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The Lock and Key Library: Classic Mystery and Detective Stories: Modern English
The Lock and Key Library was an ambitious project to bring together a large collection of the best mystery and detective stories from a variety of times and cultures. This volume, the 8th in the series, concentrates on Modern English stories - modern for 1909 that is. Many are from authors still widely read today: Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson and Wilkie Collins, others from less well-known or anonymous sources. The contents are: My Own True Ghost Story, The Sending of Dana Da, In the House of Suddhoo, His Wedded Wife, A Case of Identity, A Scandal in Bohemia, The Red-Headed League, The Baron's Quarry, The Fowl in the Pot, The Pavilion on the Links, The Dream Woman, The Lost Duchess, The Minor Canon, The Pipe, The Puzzle and The Great Valdez Sapphire. This new edition is not a scan; it has been carefully typeset to be clear and complete.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 1909
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About the author
Rudyard Kipling
6,969 books3,622 followersJoseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 20, 2019
ENGLISH: This book contains 11 stories by six authors who lived at the end of the 19th century and the beginnings of the 20th, plus five additional anonymous stories from the same time.
The six authors are Kipling (four stories, although not those I'd have selected :-), Conan Doyle (the first three stories in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"), Egerton Castle, Stanley Weyman, Robert Louis Stevenson ("The pavilion on the links") and Wilkie Collins (The dream woman").
I had read the eight stories by Kipling, Conan Doyle and Stevenson, and also that by Wilkie Collins, although in its first shorter and milder form, which is included in the collection "The Queen of Hearts." This time I have read the last two, plus the stories I'd never read before, by Castle, Weyman, and the five anonymous.
Castle's story, "The Baron's Quarry", may give the impression that most Polish nobles were quite savage. Perhaps this was typical in England at the time, but reading Polish authors, such as Sienkiewicz, should have corrected that impression.
I found "The great Valdez sapphire" one of the best in this book, although the ending was somewhat predictable. Pity that its author is unknown, so the story appears as anonymous.
ESPAÑOL: Este libro contiene 11 cuentos de seis autores de finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, además de otros cinco anónimos de la misma época.
Los seis autores son Kipling (representado por cuatro cuentos, aunque no los que yo habría seleccionado :-), Conan Doyle (por los tres primeros de "Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes"), Egerton Castle, Stanley Weyman, Robert Louis Stevenson ("El pabellón de las dunas") y Wilkie Collins (La dama del sueño").
Ya había leído los ocho cuentos de Kipling, Conan Doyle y Stevenson, y también el de Wilkie Collins, aunque en su forma original, más corta y menos dura, tal como aparece en su colección "La Reina de Corazones". Esta vez he leído los dos últimos, además de los que no había leído antes: los de Castle, Weyman y los cinco anónimos.
El cuento de Castle, "La presa del barón", puede dar la impresión de que muchos nobles polacos eran bastante salvajes. Quizás esto fuese típico en la Inglaterra en esa época, pero la lectura de autores polacos como Sienkiewicz debería haber corregido esa impresión.
"El gran zafiro Valdés" me pareció uno de los mejores cuentos de este libro, aunque el final es algo predecible. Lástima que no sepamos quién fue su autor, por lo que la historia aparece como anónima.
The six authors are Kipling (four stories, although not those I'd have selected :-), Conan Doyle (the first three stories in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"), Egerton Castle, Stanley Weyman, Robert Louis Stevenson ("The pavilion on the links") and Wilkie Collins (The dream woman").
I had read the eight stories by Kipling, Conan Doyle and Stevenson, and also that by Wilkie Collins, although in its first shorter and milder form, which is included in the collection "The Queen of Hearts." This time I have read the last two, plus the stories I'd never read before, by Castle, Weyman, and the five anonymous.
Castle's story, "The Baron's Quarry", may give the impression that most Polish nobles were quite savage. Perhaps this was typical in England at the time, but reading Polish authors, such as Sienkiewicz, should have corrected that impression.
I found "The great Valdez sapphire" one of the best in this book, although the ending was somewhat predictable. Pity that its author is unknown, so the story appears as anonymous.
ESPAÑOL: Este libro contiene 11 cuentos de seis autores de finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, además de otros cinco anónimos de la misma época.
Los seis autores son Kipling (representado por cuatro cuentos, aunque no los que yo habría seleccionado :-), Conan Doyle (por los tres primeros de "Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes"), Egerton Castle, Stanley Weyman, Robert Louis Stevenson ("El pabellón de las dunas") y Wilkie Collins (La dama del sueño").
Ya había leído los ocho cuentos de Kipling, Conan Doyle y Stevenson, y también el de Wilkie Collins, aunque en su forma original, más corta y menos dura, tal como aparece en su colección "La Reina de Corazones". Esta vez he leído los dos últimos, además de los que no había leído antes: los de Castle, Weyman y los cinco anónimos.
El cuento de Castle, "La presa del barón", puede dar la impresión de que muchos nobles polacos eran bastante salvajes. Quizás esto fuese típico en la Inglaterra en esa época, pero la lectura de autores polacos como Sienkiewicz debería haber corregido esa impresión.
"El gran zafiro Valdés" me pareció uno de los mejores cuentos de este libro, aunque el final es algo predecible. Lástima que no sepamos quién fue su autor, por lo que la historia aparece como anónima.
September 25, 2018
A decent collection of mysteries, thrillers, and ghost stories. Only a few are true detective stories, but all have at at least a hint of mystery.
October 3, 2023
great set of stories
July 29, 2018
A collection of short stories. Rudyard Kipling's My Own True Ghost Story, Stanley J. Weyman's The Fowl in the Pot, and Robert Louis Stevenson's The Pavilion on the Links were pretty good. I skipped the Sherlock Holmes stories in this collection because I read those a few days ago, but they are classics. The other known-author stories were rather lacking in the mystery department. Wilkie Collins usually shines in his 1st person POVs, but The Dream Woman seemed to lack a distinctive voice in first two narrators, and the third narrator didn't quite make up for that lack.
Ironicily, my favorites were the anonymous stories. Guess I'm not supposed to be getting new favorite authors :P. The Pipe and The Puzzle had great characters and plots. Haunted pipes are rather hard to come by...
Included Stories
Rudyard Kipling
My Own True Ghost Story
The Sending of Dana Da
In the House of Suddhoo
His Wedded Wife
A. Conan Doyle
A Case of Identity
A Scandal in Bohemia
The Red-Headed League
Egerton Castle
The Baron's Quarry
Stanley J. Weyman
The Fowl in the Pot
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Pavilion on the Links
Wilkie Collins
The Dream Woman
Anonymous
The Lost Duchess
The Minor Canon
The Pipe
The Puzzle
The Great Valdez Sapphire
Ironicily, my favorites were the anonymous stories. Guess I'm not supposed to be getting new favorite authors :P. The Pipe and The Puzzle had great characters and plots. Haunted pipes are rather hard to come by...
Included Stories
Rudyard Kipling
My Own True Ghost Story
The Sending of Dana Da
In the House of Suddhoo
His Wedded Wife
A. Conan Doyle
A Case of Identity
A Scandal in Bohemia
The Red-Headed League
Egerton Castle
The Baron's Quarry
Stanley J. Weyman
The Fowl in the Pot
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Pavilion on the Links
Wilkie Collins
The Dream Woman
Anonymous
The Lost Duchess
The Minor Canon
The Pipe
The Puzzle
The Great Valdez Sapphire
June 21, 2013
Fine collection of that classic genre of stories , like freshly brewed coffee .... even the initial stories about humorous ghosts , though not strictly of the detective milieu , are humorous breezers .....A fine, longish , appetizing evening treat !!!
September 13, 2014
This book was donated to the library on my behalf as a graduation gift. A nice collection of stories from Arthur Conan Doyle to Rudyard Kipling.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews