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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a gentleman thief turns detective—and faces the shadow world of a deadly secret society?
In Peter Ruff and the Double Four, E. Phillips Oppenheim brings a gentleman thief into the role of master detective. Secrets and disguises shape this world of mystery and crime, where Peter Ruff stands between detection and the criminal life he knows.
The Double Four brings the threat of a deadly secret society into Ruff’s world. This collection of mystery stories invites you into that shadowy territory, with a central figure whose move from thief to detective gives the premise its sharp appeal.
What you’ll discover
- A thief turned detective Meet Peter Ruff, a gentleman thief who takes on the role of master detective.
- The Double Four Enter the shadow world of a deadly secret society, where danger frames the mystery.
- Secrets and disguises Explore a world defined by hidden identities and the secrets beneath appearances.
- Crime meets detection Discover the appeal of a detective whose story begins on the other side of crime.
- Mystery in short stories Follow Ruff through a collection that brings crime, detection, and concealed identities together.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like Edwardian London, clever disguises, gentlemen thieves, spies and secret societies, and a hero who dresses well and keeps his nerve.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An escape becomes a new profession
- Peter controls when facts become visible
- A room can reveal the truth
- An old affection becomes a trap
- Violet refuses to be bought
- The farm cannot keep Peter safe
- Respectability means choosing how to act
- Disguise depends on nerve and loyalty
- The stakes grow beyond detective work
Who’s who
- Peter RuffOnce the runaway cashier Spencer Fitzgerald, he becomes a private detective who wants a quiet respectable life and a victory over his rival.
- Violet BrownAn actress who becomes Peter's secretary, partner and later wife, and who sees through traps before he does.
- John DoryA Scotland Yard detective who wants to catch Peter and cannot, and who marries Maud and rises in the end.
- Maud BarnesA coal merchant's daughter in Streatham who loved Peter once and is used by her husband to trap him.
- Marquis de SograngeA French aristocrat of the Double Four who seeks danger against boredom and acts as Peter's closest friend.
- BernadineKnown as Count von Hern, a German spy who hunts, plays polo and wants to destroy Peter Ruff.
- Lady Mary SotherstA loyal sister who hires Peter to save her brother and brings him two important cases.
- Sir Richard DysonA baronet in debt, Peter's first big client, who is later blackmailed and turns to him again.
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Peter Ruff and the Double Four
by E. Phillips Oppenheim · 1912
A gentleman thief leaves a supper table through a window and sets up as a private detective in London.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“The world is full of fools.”
In short
Can a man who wants only a villa, a garden and a coal merchant's daughter be driven out of respectable life by a single knock at the gate? In Peter Ruff and the Double Four, a neat young cashier called Spencer Fitzgerald charms a whole family over cold beef in Streatham.
Peter Ruff and the Double Four at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 35 min6 h fast, 9 h slow
- Length
- 108,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1912by 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 supper in Streatham ends at the window
In Daisy Villa, Streatham, a coal merchant named David Barnes carves cold beef for his family. Beside his daughter Maud sits her guest, Mr. Spencer Fitzgerald, a gold-spectacled cashier. The family is delighted, and so, quietly, is he.
Then heavy footsteps stop at the gate. Fitzgerald understands at once. He strolls to the window, remarks on the fog, and vanishes. The detective John Dory walks in with two uniformed men and finds only an open sash and a spilled bottle of port.
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Details
- First published
- 1912
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Oppenheim, E. Phillips. Peter Ruff and the Double Four. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/peter-ruff-and-the-double-four.
Oppenheim, E. P. (2026). Peter Ruff and the Double Four. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/peter-ruff-and-the-double-four (Original work published 1912)
Oppenheim, E. Phillips. Peter Ruff and the Double Four. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/peter-ruff-and-the-double-four.
@book{oppenheim2026peter,
author = {Oppenheim, E. Phillips},
title = {Peter Ruff and the Double Four},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/peter-ruff-and-the-double-four},
note = {First published 1912}
}
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What is Peter Ruff and the Double Four about?
It follows a clever runaway who becomes a private detective in London, outwits Scotland Yard, and is drawn into a secret French society called the Double Four. Later cases involve spies, stolen papers, jewels and a duel with a German agent.
Who is Peter Ruff?
He begins as Spencer Fitzgerald, a bookshop cashier and part-time thief, and then reinvents himself as Peter Ruff, private detective. Later he is known as Baron de Grost, a financier and leader of the Double Four in London.
What is the Double Four?
It is a secret society of French gentlemen who control the criminal world and plan its work. Its sign is the double four of the dominoes, and members use it to recognize one another. Later it turns to political causes.
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).
“The world is full of fools.”
More by E. Phillips Oppenheim
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