6 h 39 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 39 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A hidden enemy, a threat to sight, and a Scottish secret: who can you trust when betrayal lies close?
In The Mystery of the Green Ray, William Le Queux brings together blindness, betrayal and a deadly Scottish secret. This wartime thriller draws its tension from hidden threats and uncertain loyalties. The danger reaches beyond a private puzzle: a secret matters to the whole country, and trust is no simple thing.
Le Queux writes in the anxious atmosphere of the First World War, when readers in Britain fear foreign agents at home. His direct style, quick openings and cliffhangers keep questions coming. Quiet towns and country houses belong to a world where a trusted friend or respected neighbour may serve the other side.
What you’ll discover
- A deadly Scottish secret Follow a mystery that brings blindness and betrayal into the heart of wartime danger.
- Trust under pressure Feel the strain of loyalties tested by the possibility of enemies close to home.
- Questions that keep coming Let quick openings and cliffhangers pull you toward the next uncertain turn.
- A nation's uneasy mood Enter the atmosphere of a Britain anxious about spies and hidden foreign threats.
- Adventure with sharp edges Meet the direct style, firm heroes and sharply drawn villains of an older spy tale.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like wartime adventure, detective reasoning from small clues, Scottish lochs, early spy stories, and a loyal love story.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A green flash interrupts ordinary life
- War gives friendship a new purpose
- A welcoming home has an uneasy neighbour
- Myra loses sight without warning
- The missing dog reveals a motive
- Small traces reveal a hidden journey
- Light brings danger and possible protection
- Love gives courage its purpose
- Reasoning and affection hold the story together
Who’s who
- Ronald EwartA young London barrister who tells the story, he loves Myra and wants to enlist, and he becomes her fiercest protector.
- Myra McLeodA Highland girl who loves fishing and mountains, she loses her sight on the river and meets her trouble with calm courage.
- General McLeodMyra's father, a retired soldier with a kind heart and frayed nerves, he has seen a strange sight at the Chemist's Rock.
- Dennis BurnhamRonald's closest friend, an athlete with a weak heart, he cannot enlist but proves a sharp observer and a loyal ally.
- Herbert GarneskA young Glasgow eye specialist who treats the mystery like a case and works out the thief's movements from the shore.
- J. G. HildermanPosing as an American, he rents Glasnabinnie across the loch, acts friendly and attentive, and takes a close interest in the blind girl.
- SholtoMyra's Great Dane, loyal and watchful, he loses his sight soon after she does and is then taken from the house.
- Mr. FullerHilderman's cheerful friend with a steam yacht, he welcomes the visitors aboard and seems very interested in what they read.
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The Mystery of the Green Ray in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Mystery of the Green Ray
by William Le Queux · 1915
A green flash blinds Myra McLeod and her dog on a Scottish river, and her fiancé hunts for the cause.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What if a flash of green light could take away your sight in a second? On a bright August afternoon in 1914, Myra McLeod stands on a white rock in a Highland river, casting for trout.
The Mystery of the Green Ray at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 45 min3 h fast, 4 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 53,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1915by William Le Queux
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
Four friends on the river as war nears
The story opens on Bank Holiday, the third of August, 1914. Four friends are on their yearly punting trip up the Thames. They are Ronald Ewart, a young barrister, Dennis Burnham, Jack Curtis and Tommy Evans. Rumours of war reach them from every passing boat.
After dinner the four agree that they must serve if war is declared. They talk of it lightly, as if army life were one long holiday. Ronald has a private worry too. He loves Myra McLeod, but her father, General McLeod, will not allow an engagement while Ronald has so little money.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1915
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Le Queux, William. The Mystery of the Green Ray. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-green-ray.
Le Queux, W. (2026). The mystery of the green ray. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-green-ray (Original work published 1915)
Le Queux, William. The Mystery of the Green Ray. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-green-ray.
@book{lequeux2026mystery,
author = {Le Queux, William},
title = {The Mystery of the Green Ray},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-green-ray},
note = {First published 1915}
}
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What is The Mystery of the Green Ray about?
It follows Ronald Ewart, who visits Myra McLeod in the Scottish Highlands in August 1914. She is suddenly blinded by a green flash on a river, and he and a specialist try to find what caused it.
Who is Hilderman in The Mystery of the Green Ray?
Hilderman poses as an American and rents Glasnabinnie, a house across the loch from Myra's home. He is helpful and observant, and he builds a hut with a long window above a waterfall, which the neighbours find striking.
When was The Mystery of the Green Ray set and is it a true story?
It is fiction set in the first days of the First World War, in August 1914. The author, William Le Queux, wrote it as a thriller, drawing on the spy fears of that time.
The author
William Le Queux
1864–1927 · Anglo-French novelist
William Le Queux (1864–1927) was an Anglo-French writer born in London. He died in Knokke, Belgium. He wrote novels about espionage, crime and war. His books include The Great War in England in 1897, published in 1894, and The Czar’s Spy, published in 1905. He also worked with radio.
More by William Le Queux
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