Summary
Summary of The Girl from Scotland Yard
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A withdrawal brings fear into view
Lady Raytham is entertaining friends in Berkeley Square when her butler, Druze, announces a visitor from Scotland Yard. The news drains the color from her face. She hastily paints her cheeks before meeting Leslie Maughan, a young woman whose appearance is far gentler than the official she expected.
Leslie has a direct question: why did Lady Raytham withdraw twenty thousand pounds? She receives no answer. The contrast between the comfortable drawing room and its frightened hostess sets the investigation in motion.
Key idea 2
Leslie challenges Peter to begin again
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Key idea 3
A child's cries widen the case
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Key idea 4
Druze's death overturns the first picture
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Key idea 5
Planted evidence points away from Peter
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Key idea 6
A hidden marriage connects the suspects
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Key idea 7
Peter learns he has a child
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Key idea 8
The investigation brings threats into darkness
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Key idea 9
Vulnerable children give the mystery weight
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
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.
What this book is
A bank withdrawal of twenty thousand pounds looks odd, and in this London tale it ends in murder. The Girl from Scotland Yard, by Edgar Wallace, follows Leslie Maughan, a young assistant to Chief Inspector Coldwell. The story opens in a Berkeley Square drawing room in February. Lady Raytham's butler, Druze, watches with a quiet smile. Then the police call, and a frightened hostess paints her cheeks to hide her fear.
In this summary
- 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
Key point 1 of 9
A visit that frightens Lady Raytham
On a sleet-soaked February evening in Berkeley Square, Lady Raytham reads a telegram from her husband in Constantinople. He will not be home before April. She seems more uneasy than lonely.
Her friends come for tea. Princess Anita Bellini wears a monocle and speaks with shocking frankness. Greta Gurden is a gushing, painted woman who lives on the princess's charity. The butler is called Druze.
Then Druze announces Miss Leslie Maughan of Scotland Yard. Lady Raytham goes pale and hurries to paint color onto her cheeks. She expects a hard-faced official and finds a lovely girl who looks about twenty-two, with violets on her coat. Leslie asks why Lady Raytham drew twenty thousand pounds last Monday. She gets no answer.
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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How does Leslie persuade Peter to accept a loan?
Right. “Refusing a loan, she says, means he expects never to earn enough to repay it.”Not quite. “Refusing a loan, she says, means he expects never to earn enough to repay it.”
What does the hidden marriage certificate reveal?
Right. “Inside is a marriage certificate joining Peter James Dawlish and Jane Winifred Hood, which was Lady Raytham's maiden name.”Not quite. “Inside is a marriage certificate joining Peter James Dawlish and Jane Winifred Hood, which was Lady Raytham's maiden name.”
Why does Elizabeth matter to Leslie and Peter?
Right. “Elizabeth, thin and silent, keeps an imaginary father in a picture book, and the sight of her moves both Leslie and Peter to act.”Not quite. “Elizabeth, thin and silent, keeps an imaginary father in a picture book, and the sight of her moves both Leslie and Peter to act.”
Questions about The Girl from 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.
