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The Secret of the Tower
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- GenresMystery
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1919
About the author
Clement Moore Butler
33 booksClement Moore Butler was an Episcopal priest, author, and seminary professor who served as Chaplain of the Senate from 1850 to 1853.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 27, 2024
Not nearly as good as Prisoner of Zenda. Slow start, with last 100 pages being decent.
March 19, 2026
Well, Hope has a way of twisting your mind a million different directions. I was torn, changing my mind many a time. Once I was certain of something I'd have to change it again ('twas a torture).
The Plot:
Inkston is a quiet little town, so when rich Mr. Saffron and two other men move into the tower it's big news. The two men are his attendants, Hector Beaumaroy and the Sergeant. Everything slowly returns to normal until Dr. Irechester begins to suspects something fishy with his new patient, Mr. Saffron. Beaumaroy notes the doctor's suspicion and quickly persuades Mr. Saffron to become Dr. Mary's patient instead. But why? A mystery seems to envelope Mr. Saffron, a curse haunts the tower, and a burglary is being planned. Somehow Beaumaroy must decide between living the truth or a lie.
What I liked:
1. Beaumaroy was ideal as the main character. He reminded me of Loki, and I loved his wit.
2. Dr. Mary, whilst jumping to as many conclusions as I did, did an admirable job of figuring out the jig.
3. The mystery itself. I truly couldn't make it out. I never knew what was going to happen next no matter how much I guessed.
4. Alec Naylor and his perfect, chivalric nature. He's too good to be true.
5. The burglary being hatched. That in itself was a most unique drama.
6. Mr. Naylor's most intriguing conversations- especially with Dr. Irechester.
What I didn't like:
1. Will I never find a book devoid of cursing and blasphemy?
2. Mr. Saffron's awful relatives. I must admit, I probably would've done exactly what Beaumaroy did.
I give this book four books. It really causes one to pause and reflect. See how you feel about honour and dignity, right versus wrong. It makes you look at both sides of the story.
This book keeps you on your feet.
The Plot:
Inkston is a quiet little town, so when rich Mr. Saffron and two other men move into the tower it's big news. The two men are his attendants, Hector Beaumaroy and the Sergeant. Everything slowly returns to normal until Dr. Irechester begins to suspects something fishy with his new patient, Mr. Saffron. Beaumaroy notes the doctor's suspicion and quickly persuades Mr. Saffron to become Dr. Mary's patient instead. But why? A mystery seems to envelope Mr. Saffron, a curse haunts the tower, and a burglary is being planned. Somehow Beaumaroy must decide between living the truth or a lie.
What I liked:
1. Beaumaroy was ideal as the main character. He reminded me of Loki, and I loved his wit.
2. Dr. Mary, whilst jumping to as many conclusions as I did, did an admirable job of figuring out the jig.
3. The mystery itself. I truly couldn't make it out. I never knew what was going to happen next no matter how much I guessed.
4. Alec Naylor and his perfect, chivalric nature. He's too good to be true.
5. The burglary being hatched. That in itself was a most unique drama.
6. Mr. Naylor's most intriguing conversations- especially with Dr. Irechester.
What I didn't like:
1. Will I never find a book devoid of cursing and blasphemy?
2. Mr. Saffron's awful relatives. I must admit, I probably would've done exactly what Beaumaroy did.
I give this book four books. It really causes one to pause and reflect. See how you feel about honour and dignity, right versus wrong. It makes you look at both sides of the story.
This book keeps you on your feet.
April 10, 2012
Not Quite a Mystery or a Romance
Anthony Hope is best known for two other titles, The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau. The Secret of the Tower was published in 1919 and takes place in a little village just outside of London.
Something odd is going on in Cottage Tower and the townsfolk of Inkston are trying to figure it out. The main characters of this book are Dr. Mary, Cynthia, Captain Naylor, Mr. Saffron, Beaumaroy, Dr. Irechester, and a handful of others.
Old Mr. Saffron is the owner of Cottage Tower and he's taken on two companions. Once a week the elderly man and one of his new guests, Beaumaroy, take a trip into London. The pair return the same day lugging a heavy brown bag.
The story started out with promise and I was clicking quickly to see what would happen next. Unfortunately things seemed to fizzle about 60% in. It was an interesting story even though there wasn't a clear murder or crime. I was enjoying myself, but sadly toward the end it lost its intrigue.
I found Hope's writing style a bit odd. He has a habit of backing into things. He will go on for a few pages offering detail and then tell you what he's specifically talking about. This happened on many occasions. The book opens with two females talking. One is crying and very upset about something. After five or six pages of this we are finally told who they are, what they're doing, and why one of them is upset. This backwards writing became bothersome after a while.
The free Kindle edition is well edited and there aren't many transfer issues. I did see a handful of places that appeared _like_ this. I assume it was _supposed_ to be italicized.
This book also has a sexist tone or treatment of women. Dr. Mary Arkroyd is a female doctor and the author uses sarcasm and jabs to point out his feelings on the subject. Come to think of it, I didn't like the way he portrayed any of the females in this book. I realize this was written nearly 100 years ago and times were different then, BUT I've read many classics and haven't encountered one with these same attitudes. They were subtle, but definitely present. It appears Hope thought all women were silly, gossipy, or inferior nincompoops.
I will pick up The Prisoner of Zenda and see if Anthony Hope continues this viewpoint of women in that story as well.
Anthony Hope is best known for two other titles, The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau. The Secret of the Tower was published in 1919 and takes place in a little village just outside of London.
Something odd is going on in Cottage Tower and the townsfolk of Inkston are trying to figure it out. The main characters of this book are Dr. Mary, Cynthia, Captain Naylor, Mr. Saffron, Beaumaroy, Dr. Irechester, and a handful of others.
Old Mr. Saffron is the owner of Cottage Tower and he's taken on two companions. Once a week the elderly man and one of his new guests, Beaumaroy, take a trip into London. The pair return the same day lugging a heavy brown bag.
The story started out with promise and I was clicking quickly to see what would happen next. Unfortunately things seemed to fizzle about 60% in. It was an interesting story even though there wasn't a clear murder or crime. I was enjoying myself, but sadly toward the end it lost its intrigue.
I found Hope's writing style a bit odd. He has a habit of backing into things. He will go on for a few pages offering detail and then tell you what he's specifically talking about. This happened on many occasions. The book opens with two females talking. One is crying and very upset about something. After five or six pages of this we are finally told who they are, what they're doing, and why one of them is upset. This backwards writing became bothersome after a while.
The free Kindle edition is well edited and there aren't many transfer issues. I did see a handful of places that appeared _like_ this. I assume it was _supposed_ to be italicized.
This book also has a sexist tone or treatment of women. Dr. Mary Arkroyd is a female doctor and the author uses sarcasm and jabs to point out his feelings on the subject. Come to think of it, I didn't like the way he portrayed any of the females in this book. I realize this was written nearly 100 years ago and times were different then, BUT I've read many classics and haven't encountered one with these same attitudes. They were subtle, but definitely present. It appears Hope thought all women were silly, gossipy, or inferior nincompoops.
I will pick up The Prisoner of Zenda and see if Anthony Hope continues this viewpoint of women in that story as well.
February 1, 2011
The "mystery" was rather unsatisfactory. It was also a little hard to understand, since I'm not familiar with whatever was going on in Morocco during WWI. I did like a lot of the book, though. It was funny when
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews