10 h 50 minAudiobook6 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
An ancient prophecy, a hidden family history, and a legendary stone: which holds the key to the mystery?
In The Secret of Sarek, Maurice Leblanc brings ancient prophecy, family secrets, and the hunt for a legendary stone into a Gothic mystery. A saying from the distant past hangs over the characters. Should they believe its warning, or search for a plain cause behind the dread?
Leblanc, the French creator of gentleman burglar Arsene Lupin, invites you to follow a puzzle one clue at a time. Hidden history gives the search its pull, while Gothic suspense keeps the past close at hand. A name, an object, or an odd remark offers something to watch as you read.
What you’ll discover
- A prophecy to question Consider the uneasy choice between trusting an ancient saying and seeking a plain explanation.
- Family secrets beneath the surface Follow a mystery where hidden family history is part of the puzzle.
- The legendary stone Let the hunt for a mysterious object draw you further into the story.
- A gathering Gothic dread Enter a tale whose atmosphere draws on the troubling weight of the past.
- Small clues worth noticing Watch names, objects, and passing remarks as the puzzle unfolds step by step.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy gothic atmosphere, old prophecies, island mysteries and cliffhanger chapters, and anyone who likes a determined heroine, a loyal dog and a hidden treasure waiting at the end of a trail of clues.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A signature on a deserted hut
- Numbered arrows lead her to the sea
- A son who is not dead
- Landing on the island of thirty coffins
- Murder at the Priory
- The flight that ends in blood
- Alone with a dog and a ruined bridge
- A friend under the island
- Fear, love and a gift for suspense
Who’s who
- Véronique d'HergemontA dressmaker and widowed wife who follows a trail of her own initials to find a son she believed dead.
- FrançoisHer gentle, cheerful son, raised on Sarek and hoping to find his mother, who keeps faith in a promised rescuer.
- HonorineThe brave Breton servant who pilots the island's motorboat and raised François, torn between loyalty and superstitious dread.
- Stéphane MarouxFrançois's wounded-soldier tutor, who loves Véronique in secret and wants to give her son a good life.
- Antoine d'HergemontVéronique's father, a scholar of megaliths living at the Priory, who wants forgiveness and studies the island's secret.
- MaguennocAn old sailor, healer and grower of miraculous flowers, who studies the prophecy and the God-Stone and fears for the island.
- All's WellFrançois's ugly, cheerful dog, who sits up and seems to laugh whenever anyone cries, and who knows the island's hidden ways.
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Il segreto di Sarek
by Maurice Leblanc · 1919
Véronique follows a trail of her own old initials across Brittany to an island where thirty coffins wait.
Medium level10–20 hours to readItaliano
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In short
A woman walks into a deserted hut in Brittany and finds her own girlhood initials scrawled on the door. Inside waits a corpse and a drawing of four women tied to crosses.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A signature on a deserted hut
In 1902 Count Alexis Vorski carries off Véronique d'Hergemont. Her father agrees to the wedding, then takes the couple's child and vanishes at sea. Fourteen years later she is a dressmaker in Besançon.
A private detective sends her a letter. She travels to the Breton village of Le Faouet and finds a deserted hut.
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Details
- First published
- 1919
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 7 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
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What is The Secret of Sarek about?
It follows Véronique d'Hergemont, who finds her old initials on a Breton hut and follows them to Sarek, the Island of the Thirty Coffins. There she meets the son she thought dead and faces a prophecy of crucified women and a miraculous stone.
Who wrote The Secret of Sarek and when is it set?
Maurice Leblanc, the creator of Arsène Lupin, wrote it. The story takes place during the First World War, in 1917, and the foreword presents the events as true, though it is a thriller.
What is the God-Stone in the book?
It is a legendary stone said to give life or death. Islanders believe it heals those who lie on it and burns those who touch it wrongly. The characters hunt for it, and the book explains it as the story goes on.
The author
Maurice Leblanc
1864–1941 · French mystery novelist
Maurice Leblanc was a French writer born in Rouen in 1864. He wrote novels and short stories, including the Arsène Lupin series, which began in 1905. His books include The Hollow Needle, published in 1909, and The Crystal Stopper, published in 1912. He died in Perpignan in 1941.
More by Maurice Leblanc
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