14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a stranger bring into a quiet community—and what does he need to keep hidden?
In The New Tenant, E. Phillips Oppenheim turns a new arrival into a reason to watch, wonder and suspect. Someone takes up residence, and the settled order begins to shift. Who is this man? What does he want? The people around him have questions, but his past is not something he can easily share.
Murder casts its shadow over this Victorian mystery, putting pressure on the relationships around it. Hidden identity and private motives give the suspense its force. Oppenheim keeps the story brisk and led by the plot, while the secrets beneath it raise a quieter question: what do people conceal through shame, fear or love?
What you’ll discover
- A stranger worth watching Follow the unease that grows when a newcomer unsettles a place where people notice everything.
- A past under cover Let questions of identity draw you toward the life a man keeps out of sight.
- Murder and its shadow See how a death puts pressure on the relationships surrounding the crime.
- Secrets with a cost Consider how shame, fear and love can each give someone a reason to hide.
- Suspicion that steadily builds Enjoy a brisk mystery whose hidden motives keep you questioning what lies beneath appearances.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like old-fashioned mysteries with a murder on the moor, a secret tenant, and a heroine who acts for herself.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Helen chooses the unknown tenant
- Brown shows no surprise
- Suspicion begins to yield to love
- Rachel leaves Helen a duty
- Private doubt becomes a public danger
- A famous name cannot ensure safety
- Helen trusts him as evidence gathers
- Objects and weather carry meaning
- Love means risking trust
Who’s who
- Helen ThurwellA squire's clever, bored daughter who longs for something real and sets out in secret to bring her fiance's killer to justice.
- Bernard BrownA pale, gentle scholar who rents Falcon's Nest, hides his true name and keeps a painful past to himself.
- Mr. ThurwellThe kindly squire and magistrate of Thurwell Court who tries to be fair to his odd tenant and protect his daughter.
- Sir Geoffrey KynastonA rich baronet home from long years abroad and engaged to Helen, whose past follows him back to England.
- Rachel KynastonSir Geoffrey's passionate sister, who believes she knows exactly who hated her brother enough to kill him.
- Sir Allan BeaumervilleA charming society physician and botanist who knows more about the neighbourhood and the tenant than he admits.
- Benjamin LevyA sharp, vain young private agent who sees the murder case as a path to fortune and fame.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The New Tenant 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 New Tenant
by E. Phillips Oppenheim · 1896
A shooting party loses a baronet on the moor, and the quiet tenant next door stands over the body.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“An evil end to an evil life”
In short
A baronet comes home after fifteen years abroad, goes out with a shooting party on the twelfth of August, and never reaches the lunch table. He lies on the Northshire moor with a small dagger in his heart.
The New Tenant at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 50 min3 h 50 min fast, 5 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 69,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1896by E. Phillips Oppenheim
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 stranger rents Falcon's Nest
The story opens on a bright morning at Thurwell Court, a country house near the northern sea. Mr. Thurwell, the squire, breakfasts on a stone terrace with his daughter Helen. She is tired of tennis parties and of the same small circle of neighbours.
The post brings two pieces of news. Sir Geoffrey Kynaston is coming home to Kynaston Towers after almost fifteen years abroad. The second piece is a puzzle. Two men want to rent Falcon's Nest, a strange yellow cottage on the cliff. One is Chapman, whom the squire dislikes. The other is a stranger who signs himself Bernard Brown and names only a bank and a firm of solicitors.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1896
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Oppenheim, E. Phillips. The New Tenant. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-tenant.
Oppenheim, E. P. (2026). The new tenant. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-tenant (Original work published 1896)
Oppenheim, E. Phillips. The New Tenant. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-tenant.
@book{oppenheim2026new,
author = {Oppenheim, E. Phillips},
title = {The New Tenant},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-new-tenant},
note = {First published 1896}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The New Tenant
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The New Tenant about?
It follows a murder on a Northshire moor and the mysterious man who rents a cliff cottage nearby. The squire's daughter suspects him, hires private detectives, falls in love with him, and then fights to protect him.
Who is Bernard Brown in The New Tenant?
Brown is the quiet, scholarly tenant of Falcon's Nest. He hides behind a plain name, and the story gradually shows his real name, his writing, his family and his link to the dead man.
Who are Levy and Son?
They are a firm of private agents in the Strand, run by old Mr. Levy and his ambitious son Benjamin. Helen hires them, and their comic scheming drives much of the plot.
The author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
1866–1946 · English thriller novelist
Edward Phillips Oppenheim was an English novelist, born in London in 1866. He lived in Leicester and later on Guernsey, where he died in 1946. He wrote novels and short stories, including The Yellow Crayon (1903), The Zeppelin’s Passenger (1918), and The Great Impersonation (1920).
“An evil end to an evil life”
More by E. Phillips Oppenheim
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
