Story summary
Samenvatting van De mysterieuze gravin
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
Lois Reddle sees a white-haired convict in Telsbury Prison and learns that a scar on her arm ties her to a murder.
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De mysterieuze gravin in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 4 h 5 min3 h 15 min fast, 4 h 50 min slow
- Lengte
- 58.100 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Makkelijk short sentences, plain words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1925by Edgar Wallace
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
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De mysterieuze gravin in short
Lois Reddle goes on a prison errand and learns that the white-haired woman in the yard is her mother, Mary Pinder, convicted of murder twenty years before. She takes a post with the Countess of Moron, where a balcony gives way and a butler collapses. Michael Dorn, who has followed her for months, tries to protect her in ways that look like cruelty.
What De mysterieuze gravin is about
What would you do if one glance across a prison yard told you who you really were? Lois Reddle, a young clerk in a London law office, drives to Telsbury Prison on a dull errand. There she sees a tall woman with white hair who walks as if no wall could touch her.
The Strange Countess is a mystery novel by Edgar Wallace, who wrote crime stories at great speed and died in 1932. It holds an old murder, a box of poisoned chocolates, a grand house full of hidden wires, and a detective who follows a girl. Lizzy Smith, Lois's chattering friend, turns every danger into a joke.
Voor wie is het?. You will enjoy this if you like quick, twisting crime stories, clever detectives, villains you love to dislike, and a warm streak of comedy.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A prison errand reveals a daughter's secret
Lois Reddle is a clerk at the law firm of Shaddles and Soan. She lives in Charlotte Street with Lizzy Smith, a snub-nosed typist, and she has just won a post as secretary to the Countess of Moron. Before she starts, her mean employer sends her to Telsbury Prison to get a signature.
After the visit, the governor lets her watch the women in the yard. One stands apart, tall and calm, with white hair. The governor breaks the rules and hands Lois a law book open at the case of Mary Pinder, convicted of poisoning her landlady. He mentions that a baby girl was born to her inside the prison, and that a careless nurse burned the child's arm with a hot-water bottle with a star on the stopper.
Lois has a star-shaped scar just above her elbow. That night she reads the trial reports and finds the name of a defence witness, Mrs. Amelia Reddle, the neighbour who raised her. She is sure her mother is innocent.
A scar nobody cared about becomes the key to a whole life.
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A stranger follows her and warns her
Long before the prison, Lois has noticed a young man in her shadow.
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The countess's house offers a post too good
Lois moves into 307 Chester Square.
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A balcony falls and a knife is drawn
One evening Lizzy visits Chester Square.
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Lizzy moves in and the walls begin to talk
Lizzy arrives with a battered bag holding her court dress and coronation robes.
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Poison in the library and a charge in the street
Dr. Tappatt comes to lunch.
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A mother walks free and vanishes into the dark
At Telsbury, the governor tells the quiet woman she can leave.
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Gallows Farm waits in the Somerset hills
Released from the police station at one in the morning, Lois is helped into a car by Chesney Praye.
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A doctor's trap and two friends on a luggage rack
Dorn returns at seven next morning and walks into the farm as if invited.
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Justice, class and the comedy that carries the tale
Under the chase, the book keeps returning to what a prison does to a person.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Lois Reddle A young clerk who learns she is the daughter of a convicted murderess and sets out to clear her mother's name.
- Michael Dorn A private detective who has followed Lois for months and tries to protect her from a plot she cannot yet see.
- Lizzy Smith Lois's chatty, devoted friend works as a typist and shows more courage and ingenuity than anyone expects.
- Lady Moron The tall, dark-eyed Countess of Moron, who rules her household with cold calm and wants to keep an old secret buried.
- Selwyn, Earl of Moron The countess's timid son, who loves electricity and the stage and wants to escape his mother's rule.
- Chesney Praye The countess's smooth financial adviser, who has a shady past and an eye on both money and Lois.
- Dr. Tappatt A drunken, clever doctor with a grim record, who runs an unlicensed home for patients he calls mad.
- Mary Pinder The white-haired prisoner, serving a life sentence for murder, who has always maintained her innocence and longs to meet her daughter.
How it ends (spoiler)
The story ends in Mr. Mackenzie's small room in Charlotte Street. Lawyer Shaddles tells how the earl's elder son, William, secretly married Mary Pinder, died young, and left her at the mercy of his stepmother. Lady Moron faces defeat, and when old Mackenzie calls her Martha, she drops her pistol. Mary Pinder is cleared and reunited with Lois. Lois becomes Countess of Moron, Selwyn happily steps aside, and Lizzy and Michael Dorn each find love.
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Vragen over De mysterieuze gravin
What is The Strange Countess about?
It follows Lois Reddle, a young London clerk who learns that the white-haired convict she sees in Telsbury Prison is her mother. She takes a job with the Countess of Moron and is soon in danger, while a detective tries to protect her.
Who is Michael Dorn in The Strange Countess?
Michael Dorn is a private detective who once served as a police officer in India. He follows Lois for months, and Scotland Yard consults him. His odd behaviour hides a plan to protect her and to uncover an old crime.
Who is the Countess of Moron?
Leonora, Countess of Moron, is a rich, imposing woman with black eyebrows and a deep voice. She hires Lois as her secretary and runs her house through fear. Her son Selwyn, her adviser Chesney Praye and Dr. Tappatt all depend on her.
When was The Strange Countess written, and is it a true story?
Edgar Wallace wrote it in the early twentieth century, and it is a work of fiction. The prison, the legal details and the London settings provide the background for a mystery about concealed identities, injustice and attempts on a young woman's life.
Is The Strange Countess easy to follow?
Yes. The chapters are short, the plot moves briskly, and the language is plain. Lizzy Smith's jokes keep the mood light, and each chapter often ends on a hook that makes it simple to keep reading.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Wallace, Edgar. The Strange Countess. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-countess.
Wallace, E. (2026). The strange countess. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-countess (Original work published 1925)
Wallace, Edgar. The Strange Countess. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-countess.
@book{wallace2026strange,
author = {Wallace, Edgar},
title = {The Strange Countess},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-strange-countess},
note = {First published 1925}
}
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