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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
On the Scottish coast, a place of rest becomes a world of second sight, hidden treasure, and danger.
Archibald Hunter comes to northeastern Scotland for rest, but Cruden Bay offers little peace. Sea, cliffs, and shifting weather bring him close to things he cannot easily explain. Gormala MacNiel, an older Scottish woman with second sight, recognises the same gift in him and urges him to take it seriously.
Then Hunter meets Marjory Drake, a wealthy American woman whose dangerous predicament gives his stay a new purpose. Attraction draws him closer, while concealed information and a cipher open a trail toward buried treasure. In Bram Stoker's gothic adventure, romance and practical puzzle-solving share the coast with supernatural unease.
What you’ll discover
- A coast of contrasts Explore a Scottish landscape where the sea offers beauty, refuge, and the threat of danger.
- The burden of second sight Follow Hunter as Gormala presses him to face experiences he cannot easily explain.
- Romance under threat Meet Marjory Drake, whose predicament makes Hunter's growing attraction a source of urgent concern.
- A cipher worth pursuing Enter a treasure mystery that gives the patient work of deciphering a substantial place.
- Secrets beyond the supernatural Discover how old secrets and international tensions sit beside the coast's less explainable mysteries.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy Scottish coasts, ghostly omens, buried treasure, secret codes, and a love story that grows through danger.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A vision makes death feel near
- The drowned rise from the sea
- An oak chest opens another mystery
- A rescue brings love and questions
- Marjory chooses love without her wealth
- Treasure puts their partnership at risk
- A rival becomes a possible ally
- Duty does not erase personal choice
- The shore holds the adventure together
Who’s who
- Archie HunterA shy young barrister with money, who tells the story, has second sight, and wants to build a house at Whinnyfold and win Marjory.
- Marjory Anita DrakeA brave, clever American heiress who hides her fame, loves codes and adventure, and is set on helping her country against Spain.
- Gormala MacNielA tall, fierce seer from the western islands who follows Archie, knows the old rune, and wants to see the Mystery of the Sea solved.
- Lauchlane MacleodA golden haired fisherman from the Outer Isles, noble and fearless, whom Gormala has foreseen lying dead on the rocks.
- Mrs. JackMarjory's warm, loyal older companion, who frets over her but trusts her judgment and supports her marriage.
- Don Bernardino de EscobanA proud Spanish count who guards a family Trust to protect the Pope's lost treasure, and who is bound by honor.
- Sam AdamsA diplomat at the American Embassy, Archie's old friend, who wants to protect Marjory from a kidnapping plot.
- CathcartA cheerful British embassy man on leave who offers Archie his help and joins the search.
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The Mystery of the Sea
by Bram Stoker · 1902
A seer-woman tells a young man that a golden fisherman will die on a Lammas tide, and he watches it happen.
Medium level10–20 hours to read20 languages
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“And a golden man with death for his bride.”
In short
What would you do if a stranger told you that the look on your face meant death was near? Archie Hunter, a young barrister, sits on a low wall at Cruden Bay and sees a small black box carried on a man's shoulder.
The Mystery of the Sea at a glance
- Reading time
- About 10 h7 h 55 min fast, 11 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 142,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1902by Bram Stoker
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 coffin on the bridge starts everything
Archie Hunter arrives at Cruden Bay for his yearly visit. He sits on the wall beside the bridge and watches three people go by. For a moment the man in front seems to carry a small black coffin on his shoulder. Then the picture clears and the three walk on.
A tall, gaunt old woman has been staring at him. She asks what made his eyes look so shocked. She tells him to wait, because by this time tomorrow he may know. That evening a child has drowned in the little harbor, and its parents are the very pair Archie saw on the bridge.
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Details
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Stoker, Bram. The Mystery of the Sea. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-sea.
Stoker, B. (2026). The mystery of the sea. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-sea (Original work published 1902)
Stoker, Bram. The Mystery of the Sea. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-sea.
@book{stoker2026mystery,
author = {Stoker, Bram},
title = {The Mystery of the Sea},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-the-sea},
note = {First published 1902}
}
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What is The Mystery of the Sea about?
It tells of Archie Hunter, a young man with second sight who lives on the Aberdeenshire coast. He helps fulfill a rune about a golden man, finds a ciphered Spanish treasure, marries an American heiress, and faces a Spanish count and a kidnapping gang.
Where is the story set and is it real?
It is set mainly at Cruden Bay, Whinnyfold and the Skares rocks in Aberdeenshire, with a castle called Crom inland. The places are real, though the story is invented, and the tale is placed in 1897 and 1898 during the Spanish American War.
What does the rune mean?
Three omens appear in the rune: the moon shining gold above an incoming tide, floods at Lammas sustaining the spell, and a golden man wedded to death. Gormala says they must come together before the Mystery of the Sea can be understood.
The author
Bram Stoker
1847–1912 · Irish Gothic novelist
Bram Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, born in Dublin in 1847. He moved to London in 1878 and worked as manager of the Lyceum Theatre. He wrote Dracula (1897), The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), and The Lair of the White Worm (1911). He died in London in 1912.
“And a golden man with death for his bride.”
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