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What if the sharpest detective in the room is the man everyone overlooks?
In Arthur Morrison’s The Red Triangle, Martin Hewitt works through six cases of crime, conspiracy and detection in London. Stout, pleasant and easy to overlook, this private investigator relies on patience rather than display. In streets, offices and drawing rooms, he pays attention to the small facts that others miss.
A habit, a timetable, an awkward remark or an object out of place can carry a case. Hewitt treats detection as a trade: he runs an office, takes fees and brings common sense to his work. His friend Brett, a journalist, accompanies him and records the stories, bringing you close to the patient business of finding answers.
What you’ll discover
- An unshowy investigator Meet a pleasant, ordinary-looking professional whose strength lies in watching people closely.
- Clues worth your attention Follow modest details that can matter more than any dramatic discovery.
- London at close quarters Move through streets, offices and drawing rooms where small facts deserve a second look.
- A working detective’s world See investigation as a practical trade, grounded in an office, fees and patient effort.
- Brett beside Hewitt Follow the journalist companion who sets down Hewitt’s cases and shares his investigations.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy clue-hunting, sealed-room puzzles, secret ciphers and chases through gaslit London will find plenty here. It suits anyone who likes a warm, clever detective.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A disappearance begins a linked chase
- The strange mark has an audience
- Fear keeps Mason from speaking
- A familiar pattern explains the cipher
- Physical traces overturn an apparent death
- Brett follows an offer into danger
- A readable message can be bait
- The triangle makes fear serve control
- Small facts keep the chase grounded
Who’s who
- Martin HewittA stout, friendly private investigator who solves cases through small details, honest clients and careful patience.
- BrettHewitt's friend, a journalist who tells the stories and helps by watching, following and sometimes running into danger.
- Inspector PlummerA Scotland Yard detective and Hewitt's old friend who leads each police inquiry and wants the murderer caught.
- Lewis SamuelA nervous Hatton Garden diamond dealer who loses a fortune in stones and hides who really owns them.
- Jacob MasonA wealthy amateur chemist, haunted by an oath he cannot break, who seeks help too late.
- Victor PeytralA West Indian merchant with a daughter and an invalid wife, who carries a grudge from years before in Haiti.
- Reverend James PotswoodA generous, honest clergyman who brings Hewitt into the Mason case and trusts too easily.
- MayesA pale, polite schemer with many names and glittering eyes who gathers criminals and offers a kingdom for loyalty.
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The Red Triangle
by Arthur Morrison · 1903
A red triangle marks the dead, and detective Martin Hewitt follows it across London through six linked cases.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“but the case of the Red Triangle had only just begun”
In short
A pale man waits at an office door in London, staring up and down the street. Soon he tells a detective that fifteen thousand pounds of diamonds have vanished from a room with only one door.
The Red Triangle at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h3 h 10 min fast, 4 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 57,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1903by Arthur Morrison
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
Samuel's diamonds vanish and a key appears
Lewis Samuel, a nervous diamond dealer, sends for Martin Hewitt. Fifteen thousand pounds of cut stones have vanished from the room of a commission agent named Denson. Samuel sat behind a glass screen for two hours and a quarter, and no one passed him. He forbids the police.
Hewitt finds the only way out, a hinged fanlight high in the wall. A slim, active man could slip through it. Then he begins to doubt his client, because Samuel says he called for help at once, yet he waited an hour on the steps outside.
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Details
- First published
- 1903
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Morrison, Arthur. The Red Triangle. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-red-triangle.
Morrison, A. (2026). The red triangle. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-red-triangle (Original work published 1903)
Morrison, Arthur. The Red Triangle. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-red-triangle.
@book{morrison2026red,
author = {Morrison, Arthur},
title = {The Red Triangle},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-red-triangle},
note = {First published 1903}
}
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What is The Red Triangle by Arthur Morrison about?
It follows private detective Martin Hewitt through six linked cases in London, from a diamond theft to a stolen naval code. A mysterious red triangle on the foreheads of the dead connects them all.
Who is Martin Hewitt?
Hewitt is a stout, cheerful private investigator with an office near the Strand. He solves puzzles through close attention to details like keys, footprints and timings, and he works closely with Scotland Yard's Inspector Plummer.
Who tells the story in The Red Triangle?
Brett, a journalist and Hewitt's friend, tells it. He assists with watching and chasing, writes up the cases from his notes, and often stumbles into danger himself, which keeps the narration lively and personal.
The author
Arthur Morrison
1863–1945 · English novelist and journalist
Arthur Morrison (1863–1945) was an English writer and journalist. He was born in Poplar, London, and later lived in Essex and Buckinghamshire. He wrote novels and detective stories. His books include Martin Hewitt, Investigator (1894), The Dorrington Deed-Box (1897), and The Hole in the Wall (1902). He died in Chalfont St Peter.
“but the case of the Red Triangle had only just begun”
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