11 h 55 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 11 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the neighbor everyone overlooks sees more than the detective in charge?
Miss Amelia Butterworth knows her quiet New York street, and she trusts her own judgment. When a shocking event at the Van Burnam house next door draws her into a crime, this wealthy, unmarried woman refuses to stand aside. The family wants to avoid scandal. Amelia wants to know what happens behind its respectable doors.
In Anna Katharine Green's That Affair Next Door, Amelia tells the story with pride, humor, and firm opinions. Veteran detective Ebenezer Gryce takes charge, but he needs her knowledge even as he questions her meddling. Their wary partnership turns small observations into clues, while good manners and a clean name may hide lives neither investigator can take at face value.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely investigator Follow a watchful woman whose sharp judgment makes being overlooked an unexpected advantage.
- Partners with competing methods Watch Amelia and Gryce weigh each other's insights while guarding their own authority.
- Clues in ordinary things Notice how clothes, rooms, and a servant's manner can matter to a criminal investigation.
- Respectability under suspicion Look beneath polished manners into a household where a good name carries real weight.
- A proud, funny voice Enjoy Amelia's confident account, where strong opinions give the puzzle a distinctly personal edge.
Who will love it
For readers who love classic puzzle mysteries, Victorian settings, and a narrator with a strong personality, and anyone curious about the roots of the detective story.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A watchful neighbor at her window
- Something is wrong in the house next door
- An old detective meets a determined amateur
- What a woman's eye can see
- Respectability, class and hidden lives
- A voice that carries the mystery
Who’s who
- Amelia ButterworthA wealthy, unmarried New York woman who tells the story, proud of her judgment and unable to resist a mystery on her own street.
- Ebenezer GryceA veteran police detective, patient and shrewd, who needs Amelia's knowledge but is wary of her meddling.
- HannahAmelia's household servant, who shares the daily gossip and small observations of a Victorian home.
- The Van Burnam familyThe respectable neighbors whose house becomes the center of the crime and who badly want to avoid scandal.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 55 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- 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
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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That Affair Next Door
by Anna Katharine Green · 1897
A death next door draws sharp-eyed Amelia Butterworth into a police investigation and a respectable household's secrets.
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In short
That Affair Next Door is a detective novel by Anna Katharine Green, published in 1897. Green was among the first writers in English to build whole novels around police work and clues, and by this date she had a loyal readership.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A watchful neighbor at her window
The story begins with Amelia Butterworth, who tells it in the first person. She lives in a quiet, comfortable part of New York, and she knows her street well. She is unmarried, independent and sure of her own judgment. She also has a habit that she does not quite admit to, which is watching what goes on around her.
From her window she sees the comings and goings of her neighbors. Those who live nearby are people of standing, and Amelia knows who they are and how they ought to behave. That knowledge matters. A person who knows what is normal in a street will spot what is not. Green makes this the foundation of the whole book, because it explains why Amelia notices what the police do not.
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What is That Affair Next Door about?
It is a detective novel in which Amelia Butterworth, a curious New York spinster, becomes involved in a crime in the house next to hers and works with and against the police detective Ebenezer Gryce.
Who is Amelia Butterworth?
She is the narrator and amateur detective, a well-off, independent woman with a sharp eye for her neighbors. She appears in other Anna Katharine Green novels, and readers enjoy her pride and humor.
Who is Ebenezer Gryce?
Gryce is a New York police detective who appears in several Green novels, starting with The Leavenworth Case. He is patient, observant and shrewd, and he treats Amelia with courtesy and caution.
The author
Anna Katharine Green
1846–1935 · American detective novelist
Anna Katharine Green (1846–1935) was an American novelist born in Brooklyn, New York. She wrote detective fiction, including The Leavenworth Case, published in 1878, and That Affair Next Door, published in 1897. She married actor and furniture designer Charles Rohlfs in 1884. She lived in Buffalo, New York, where she died.
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