4 h 0 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 0 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A thief robs the rich, the public cheers, and Scotland Yard cannot put a name to her.
In Edgar Wallace’s Four Square Jane, a bold thief turns robbery into a battle of wits. The public knows her only by a nickname. Newspapers follow her exploits, wealthy victims lose their comfort, and skilled detectives struggle to discover who she is. Jane plays by her own rules, with Scotland Yard always one step behind.
This collection of short crime stories follows Jane’s schemes, her choice of rich targets, and the determined officers who pursue her. Her robberies suggest a code: she picks people who can bear the loss. Short scenes and plain language keep the chase moving toward neat surprises. The pleasure lies in watching one sharp mind challenge an entire police force.
What you’ll discover
- A name without a face Follow a thief whose hidden identity keeps both detectives and newspaper readers guessing.
- A worthy police pursuit Watch skilled Scotland Yard officers pursue an opponent who keeps slipping beyond their reach.
- Robbery by her rules Meet an outlaw who chooses wealthy targets and unsettles their comfortable lives.
- The crowd takes sides Discover a public that follows Jane’s exploits and often cheers against the authorities.
- Quick turns and surprises Enjoy short, direct tales that put clever schemes and the chase at their heart.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like clever thieves, quick detective work, and tricks played on the pompous. It suits fans of classic British crime and anyone who cheers for the outlaw with a conscience.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Protection can hide a threat
- A hospital gives theft a purpose
- Dawes follows a pattern of giving
- A wedding exposes a guardian's power
- Murder changes the meaning of clues
- Fairness does not settle the law
- Follow power over another person's fortune
- A familiar signature can mislead
- Admiration leaves the central question open
Who’s who
- Four Square JaneA masked, quick-witted thief who robs rich, unkind men, leaves a four-square label behind, and sends a good share of her spoils to hospitals.
- Peter DawesA calm, clever Scotland Yard superintendent who loves a puzzle and is determined to find out who Jane really is.
- Joe LewinsteinA self-made financier who throws a grand house party, hires a detective to guard his guests, and half admires the thief.
- Lord ClaythorpeA thin, yellow-faced, miserly lord with ten safes in his library, who cheats a hospital and wants his son to marry a fortune.
- Joyce WilberforceA spirited young heiress who does not want to marry Lord Claythorpe's son, and who has her own plans for her life.
- Jamieson SteeleA civil engineer accused of forging a cheque, who ran away and is now whispered about as a friend of the thief.
- Donald RemingtonLord Claythorpe's sour, silent clerk, who knows far more of his master's business than is safe and wants a quiet cottage.
- Dr. ParsonsThe anxious chairman of a failing women's hospital, who needs eight thousand pounds to keep its doors open.
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Four Square Jane
by Edgar Wallace · 1919
A veiled thief robs the greedy rich, leaves a four-square label, and sends her spoils to hospitals.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Picture a wet afternoon in Buckinghamshire. A rich financier watches the rain drown his geraniums.
Four Square Jane at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 15 min1 h 45 min fast, 2 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 31,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1919by Edgar Wallace
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 rich host hires a woman detective
At Adchester Manor House, the financier Joe Lewinstein is preparing a ball and a shooting party. His guests will wear everything they own. His wife Miriam does not share his joy. She knows that a house full of diamonds is just what Four Square Jane likes.
Lewinstein has asked the Ross detective agency for its best woman. Calling herself Miss Caroline Smith, she poses as a young American detective, with rimless glasses and a soft drawl. She asks to go wherever she likes in the house and tells him not to be alarmed by anything she does.
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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
- 1919
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wallace, Edgar. Four Square Jane. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/four-square-jane.
Wallace, E. (2026). Four square Jane. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/four-square-jane (Original work published 1919)
Wallace, Edgar. Four Square Jane. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/four-square-jane.
@book{wallace2026four,
author = {Wallace, Edgar},
title = {Four Square Jane},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/four-square-jane},
note = {First published 1919}
}
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What is Four Square Jane about?
It follows a clever woman thief who robs rich, unkind men and leaves a label with four squares and the letter J. Peter Dawes of Scotland Yard tries to catch her and discover who she is.
Why is she called Four Square Jane?
The police name her Jane because of the mark she leaves behind, a printed label showing four squares with a letter J in the middle. The name stuck, and the label is her calling card.
Who is Peter Dawes?
He is a calm Scotland Yard chief superintendent who loves puzzles. He is given the Four Square case after the Claythorpe robbery and follows her tricks with growing admiration.
The author
Edgar Wallace
1875–1932 · British crime writer
Edgar Wallace was a hugely prolific British writer of thrillers and crime fiction who later co-created the story for King Kong. The Adventures of Heine follows Heine, a German secret agent, through a series of comic misadventures in Britain during the First World War.
More by Edgar Wallace
See all their booksMore like this
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