10 h 8 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 8 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man dodging the law is the one you want to follow?
In The Adventures of Heine, Edgar Wallace gathers short crime tales around a rogue with a sharp tongue and a sharper mind. Heine lives by his wits, using deception, timing and disguise to stay ahead. Each adventure gives him a problem to outthink—and gives you a reason to wonder how he will manage it.
These stories move quickly, with ingenious schemes, sharp turns and little time for long detours. Heine counts on what other people expect, then finds room to make his own move. Suspense meets irony as Wallace follows a man outside the law whose greatest advantage is his ability to think faster than those around him.
What you’ll discover
- A rogue worth following Meet Heine, whose cunning and nerve make the lawbreaker the center of your attention.
- Wit instead of force Follow schemes that depend on timing, hidden intentions and reading other people well.
- Sharp turns ahead Enjoy compact crime adventures that move briskly from a problem toward its solution.
- Humor beside suspense Find a sharp tongue and a touch of irony amid deception and narrow escapes.
- Rules made to bend Explore the appeal of a clever outsider who prefers his own rules to everyone else's.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like wartime spy stories with a comic edge, clever disguises, duels between two minds, and short linked episodes.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Heine mistakes contempt for an advantage
- Heine finds the secrets he expects
- Suspicion threatens Heine's own side
- The hired reporter knows too much
- The apparent trap hides another
- Disguises cannot put Haynes behind him
- His boasts expose what he hides
- Good records beat noise and bluster
- Everyone sees Heine except himself
Who’s who
- HeineA vain German spy chief in London who posts as a Chilean importer and wants medals, safety and his own good name.
- Major HaynesA calm British intelligence officer who first appears as a ragged reporter and spends the war outwitting Heine with jokes.
- Alexander KoosA handsome German agent and charmer who hopes to steal gun plans from an English girl.
- Von KahnHeine's agent in Scotland, who tries to win the trust of a mysterious hermit on a hill.
- KleinA young agent of the Heidelberg type who works with Heine on labor and armored car schemes.
- Miss HarrymoreA beautiful stranger in Manchester who befriends a factory manager and unsettles Heine.
- Baron von Hertz-MissengerA German noble living in Kent who gives Heine hints, warnings and a hidden tunnel.
- Captain Baron von HazfeldThe harsh chief of German military intelligence who comes to England to put Heine's mess in order.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Adventures of Heine
by Edgar Wallace · 1917
A pompous German spy in wartime London keeps losing to a quiet British officer named Major Haynes.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What if the spy at the center of a story is the last person to see that he is losing? In The Adventures of Heine, a German agent called Heine runs a ring of informers in wartime London and tells you, with endless pride, how brilliant he is.
The Adventures of Heine at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 45 min4 h 35 min fast, 6 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 82,300 words18 chapters
- Pages
- 249 pages375 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1917by Edgar Wallace
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
Heine arrives in London sure of victory
Heine lands in Liverpool on August 11, 1914, and goes on to London. He believes the English are childish and easy to fool, and that Britain has no secret service worth the name. That belief drives almost every chapter that follows.
He gathers his first agents at a restaurant near Trafalgar Square. Each man proves who he is by showing three used postage stamps from Nicaragua. Heine hides a numbered sentence about a troop train in a telephone call that offers bales of Manchester goods. His best sources are barbers, tailors and dentists.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
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
- 1917
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wallace, Edgar. The Adventures of Heine. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-heine.
Wallace, E. (2026). The adventures of Heine. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-heine (Original work published 1917)
Wallace, Edgar. The Adventures of Heine. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-heine.
@book{wallace2026adventures,
author = {Wallace, Edgar},
title = {The Adventures of Heine},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-heine},
note = {First published 1917}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Adventures of Heine
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Adventures of Heine about?
It follows Heine, a boastful German spy chief in wartime Britain, through a series of cases. Each chapter shows a plan, a snag and a joke, while a calm British officer named Major Haynes keeps catching up with him.
Who is Major Haynes?
Major Haynes is the British intelligence officer who opposes Heine. He first appears as a shabby reporter, then as a smiling officer who warns, jokes and helps him escape danger while quietly closing every net around him.
Is The Adventures of Heine a true story?
No, it is fiction. Edgar Wallace wrote these linked tales as a comic spy memoir in the years around the First World War. The codes and tricks are inspired by real espionage methods, but the people and cases are invented.
The author
Edgar Wallace
1875–1932 · British crime writer
Edgar Wallace was a hugely prolific British writer of thrillers and crime fiction who later co-created the story for King Kong. The Adventures of Heine follows Heine, a German secret agent, through a series of comic misadventures in Britain during the First World War.
More by Edgar Wallace
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
