assistant, as she investigates a wealthy woman's strange bank withdrawal, the murder of a butler and a prisoner's search for a lost child in London.
Who is Leslie Maughan?
She is the daughter of a famous Scotland Yard commissioner and works as assistant to Chief Inspector Coldwell. She is clever, brave and independent, and she follows her own hunches to the answer.
Who is Druze in the book?
Druze is the pale, white-handed butler in Lady Raytham's house. The mystery around Druze, and what Druze is hiding, drives much of the investigation.
Is The Girl from Scotland Yard a true story?
No. It is a work of detective fiction by Edgar Wallace, set in the London of its time, though it draws on real concerns such as blackmail and the fate of unwanted children.
Is The Girl from Scotland Yard easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that it moves briskly. The chapters are short, the plot is clear, and the dialogue is lively, with humor from Leslie's maid Lucretia.