At the Villa Rose (novel)

At the Villa Rose
First edition
Author A. E. W. Mason
Language English
Series Inspector Hanaud
Genre Detective fiction
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton (UK)[1]
The Musson Book Company (Canada)
Charles Scribner's Sons (US)
Publication date
 1910[1]
Media type Print
Pages 311[1]
Followed by The House of the Arrow

At the Villa Rose is a 1910 detective novel by British writer A.E.W. Mason featuring his character Inspector Hanaud.[2]

Plot summary

In Aix les Bains during the early 20th century, Celia Harland, a beautiful young English girl down on her luck is befriended by a rich widow, Madame Dauvray, an addict of "spiritualism", and stages seances for her benefactrix, while knowing full well that the supposed manifestations from the spirit world are entirely bogus. This set-up supplies the opportunity for a criminal gang master-minded by Madame Dauvray's maid, with their eyes on the widow's jewellery collection, to engineer an introduction for one of their number, Adele Tacé ("Rossignol") whose taunts of disbelief goad the old lady into allowing a seance to be held which, unsuspected by either Celia or her patron, will be the cover for murder and robbery. The crux of the plot is that Celia, as medium, will be made their innocent victim, on whom suspicion is to be planted. By her professed scepticism, Adele manoeuvres the girl into consenting to be bound hand and foot and secured to a pillar during the performance, such that she is incapable of escaping or preventing Madame Dauvray's being strangled by an intruder in the course of the seance; and is thereafter abducted to Geneva, still trussed, gagged and helpless, with various clues being left behind to incriminate her as accomplice in the murder. Inspector Hanaud of the Paris Sûreté unravels the conspiracy and rescues Celia when on the brink of being drugged and dumped into Lake Geneva.

Cover of first Canadian edition

Film adaptations

The story has been adapted three times for the screen, first in a 1920 silent version starring Manora Thew and then in further versions in 1930 starring Austin Trevor and in 1940 when the main role was played by Kenneth Kent.[3][4]

Bibliography

  • Bargainnier, Earl F. Twelve Englishmen of mystery. Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1984.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. ↑ A.E.W. Mason. "At The Villa Rose". Goodreads.
  3. ↑ Hal Erickson. "At the Villa Rose (1920) - Maurice Elvey - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  4. ↑ Hal Erickson. "House of Mystery (1941) - Walter Summers - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.


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