8 h 12 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 12 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A crowded gaming room, a trembling girl, and a winning player who suddenly refuses her stake: what lies beneath?
In A. E. W. Mason’s At the Villa Rose, Mr. Ricardo expects another comfortable stay in Aix-les-Bains. His days revolve around drives, dinners, and baccarat at the Villa des Fleurs. Then a distressed young woman rushes into the garden, her diamond earrings shaking beneath a broad black hat. Ricardo’s pleasant routine begins to lose its calm.
Back at the gaming table, Ricardo spots Harry Wethermill, a wealthy young man whose fortune comes from science. When Celia offers a banknote, Wethermill abandons his winning position rather than play against her. He invites her to share his luck instead. These charged encounters draw you into a detective mystery of murder, deception, and the search for truth.
What you’ll discover
- Comfort on the brink Follow Ricardo as a carefully arranged holiday begins to give way to unexpected excitement.
- A face half hidden Meet Celia through restless gestures, glittering earrings, and a face Ricardo feels he knows.
- An arresting refusal Watch Wethermill stop a profitable game when Celia puts her own money at risk.
- Manners under pressure Enter gaming rooms where polished behavior struggles to contain the feelings stirred by chance.
- The pull of truth Step into a murder mystery where deception makes the hunt for answers compelling.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy a clever detective, a setting of casinos and villas, clues you can weigh yourself, and an observer whose pride is gently teased.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A summer night at Aix sets the puzzle
- A newspaper brings murder to the dressing room
- The night rounds fix the hour of the crime
- The salon holds a puzzle Hanaud cannot read
- The maid tells a story that sounds true
- The hidden jewels make the crime stranger
- A list of suspicions meets a captain's silence
- A dead witness and a night raid on Lake Geneva
- Belief, trickery and the weight of proof
- A comic narrator and a detective who hides his hand
Who’s who
- HanaudA stout, playful detective of the Paris Sûreté who takes the case while on holiday and keeps his reasoning to himself.
- Julius RicardoA rich, vain, kindly English widower who observes the investigation and tries, with mixed success, to help the detective.
- Celia HarlandA young English girl, the companion of Madame Dauvray, who vanishes on the night of the murder.
- Harry WethermillA brilliant young inventor who professes love for Celia and begs Hanaud to take the case and find her.
- Madame DauvrayA wealthy, kind and superstitious widow who loves jewels and longs to speak with the spirits of great ladies.
- Helene VauquierMadame Dauvray's stern Norman maid, who tells the police her version of that night.
- PerrichetA young, eager policeman who finds the body and wants badly to prove he is clever.
- Louis BesnardThe neat, confident commissaire of police in Aix, who believes the case is already clear.
Formats and delivery
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- Hardcover
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At the Villa Rose
by A. E. W. Mason · 1910
In Aix-les-Bains, a rich widow is strangled, a girl vanishes, and a detective on holiday takes the case.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
Picture a rich, fussy man who spends every August at a spa town, where he watches the gamblers more than he gambles. One evening he sees a girl in white satin rush into the garden, swing her slipper against the stones, and rush back inside.
At the Villa Rose at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 40 min3 h 40 min fast, 5 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 66,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1910by A. E. W. Mason
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A summer night at Aix sets the puzzle
Julius Ricardo is a rich widower of nearly fifty who lives for pleasant company. Every August he goes to Aix-les-Bains.
On his first evening he sits in the garden behind the gaming rooms. A girl in a white satin dress dashes out and throws herself onto a bench. Then she runs back in.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1910
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Mason, A. E. W. At the Villa Rose. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-villa-rose.
Mason, A. E. W. (2026). At the Villa Rose. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-villa-rose (Original work published 1910)
Mason, A. E. W. At the Villa Rose. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-villa-rose.
@book{mason2026at,
author = {Mason, A. E. W.},
title = {At the Villa Rose},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/at-the-villa-rose},
note = {First published 1910}
}
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What is At the Villa Rose about?
It follows the murder of a wealthy widow, Madame Dauvray, at a villa in Aix-les-Bains, and the search for her missing young companion Celia. The detective Hanaud, on holiday, is asked to take the case and reads the clues.
Who is Hanaud in At the Villa Rose?
Hanaud is a detective of the Paris Sûreté who is staying in Aix on holiday. He is heavy and humorous, moves quickly, hides his thoughts, and calls himself the captain of the ship.
Who tells the story in At the Villa Rose?
The story follows Julius Ricardo, a rich, fussy Englishman who loves art and company. He watches Hanaud work, offers eager theories, and gives the book much of its humor.
The author
A. E. W. Mason
1865–1948 · English novelist
Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (1865–1948) was a British novelist and politician, born in London, where he also died. He wrote The Four Feathers (1902), At the Villa Rose (1910), and The House of the Arrow (1924). He served as a Member of Parliament for Coventry from 1906 to 1910.
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