10 h 18 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A murder, a hidden identity, a serpent-shaped jewel: which secret binds them together?
In The Opal Serpent, Fergus Hume brings a murder and a mysterious jewel into a tale of suspicion. People are not what they seem, and discovering who someone really is becomes part of the puzzle. The opal serpent sits at the centre, binding the crime to the secrets around it.
This Victorian mystery asks you to look beyond a respectable face and question the trust a name can earn. Hidden identities keep the suspense alive as secrets emerge slowly. Hume lays out the plot with care, offering the measured pleasure of a crime puzzle rather than the rush of a fast thriller.
What you’ll discover
- A jewel at the centre Follow the opal serpent through a mystery where an ornament binds murder and secrets together.
- People behind their names Look past appearances as hidden identities make trust a difficult thing to give.
- Suspicion that builds slowly Settle into suspense that grows through secrets and the search for who people really are.
- A carefully laid puzzle Enjoy a plot that takes its time, giving you room to weigh what you learn.
- The pull of early detection Explore Hume's crime fiction through a tale shaped by murder, identity, and a distinctive jewel.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy classic crime puzzles, gaslit settings and secrets that come out slowly. It is also a good pick if you like early detective fiction. Those who want fast, modern thrillers may find the pace gentle.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Hume wrote crime for the Victorian public
- A jewel gives the mystery its shape
- Hidden identities keep the suspense alive
- How to enjoy a Victorian mystery today
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The Opal Serpent
by Fergus Hume· 1905
A murder and a serpent-shaped jewel conceal secrets of identity.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
Hume wrote crime for the Victorian public
Fergus Hume belongs to the first great wave of detective fiction. His career began in Melbourne, where he worked as a lawyer and watched the courts and the city at close range. Around 1886 he turned to writing, and a crime novel set in a hansom cab brought him a very large readership.
After that success, he wrote at speed and for a steady market. Readers in the Victorian age bought mysteries to be read in the evening, passed from hand to hand and borrowed from libraries. A writer in that trade needed a strong hook, a clear plot and chapters that made the reader want one more.
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The author
Fergus Hume
1859–1932 · English mystery novelist
Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was a British novelist born in England. He grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, and moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1885. He published The Mystery of a Hansom Cab in 1886. He returned to England in 1888 and continued writing crime novels, including The Green Mummy.
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Who wrote The Opal Serpent?
The Opal Serpent was written by Fergus Hume, a novelist raised in New Zealand who worked as a lawyer in Melbourne. He is best remembered for The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, one of the most widely read detective novels of its day.
What kind of book is The Opal Serpent?
It is a Victorian mystery novel. Books of this type centre on a crime, a set of suspects and a gradual search for the truth, usually with secrets about family, money and identity driving the plot.
Is The Opal Serpent a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction written in the late Victorian period by Fergus Hume. Like his other crime novels, it was made to entertain readers with a puzzle rather than to record real events.
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