5 h 4 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 4 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the romance you chase leads to a quiet inn where charm hides a deadly trap?
Richard Beckett travels towards Paris with money, good manners and little experience. A mysterious young Frenchwoman catches his eye, and love at first sight draws him onward. The courteous Marquis d'Harmonville offers guidance but keeps much to himself. Beckett wants romance and adventure; he has little sense of how easily others can turn those wishes against him.
His pursuit brings him to the Dragon Volant, a country inn that seems a comfortable stop. The conversation is pleasant, the wine is good, and the woman seems to favour him. Yet disguise and secret watchers surround his adventure. In Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's short Gothic novel, no ghost is needed: the danger comes from people, and Beckett's trust leaves him exposed.
What you’ll discover
- A trusting young traveller Follow Beckett as curiosity, vanity and longing draw him towards people he barely understands.
- Charm with hidden teeth Discover a tale where pleasant company and apparent kindness give deception room to work.
- An inn full of unease Enter the Dragon Volant, where quiet rooms conceal more than a traveller expects.
- Memory sharpens the dread An older Beckett recalls his youth, setting experience against the young man's trusting view.
- Fear without a ghost Feel suspense grow from human pretence as a reasonable man loses his grasp on events.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy suspense that builds scene by scene, masked balls, old inns with secret doors, and narrators who tell their own foolish mistakes with humor.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A veiled lady stops a young man
- At the Belle Étoile nobody tells the truth
- A drawn sword and a white rose
- The inn with a haunted room
- At the masquerade the oracle knows everything
- A key, a plan and a signal light
- Vanity, masks and the shadow of the tale
Who’s who
- Richard BeckettA rich, vain young Englishman of twenty-three who tells the story years later, and who wants adventure and the love of a beautiful lady.
- The Countess de St. AlyreA beautiful, veiled young woman with violet eyes and a sweet voice, who says she is trapped in a loveless marriage and wants to flee.
- The Count de St. AlyreAn old, jealous nobleman in a black wig and muffler, who owns the Château de la Carque and is often short of money.
- The Marquis d'HarmonvilleA courtly French nobleman who goes by the name Monsieur Droqville and offers Beckett an introduction, Opera access, horses and friendly advice.
- Colonel GaillardeA pale, scarred, boastful cavalry officer who rages at the Count and Countess and appears again and again where Beckett does not expect him.
- St. ClairBeckett's French valet, clever and cheerful, who always seems to know everyone's secrets and is also a friend to the spirit of the inn.
- Monsieur CarmaignacA small, lean, bald police official who takes snuff and tells Beckett strange stories about the vanished guests of the Dragon Volant.
- Tom WhistlewickA hearty English dragoon and Waterloo veteran who loves champagne and balls, and who meets Beckett again at Versailles.
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La stanza del Drago Volante
by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu · 1872
A young Englishman in 1815 follows a veiled lady into a haunted inn room, and a rose becomes his password.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
What would you do for a woman whose face you have seen only once, in a mirror, for a few seconds? Richard Beckett, a rich young Englishman of twenty-three, answers that question the foolish way.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A veiled lady stops a young man
The story opens in 1815. Napoleon has fallen, and English travelers pour into France. Richard Beckett, aged twenty-three and newly rich, rides by post from Brussels to Paris. His head is so full of the city to come that he notices almost nothing of the scenery.
Then he comes upon a carriage in trouble. Two horses lie flat in the road, and the servants struggle to raise them. Beckett jumps down to help. From the window come an old man in a black wig, his face wrapped in a muffler though the day is hot, and a young woman in a thick black veil. The lady thanks him in sweet, broken English. Beckett sees only black lace, and he curses it.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1872
- Language
- Italiano
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. The Room in the Dragon Volant. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-room-in-the-dragon-volant.
Le Fanu, J. S. (2026). The room in the Dragon Volant. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-room-in-the-dragon-volant (Original work published 1872)
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. The Room in the Dragon Volant. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-room-in-the-dragon-volant.
@book{lefanu2026room,
author = {Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan},
title = {The Room in the Dragon Volant},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-room-in-the-dragon-volant},
note = {First published 1872}
}
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What is The Room in the Dragon Volant about?
It follows a young Englishman in 1815 who falls in love with a veiled countess at an inn and follows her to Versailles. A secret key, a masked ball and a haunted room draw him into a dangerous plan.
Who wrote The Room in the Dragon Volant and when?
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, the Irish author of Carmilla and Uncle Silas, wrote this Gothic tale. It was first published in a magazine and later collected in book form.
What does the Dragon Volant mean in the story?
The Dragon Volant, or Flying Dragon, is the name of an old inn near Versailles with a gilded dragon sign. It stands next to the Château de la Carque and has a room with a strange history.
The author
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
1814–1873 · Irish Gothic novelist
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer born in Dublin in 1814. He lived in Ireland and died in Dublin in 1873. He wrote Gothic tales, mystery novels, and ghost stories. His novels include Uncle Silas, published in 1864, and The Wyvern Mystery, published in 1869.
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