6 h 31 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 31 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the gentleman who knows every rule of polite society is also the criminal who breaks them?
In The Golden Face, William Le Queux places a gentleman crook at the centre of a world built on appearances. Manners offer no guarantee of honesty. This criminal has nerve and a code of his own, making him both an intriguing hero and a threat in a brisk crime adventure.
False names, hidden motives and carefully staged appearances drive the intrigue. Even friendship offers uncertain ground when people hold back the truth. As danger presses in, loyalty means choosing between duty, affection and self-interest. Set in Edwardian Britain and Europe, the story invites you to look beneath every polished surface.
What you’ll discover
- A crook with manners Meet a gentleman criminal whose nerve and personal code complicate the line between hero and threat.
- Appearances that deceive Follow an intrigue where false names and hidden motives make trust a dangerous choice.
- Loyalty under pressure Explore the strain of choosing between personal affection, a sense of duty and self-interest.
- An Edwardian world Enter Britain and Europe in an age of fast travel and fascination with hidden danger.
- Brisk old-fashioned intrigue Enjoy a crime adventure driven by deception, divided loyalties and a criminal at ease in society.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like gentleman crooks, ingenious thefts, secret passwords and chases by night, or grand hotels and sleeping cars in postwar Europe.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A promising job raises uneasy questions
- Respectable appearances hide the stolen jewels
- Rayne makes false evidence look certain
- A failed plan becomes another theft
- Pressure turns obedience into shared guilt
- Kindness provides cover for calculated harm
- Generosity does not make crime safe
- Lola gives Hargreave a reason to hope
- Small favours build a lasting trap
Who’s who
- George HargreaveA former army officer and the narrator, he takes a chauffeur's job and is drawn into crime, while hoping to protect the girl he loves.
- Rudolph RayneThe squire of Overstow and secret head of a European gang, he devises ingenious schemes with Duperré and carefully shields his identity.
- Lola RayneRayne's dark-eyed daughter, she listens, reads and guesses, and wants to learn what her father really does.
- Vincent DuperréHargreave's old company commander, now Rayne's chief agent, he carries out plans with nerve and ingenuity.
- Madame Hylda DuperréDuperré's wife, she runs the household at Overstow, guides Lola and helps with schemes at home and abroad.
- Superintendent Arthur BentonAn honest Scotland Yard detective who keeps trying to find the unknown leader of the gang.
- Fra PacificoA Capuchin monk in the Arno Valley, once a man of the world, who knows a secret about the Marchesa Romanelli.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print hardcover
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The Golden Face
by William Le Queux · 1922
A chauffeur hired by a gentleman who asks if he can sing carries a heavy suitcase to Paris for Rudolph Rayne.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if a stranger hired you in under three minutes, asked whether you can sing, and then handed you a locked suitcase that weighs far too much for papers? That is how George Hargreave starts a new life.
The Golden Face at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 40 min2 h 55 min fast, 4 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 52,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1922by 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
A strange job and a heavy suitcase
George Hargreave leaves the army after the Armistice with a small gratuity and no work. An advertisement in The Times asks for a gentleman who can drive and speak languages. He meets the advertiser, Rudolph Rayne, in a West End hotel.
Hargreave is to bring a small locked suitcase to King's Cross the next day. At Overstow Hall in Yorkshire he notices Rayne's dark-eyed daughter Lola, who watches him closely.
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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
- 1922
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Le Queux, William. The Golden Face. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-face.
Le Queux, W. (2026). The golden face. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-face (Original work published 1922)
Le Queux, William. The Golden Face. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-face.
@book{lequeux2026golden,
author = {Le Queux, William},
title = {The Golden Face},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-face},
note = {First published 1922}
}
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What is The Golden Face about?
It is the confession of George Hargreave, a former officer who becomes chauffeur to Rudolph Rayne, a gentleman who secretly leads a gang of thieves, and is drawn into jewel thefts and schemes across Europe.
Who is The Golden Face in the book?
It is the nickname of Rudolph Rayne, used by his close agents. It comes from a half-mask of beaten gold he wore to a Paris ball, and it keeps his real name hidden.
When was The Golden Face written?
William Le Queux wrote it in the years after the First World War, as the Armistice and its aftermath are part of the opening. It is a work of fiction, though it uses real places.
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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