2 h 53 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 53 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the thing that follows you is invisible to everyone else?
In Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu brings horror into private lives. Reverend Mr. Jennings, a gentle London clergyman, finds himself followed by a small black monkey with glowing eyes. No one else can see it. Dr. Martin Hesselius listens to his account, seeking answers at the border of mind and spirit.
Mr. Justice Harbottle trusts his rank, wealth, and power. But the cruel judge faces sounds, glimpses, and the growing sense that someone watches him. The memory of Lewis Pyneweck, a man he sentences to death, presses close. Presented as cases from Hesselius's papers, these tales set a good man's torment beside a bad man's fear.
What you’ll discover
- A quiet life invaded Follow Jennings as an unseen presence turns his solitary London life into a source of dread.
- Power shadowed by guilt Watch Harbottle's confidence meet the troubling memory of a man condemned by his own judgment.
- The doctor's searching eye Explore strange cases with Hesselius, whose questions reach across the border between mind and spirit.
- Horror close to home Find fear inside ordinary houses, where private troubles deepen without castles or storms.
- Two sides of haunting Consider whether these terrors come from outside their victims or rise within their minds.
Who will love it
For readers who love candlelit ghost stories, foggy Victorian London and a guilty conscience given a shape. If you enjoy a doctor who plays detective, both tales will feel like home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A doctor of the spirit meets a haunted vicar
- Two red lights in an omnibus begin the haunting
- The haunting grows from watching to commanding
- A wicked judge meets a stranger in a wig
- The hanged man appears and a summons arrives
- A coach ride leads to a court that never closes
- The ninth of March brings three strange sightings
- Guilt gives the ghosts their shape and force
Who’s who
- Doctor Martin HesseliusA German physician who treats hauntings as illness of the nerves and spirit, and who listens closely to the people who come to him.
- Reverend Mr. JenningsA shy, kind clergyman with a vicarage at Kenlis who is followed by a small black monkey and wants to be rid of it.
- Lady Mary HeydukeA friend and neighbour of the clergyman who thinks him a happy, good man and knows nothing of his trouble.
- Mr. Justice HarbottleA coarse, sarcastic judge of the Court of Common Pleas, feared as a hanging judge, who laughs at every warning.
- Lewis PyneweckA Shrewsbury grocer accused of forgery, whose fate is in the judge's hands and who will not stay quiet.
- Flora CarwellThe judge's vain, handsome housekeeper, who is secretly Pyneweck's wife and wants comfort more than truth.
- Caleb SearcherAn officer serving the crown solicitor in the Kingdom of Life and Death, who announces the judge's impending trial.
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 9 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.
Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle
A clergyman sees a small black monkey no one else can see, and a London doctor takes up his case.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
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
In short
A small black monkey sits in the corner of a London omnibus, its eyes glowing red in the dusk. A man pokes his umbrella at it, and the umbrella passes straight through.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A doctor of the spirit meets a haunted vicar
Green Tea opens with a secretary who once trained as a doctor. For nearly twenty years he worked for Doctor Martin Hesselius, a German physician who collected strange cases. After the doctor dies, the secretary copies one case, told in letters to Professor Van Loo, a chemist in Leyden.
Hesselius believes that the natural world is the outer shell of a spirit world, and that the body is a garment worn by the spirit. For him a ghost is no joke and no lie. It is a problem for a doctor.
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 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/green-tea-mr-justice-harbottle.
Le Fanu, J. S. (2026). Green tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/green-tea-mr-justice-harbottle
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/green-tea-mr-justice-harbottle.
@book{lefanu2026green,
author = {Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan},
title = {Green Tea \& Mr. Justice Harbottle},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/green-tea-mr-justice-harbottle}
}
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 Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle
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 Green Tea by Le Fanu about?
It follows Doctor Hesselius as he listens to a clergyman, Mr. Jennings, who is followed everywhere by a small black monkey that no one else sees. The tale links the haunting to nerves, belief and the habits of a scholar.
Who is Doctor Martin Hesselius?
He is the German physician who links the stories. His papers, kept by a secretary, record cases in which the inner senses open. He combines medical observation with a belief in a spirit world behind nature.
What does the monkey in Green Tea mean?
The story never settles it. Hesselius reads it as an inner vision caused by overworked nerves, partly from green tea. Readers often see it as guilt or an unspoken fear taking a visible shape.
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.
More by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
All 7 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
