6 h 16 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 16 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the quiet fields of England hide something ancient that refuses to die?
Adam Salton arrives from Australia to live with his great-uncle Richard at Lesser Hill in the English Midlands. Here, in the old kingdom of Mercia, country-house manners sit uneasily beside darker stories. With help from Sir Nathaniel de Salis, Adam begins to explore a local legend of a monstrous white worm.
Meanwhile, wealthy Edgar Caswall takes over Castra Regis and turns his dangerous attention toward the Watford family. Mimi Watford wants to protect her gentler cousin Lilla, while cold, watchful Lady Arabella March pursues her own advantage. In Bram Stoker's Gothic novel, ancient folklore and the power of one mind over another bring terror close to home.
What you’ll discover
- Terror beneath quiet fields Enter a countryside where the legend of an ancient creature threatens the present.
- A battle of wills Face Edgar Caswall's chilling desire to bend other people to his will.
- Courage at Mercy Farm Meet Mimi Watford, whose bravery grows from her determination to protect her family.
- History with sharp teeth Explore a Mercia where Roman temples, Saxon kings, and ancient beasts haunt the soil.
- A swift Gothic nightmare Follow short, energetic chapters that move from polite company toward hints of horror.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like old legends set in real countryside, creepy houses, and clever amateur detectives, or if you wonder how monster tales sounded before films gave monsters faces.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A young heir drives across England
- Old names hide an older story
- Lady Arabella meets the heir
- A festival, two cousins, and old legends
- The mongoose attacks and the clues grow
- The stare that fights with doves
- Mesmer's chest and a mind giving way
- The well-hole and a plan for the Worm
- Science, will, and how the story is told
Who’s who
- Adam SaltonA young Australian horse breeder who comes to England as heir to his grand-uncle and takes up the fight against a hidden danger.
- Richard SaltonAdam's kindly grand-uncle, nearly eighty, who owns Lesser Hill and wants a family again.
- Sir Nathaniel de SalisA retired diplomat and amateur scholar of Mercian history who reasons through the mystery and guides Adam.
- Lady Arabella MarchThe widowed mistress of Diana's Grove, graceful and cold, who needs a rich husband and hides a dreadful secret.
- Edgar CaswallThe returning owner of Castra Regis, proud and hypnotic, who wants to dominate Lilla and grows obsessed with his kite.
- OolangaCaswall's African servant, a collector of cruel things who seeks treasure and a bride by dishonest means.
- Mimi WatfordA brave young woman from Mercy Farm who defends her cousin Lilla and wins Adam's love.
- Lilla WatfordMimi's gentle cousin, fair and dove-like, whom Caswall chooses as his target.
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The Lair of the White Worm
by Bram Stoker · 1911
A young Australian joins his grand-uncle in England, where a neighbour's well-hole glows green at night.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What lives at the bottom of a well that no rope has ever touched? In this novel, a young Australian finds out, and the answer sits in a drawing room in a white dress, pouring tea.
The Lair of the White Worm at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 30 min2 h 50 min fast, 4 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 50,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1911by Bram Stoker
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 young heir drives across England
The story begins in Sydney. Adam Salton, aged twenty-seven, finds a warm letter from a grand-uncle he has never met. Richard Salton is nearly eighty and has no children. He offers a home at Lesser Hill and the promise that everything he owns will one day be Adam's.
The two meet at Southampton Docks and like each other at once. The old man says that from the first moment he saw a son. Next morning they set off in a carriage drawn by four fine horses. Adam knows horses well, and the old man is glad of another bond between them.
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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
- 1911
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Stoker, Bram. The Lair of the White Worm. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lair-of-the-white-worm.
Stoker, B. (2026). The lair of the White Worm. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lair-of-the-white-worm (Original work published 1911)
Stoker, Bram. The Lair of the White Worm. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lair-of-the-white-worm.
@book{stoker2026lair,
author = {Stoker, Bram},
title = {The Lair of the White Worm},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lair-of-the-white-worm},
note = {First published 1911}
}
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What is The Lair of the White Worm about?
It follows Adam Salton, a young Australian heir in the English Midlands, who comes to suspect that a beautiful widow at Diana's Grove is linked to an ancient serpent, while a cold landowner threatens a local girl.
Who is the White Worm in the book?
The White Worm is a legendary giant serpent said to have lived in a deep well beneath Diana's Grove. Sir Nathaniel and Adam come to believe the creature and Lady Arabella March are connected.
Is The Lair of the White Worm based on a true story?
No. Bram Stoker wrote it as fiction, published in 1911, but he used real English legends such as the Lambton Worm and the Laidly Worm, and real places in Mercia, to give it a lifelike setting.
The author
Bram Stoker
1847–1912 · Irish Gothic novelist
Bram Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, born in Dublin in 1847. He moved to London in 1878 and worked as manager of the Lyceum Theatre. He wrote Dracula (1897), The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903), and The Lair of the White Worm (1911). He died in London in 1912.
More by Bram Stoker
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