5 h 46 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 46 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A daring robbery needs nerve and perfect timing. But what happens when a patient detective refuses to let go?
In Kate Plus 10, Edgar Wallace sets a clever criminal leader against a determined officer of the law. A large robbery lies at the centre of their contest. Behind it stands an organised enterprise, where planning, timing and discipline matter as much as daring. Against that order comes the steady pressure of pursuit.
Wallace keeps the contest moving through short chapters, plain sentences and scenes that push the plot forward. The pleasure lies in watching two sharp minds test each other: criminal nerve on one side, patience and observation on the other. Beneath the chase sits a question: how far can cleverness carry someone outside the law?
What you’ll discover
- Crime planned like business Explore a criminal scheme that depends on order, discipline and the nerve to act.
- A detective who persists Follow a determined officer whose patience and observation challenge a clever criminal opponent.
- Two minds in contest Enjoy the tension as careful planning meets a pursuit that will not let go.
- The limits of cleverness Consider how far intelligence can carry a person who chooses to work outside the law.
- A brisk, direct style Let short chapters and plain sentences draw you through a daring plan and its pursuit.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like witty detectives, clever heists planned to the minute, and a duel of wits between two people who admire each other.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lost necklace reveals another mystery
- Respectability gives Kate somewhere to hide
- Kate plans crime as a strategist
- Their rivalry becomes a personal bargain
- Money leaves the wealthy open to deception
- A diversion hides the real theft
- False details point toward real danger
- Wit makes appearances worth questioning
- Understanding matters more than social standing
Who’s who
- Kate WesthangerA brilliant young criminal planner who treats theft as a game of strategy and goes by many names to fool her victims.
- Michael PretherstonA witty Scotland Yard inspector and a lord's brother who knows Kate's methods and wants to stop her.
- Colonel WesthangerKate's uncle, a former soldier turned criminal who trained her and wants to settle down rich.
- GregoriA Spanish criminal in the gang who admires Kate, hopes to marry her and grows impatient with her leadership.
- Lord FlanboroughA mean, pompous earl and mining millionaire who counts every penny and distrusts his daughter's choices.
- Lady Moya FeltonThe earl's practical daughter, engaged to a baronet, who unexpectedly falls for a penniless painter.
- Sir Ralph SapsonA vain, wealthy baronet who runs railways and docks and believes he understands everyone.
- Reggie BoltoverA very rich, very nervous young man who owns a worthless cement works and talks in repeated phrases.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 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.
25 languages, side by side
Kate Plus 10 in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Kate Plus 10
by Edgar Wallace · 1919
A lost pearl necklace leads a witty inspector back to Kate, the young brain behind England's boldest gold robbery.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“The ideal criminal is a strategist.”
In short
Would you rather plan a perfect crime or catch the person who plans it? In Kate Plus 10, Edgar Wallace gives you both, and keeps putting them in the same room.
Kate Plus 10 at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 15 min2 h 35 min fast, 3 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 46,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1919by 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
A lost necklace brings the detective back
The Earl of Flanborough, a thin, bad-tempered mining millionaire, is sure a thief has taken his daughter's necklace of eighty-three pearls. He scribbles a reward notice and cuts the sum down again and again. His daughter, Lady Moya, blames her maid, who is locked in her room. Scotland Yard sends its best man.
He is Inspector Michael Pretherston, whom Moya once promised to marry and then dropped by letter. He asks what mood Moya was in when she undressed, because a cross woman throws her things down carelessly. Then he lifts her fur cloak from the wardrobe and finds the pearls hanging from a flat hook in the lining.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1919
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wallace, Edgar. Kate Plus 10. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/kate-plus-10.
Wallace, E. (2026). Kate plus 10. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kate-plus-10 (Original work published 1919)
Wallace, Edgar. Kate Plus 10. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kate-plus-10.
@book{wallace2026kate,
author = {Wallace, Edgar},
title = {Kate Plus 10},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/kate-plus-10},
note = {First published 1919}
}
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 Kate Plus 10
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 Kate Plus 10 about?
It follows Kate Westhanger, the brain of a criminal gang, as she plans the theft of a train carrying gold, and Michael Pretherston, the Scotland Yard inspector who tries to stop her.
Who is Kate Westhanger?
She is a clever young woman raised by her uncle, Colonel Westhanger, to plan big swindles. She uses disguises and false names, works from Crime Street in London, and treats crime as a game.
What is Crime Street in the book?
It is the police nickname for a curved row of respectable-looking houses near Hampstead Heath where Kate's gang lives, including a forger, a safe cutter, a card sharp and a writer of begging letters.
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.
“The ideal criminal is a strategist.”
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
