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Penrose is an eccentric old man in possession of some dazzling gems, which he won't insure. When Dr Thorndyke is alerted to a burglary at his house, a scrap of paper is found with the word 'lobster' on it along with two Latin words. Meanwhile, Penrose has fled in panic after a car accident. The police are clearly mystified, but Thorndyke in his indelible style is on track; hunting down a fugitive, testing a theory, and getting to the bottom of a tantalising, complex mystery.Tags
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Member Reviews
A good example of Freeman's work at its best. It starts with a section introducing us to Penrose, the central character, a magpie collector of all sorts of items (valuable and otherwise), some of which may have been obtained by rather dubious methods. Thorndyke comes into the story when Penrose disappears under rather odd circumstances. As usual the learned doctor's extraordinary fund of information on diverse topics serves him well in determining Penrose's fate; in this case an archeological dig forms an important part of the investigation, which may serve as a clue to what has been going on for experienced readers.
Pretty good entry in the Dr. Thorndyke series even if I did spot the solution fairly early on.
3.5*
Pretty good entry in the Dr. Thorndyke series even if I did spot the solution fairly early on.
Pretty good entry in the Dr. Thorndyke series even if I did spot the solution fairly early on.
Mr Daniel Penrose has a vast and expensive collection of items, uninsured. Now he has failed to have returned from a trip and his home burgled. Though he may have been involved in a car accident that killed a female. Dr. Thorndyke is asked to find him, dead or alive, due to complications involving not making wills by the Penrose family.
Originally published in 1936
An entertaining mystery
Originally published in 1936
An entertaining mystery
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#JustTheFacts2019Gold
59 works; 1 member
#MysteryBingo2019Gold(Original)
36 works; 1 member
#MysteryBingo2019Gold(Revised)
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Author Information
178+ Works 3,054 Members
Richard Austin Freeman enjoyed a prolific career that saw him gain qualification as pharmacist and surgeon, pull off a diplomatic coup along the Gold Coast of Africa, work for Holloway Prison and become a formidable man of fiction. For the first twenty-five years of his writing career, Freeman was to dominate and remain unrivalled in the world of show more detective fiction, introducing the well-loved and highly memorable Dr Thorndyke. Through the creation of this character, Richard Austin Freeman continues to be read as an extremely popular addition to the world of the mystery novel. show less
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Penrose Mystery
- Original publication date
- 1936
- People/Characters
- John Thorndyke
- Dedication
- TO MY FRIEND, RONALD F. JESSUP, F.S.A.
in grateful acknowledgement
of much valuable technical advice
and information on matters archaeological. - First words
- I have been asked to make my contribution to the curious history of the disappearance of Mr Daniel Penrose, and I accordingly do so; but not without reluctance and a feeling that my contribution is but a retailing of the smal... (show all)lest of small beer.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"It is a satisfaction to think of that moment of disillusionment when he saw his ill-gotten fortune turn to dust and ashes and realised that, for him as for others, the wages of sin was death."
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 61
- Popularity
- 505,403
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.29)
- Languages
- English, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 8
