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An ancient prophecy, a hidden family history, and a legendary stone: which holds the key to the mystery?
In The Secret of Sarek, Maurice Leblanc brings ancient prophecy, family secrets, and the hunt for a legendary stone into a Gothic mystery. A saying from the distant past hangs over the characters. Should they believe its warning, or search for a plain cause behind the dread?
Leblanc, the French creator of gentleman burglar Arsene Lupin, invites you to follow a puzzle one clue at a time. Hidden history gives the search its pull, while Gothic suspense keeps the past close at hand. A name, an object, or an odd remark offers something to watch as you read.
What you’ll discover
- A prophecy to question Consider the uneasy choice between trusting an ancient saying and seeking a plain explanation.
- Family secrets beneath the surface Follow a mystery where hidden family history is part of the puzzle.
- The legendary stone Let the hunt for a mysterious object draw you further into the story.
- A gathering Gothic dread Enter a tale whose atmosphere draws on the troubling weight of the past.
- Small clues worth noticing Watch names, objects, and passing remarks as the puzzle unfolds step by step.
Who will love it
Readers who love gothic mysteries, Breton legends, haunted islands, and wartime suspense will enjoy this novel. So will fans of devoted mothers and sons, clues, and a faithful little dog.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A signature becomes a summons
- Hope draws Véronique toward Sarek
- The promised reunion turns to terror
- Fear destroys the chance of escape
- Clues gather around the four crosses
- A familiar voice changes the mystery
- The likeness hides a cruel deception
- Prophecy competes with human causes
- Love keeps the search moving
Who’s who
- Véronique d'HergemontA courageous woman who works as a dressmaker, follows a trail of her own initials to Brittany, and longs to find her lost son.
- FrançoisA gentle, cheerful boy raised on Sarek, who loves his mother from afar and believes in a rescuer he has never met.
- Stéphane MarouxFrançois's tutor, a wounded soldier who keeps a loving diary about the boy and his mother and tries to protect them.
- HonorineA Breton woman who pilots the island's boat, raised François, and fears the old curse of the thirty coffins.
- MaguennocAn old sailor, healer, and gardener who grows giant flowers and predicts that 1917 will be the year of disaster.
- All's WellFrançois's ugly, comical little dog, who appears when people cry and knows secret ways around the island.
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The Secret of Sarek
by Maurice Leblanc · 1919
A woman finds her girlhood initials on a lonely Breton hut, and a dead man with one hand inside.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Four women crucified.”
In short
A woman steps off an overnight train in Brittany with a detective's letter in her pocket and a riddle in her head. Three weeks earlier, in a cinema, she spotted her own girlhood initials on the door of a ruined roadside hut.
The Secret of Sarek at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 15 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 88,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1919by Maurice Leblanc
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 Signature Leads to a Corpse
One morning in May, a veiled woman leaves her bag at an inn in Le Faouet and walks into the fields. She carries a letter from a private detective named Dutreillis. It says her husband, Alexis Vorski, lies buried at Fontainebleau. It also says he has traced a hut seen in a film, with the letters V. d'H. on its door, just as she signed before her marriage.
She finds the hut among a semicircle of trees, with the same letters, an arrow, and the number nine. Inside sits an old man in threadbare Breton clothes. He is dead, and one hand has been cut off above the wrist. Under the bench lies a drawing of four women crucified on tree trunks. The central woman has Véronique's own face and her initials.
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Details
- First published
- 1919
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Leblanc, Maurice. The Secret of Sarek. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-of-sarek.
Leblanc, M. (2026). The secret of Sarek. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-of-sarek (Original work published 1919)
Leblanc, Maurice. The Secret of Sarek. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-of-sarek.
@book{leblanc2026secret,
author = {Leblanc, Maurice},
title = {The Secret of Sarek},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-of-sarek},
note = {First published 1919}
}
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What is The Secret of Sarek about?
It follows Véronique d'Hergemont as a trail of her own initials leads her to a Breton island. There she is caught in an old prophecy of thirty deaths, four crucified women, and a miraculous stone, and she fights to save her son.
What is the God-Stone in The Secret of Sarek?
In the island's legend it is a miraculous stone that heals the sick and burns the unworthy, and the prophecy calls it the stone that gives life or death. Everyone on Sarek whispers about it, and the book explains its nature in the final chapters.
Who is Maguennoc?
Maguennoc is an old sailor, healer, and gardener of Sarek who grows enormous flowers and predicts that 1917 will bring disaster. His burned hand and his dire forecasts set the story in motion, and his death is among the first mysteries.
The author
Maurice Leblanc
1864–1941 · French mystery novelist
Maurice Leblanc was a French writer born in Rouen in 1864. He wrote novels and short stories, including the Arsène Lupin series, which began in 1905. His books include The Hollow Needle, published in 1909, and The Crystal Stopper, published in 1912. He died in Perpignan in 1941.
“Four women crucified.”
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