18 h 50 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man entrusted with your future is the person you have most reason to fear?
Maud Ruthyn grows up at Knowl with her wealthy, withdrawn father, Austin. She expects a great inheritance, but money offers little protection. A frightening governess, Madame de la Rougierre, enters her quiet world, while her father's faith in his troubled brother shapes a dangerous future.
After her father's death, Maud moves to Bartram-Haugh, where Uncle Silas receives her with unfailing courtesy. His past carries the shadow of an old death; his present brings money troubles. As her life narrows, Maud must find courage in a house where kindness and control become hard to tell apart.
What you’ll discover
- A house that confines Enter Bartram-Haugh, where wooded grounds and locked doors turn shelter into a source of dread.
- Courtesy with a shadow Watch Silas's gentle manner deepen the uncertainty surrounding his motives and Maud's safety.
- Wealth without freedom Explore how guardianship leaves a young heiress rich in money but poor in choices.
- Friendship amid fear Meet Milly Ruthyn, whose warmth gives Maud a true friend within her uncle's house.
- Dread in small things Follow Maud's account as ordinary gestures and quiet restrictions gather a colder, more threatening meaning.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy slow, atmospheric suspense, old houses, and Victorian novels with a dark edge. It also suits anyone curious about how women's money and freedom were controlled. Readers who want fast action may find the pace too patient.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Girl Raised in a Silent House
- A Governess Who Frightens Maud
- The Dark Story Behind Uncle Silas
- A Promise and a Will
- Arrival at the House of Bartram-Haugh
- Kindness Tightens Into a Cage
- Guardianship, Money and a Woman's Choices
- How Le Fanu Builds Dread
- Why the Book Has Lasted
Who’s who
- Maud RuthynThe young heiress who tells the story, trusting and obedient, bound by a promise to her father and forced to find her own courage.
- Uncle Silas RuthynHer father's younger brother, a pale, gentle, silver haired man at Bartram-Haugh, shadowed by an old death and by money troubles.
- Austin RuthynMaud's proud, reclusive father, a follower of Swedenborg, who is certain of his brother's innocence and stakes his daughter's future on it.
- Madame de la RougierreThe French governess with a grim grin and hidden motives, who frightens Maud and teaches her what danger can look like.
- Milly RuthynSilas's daughter and Maud's cousin, warm, plain spoken and fond of the outdoors, who becomes Maud's one true friend in the house.
- Dudley RuthynSilas's coarse and sullen son, who has his own designs on his cousin and her fortune.
- Lady KnollysMaud's talkative, shrewd cousin Monica, who loves her and senses the danger at Bartram-Haugh long before Maud does.
- Doctor BryerlyA secretive fellow believer of Maud's father, awkward and mysterious, who seems to know more than he is willing to say.
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Uncle Silas
by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu· 1864
A young heiress faces danger under her uncle’s guardianship.
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Language: English
“an incredible influence on the genre; [he is] regarded by M. R. James, E. F. Bleiler, and others as the most skilful writer of supernatural fiction in English.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A Girl Raised in a Silent House
The story opens at Knowl, the Ruthyn family home in the English countryside. Maud lives there with her father, Austin Ruthyn, a wealthy and proud man who has little interest in society. Her mother is dead, and Maud has grown up quiet, observant and a little lonely. Her father is kind to her in his remote way, but he lives mostly in his own thoughts.
Austin Ruthyn follows the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish thinker who wrote about angels, spirits and the unseen world. This faith shapes his house. It gives him a stern calm, and it also gives him strange habits that Maud does not fully understand. A visitor named Doctor Bryerly, who shares the faith, comes and goes in her father's life. He is awkward and secretive, and Maud does not know whether to trust him.
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The author
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
1814–1873 · Irish Gothic novelist
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer born in Dublin in 1814. He lived in Ireland and died in Dublin in 1873. He wrote Gothic tales, mystery novels, and ghost stories. His novels include Uncle Silas, published in 1864, and The Wyvern Mystery, published in 1869.
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What is Uncle Silas about?
It follows Maud Ruthyn, a young heiress who, after her father's death, must live with her uncle Silas at Bartram-Haugh. Silas has a suspect past and a strong need for money, and Maud grows more afraid.
Who is Uncle Silas in the novel?
Silas Ruthyn is the younger brother of Maud's father. He is a thin, pale, silver haired man living at Bartram-Haugh, and he became the guardian of Maud's fortune after her father's death.
Is Uncle Silas a ghost story?
Not really. It is a Gothic suspense novel, and the fear comes from people, secrets and an isolated house rather than ghosts. It belongs to the Victorian sensation fiction tradition.
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