Showing results by author "William Le Queux" in All Categories

William Le Queux was a British novelist and prolific writer of mysteries. Indeed, mystery surrounds the author himself as to whether he was a spy or rather just a self-promoter. Regardless of which is true, Le Queux brings us a story of intrigue and espionage that travels across Europe in the true spirit of a good mystery. There are shootings, burglaries, romances, escapes from prisons, and intricate conspiracies that may surprise and leave you scratching your head as you try to solve this “whodunit”. In the best tradition of a good mystery however, you may need to wait for the final ...

Forty breathtaking short stories of gripping adventures, secrets and strange conspiracies. 'The Dust That Was Barren' by P. C. Wren. 'The Deserter' by Stacy Aumonier. 'The Lighthouse on Shivering Sand' by J. S. Fletcher. 'The Secret of the Smoked Spectacles' by William Le Queux. 'The 39 Steps' by John Buchan. 'Three Pennyworth of Luck' by Basil Murray. 'The Secret of Dr. Vaux’s Intrigue' by William Le Queux. 'A Thread of Scarlet' by J. J. Bell. 'How I Became a Secret Agent' by Dr. A. K. Graves.

The true crime story of Henri Désiré Landru, master of murder and the art of making love, captivated the whole of Europe for almost two years. Landru is known to have murdered at least a dozen women for their savings and their furniture. Moreover, the uncanny fascination which he held for his victims from the moment he fixed them with his strangely compelling eyes, has never been properly explained.

When two European spies join a hunting party at an English country house, William Drew of the Foreign Office goes undercover to pursue his own type of prey. Drew suspects a traitor may be working with the spies and soon learns they are more than willing to kill to get what they want.

Hugh Trethowen, deep in debt and readying himself to flee from his creditors, is saved by the news that his older brother is dead and he has just inherited his family’s fortune. Not long after, he becomes acquainted with Mademoiselle Dedieu and falls in love with her. Hugh is intent on marrying her, against the staunch advice of his friend John Egerton. Though both Valérie and John think they have successfully kept Hugh in the dark about their secrets, fate intervenes and Hugh uncovers evidence that tips him off to his fiancée’s unsavory past.

'Dr. Crippen, Lover and Poisoner' is Le Queux's account of the case of the famous poisoner Hawley Harvey Crippen, whom Le Queux claimed to have met personally on several occasions. Crippen, to escape the bondage of an unhappy marriage, and because he had fallen in love with another woman, Ethel Le Neve, murdered and dissected his wife and escaped with his lover in disguise, sparking a transatlantic hue and cry.

In this imagined war, coalition forces led by Russia and France invade Britain and make several early advances, but the Germans land in Britain as allies and help to repulse the invasion. The brave English patriots, together with German soldiers, try to turn the tide. Written 20 years before the start of World War I in 1914, Le Queux’s novel is considered to have influenced many subsequent works, including H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds.

A young man, Owen Biddulph, is drawn to a beautiful young woman with a mysterious past... a past that seems to have returned to cause her disappearance! Is she his new found love or his nemesis? And who is this mysterious clergyman that warns him to avoid this young woman, at risk of his very life! What possible harm could this sweet young woman inflict? Written by one of the Masters of Mystery, William Le Queux.

Seven famous and sensational true crime stories retold by classic crime writers.

William Le Queux (1864 - 1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer, diplomat, traveller, flying buff and wireless pioneer who broadcast music from his own station long before radio was generally available. He was phenomenally successful as a novelist and short story writer, and many of his tales are based on his own exploits, albeit vastly exaggerated.

What if German forces landed on the east coast of England and advanced on London while the British were struggling to mount a counter-attack? That’s premise of William Le Queux’s The Invasion of 1910, one of the most popular "invasion fiction" novels of all time. The novel revolves around Germany’s rising naval power and its threat to a weak Britain, unprepared for war politically, physically and psychologically. As the Germans occupy half of London, a junior Parliamentarian declares "Britain is not defeated." A newly formed Army liberates London, but the war is far from over.

William Le Queux was a British novelist and prolific writer of mysteries. Indeed, mystery surrounds the author himself as to whether he was a spy or rather just a self-promoter. Regardless of which is true, Le Queux brings us a story of intrigue and espionage that travels across Europe in the true spirit of a good mystery. There are shootings, burglaries, romances, escapes from prisons, and intricate conspiracies that may surprise and leave you scratching your head as you try to solve this "whodunit”.

A gripping collection of classic spy stories by some of the great early masters of espionage fiction: 'The Secret of the Black Bag' by William Le Queux, 'How I Became a Secret Agent' by Dr. A. K. Graves, 'The Secret of the Smoked Spectacles' by William Le Queux,'The 39 Steps' by John Buchan, 'Matahari and Some Other Women Spies' by Sir Basil Thomson, 'The Secret of Dr. Vaux’s Intrigue' by William Le Queux.

The blind man was well aware that her reply was but a subterfuge. Little, however, did he dream the cause. Little did he know that a dark shadow had fallen upon the young girl's life - a shadow of evil. "Gabrielle," he said in a low, intense voice, "why aren't you open and frank with me as you once used to be? Remember that you, my daughter, are my only friend!".

Le Queux (1864-1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer who was also a diplomat, traveller, flying buff and wireless pioneer. His best-known works are the anti-French and anti-Russian invasion fantasy "The Great War in England" (1894) and the anti-German invasion fantasy "The Invasion of 1910" (1906), the latter becoming a phenomenal bestseller. He wrote over 150 novels, many dealing with international intrigue, and a number of non-fiction works. This novel was first published in 1913.

The Earl of Saxham was vastly annoyed when his son, Guy, fell in love with a “penniless nobody,” and announced that he would marry her against all opposition. He determined to separate the lovers; to which end he persuaded an influential friend in the Foreign Office to secure an appointment for Guy in the Embassy at Madrid. He little knew that he was sending his son into the centre of a hotbed of anarchism, that Guy’s footsteps were to be dogged by a vindictive and revengeful woman, that his life was to hold many a thrilling moment and not a few narrow escapes.

To allow so young and delicate a girl to tramp England aimlessly in search of some vague and secret information which seemed to be her erratic father's object, was, we decided, an utter impossibility; therefore, following that night of our first meeting at Helpstone, Burton and his daughter remained our guests for a week, and, after many consultations and some little economies, we were at last successful in placing Mabel at school, a service for which we later received her heartfelt thanks.

How to describe this book? In a word - savage. For those regular LibriVox Le Queux mystery listeners, this book is a step in a different direction by the author. The book starts out like most Le Queux. Our hero, Richard Scarsmere, befriends an individual (Omar) at an English boarding school who turns out to be an African prince from a kingdom called Mo. Omar receives a visit from one of his mother’s trusted advisers. His mother, the Great White Queen, seeks him to return home immediately. Omar convinces Scarsmere to return to Africa with him.

Edward Royle is the head of a well-known chemical manufacturer in England, which he has inherited. He is engaged to the daughter of his father’s former partner, Phrida Shand, who lives with her mother. One night he is asked by his friend, Sir Digby Kemsley - a very famous railroad engineer, to come to his flat to discuss something although Kemsley is quite mysterious on the telephone. Royle visits, then returns home only to be summoned again by Kemsley, this time imploring him to return at once. Royle finds a gentleman in Kemsley’s place who is clearly not Kemsley, or is he?

Frank Urwin and Richard Cleugh are two bachelor journalists sharing a flat in London. One evening while chatting, Urwin receives a telegram from a police acquaintance to come to the local police station at once. Urwin visits Inspector Patterson who is greatly agitated. Patterson invites Urwin for a drink and tells him of a strange occurrence at a local house. The two visit the house where they discover a dead young male and attractive young female. For some reason, Patterson is reluctant to report the apparent murders.