The Childerbridge Mystery
Unabridged Large Print Edition
by Guy Newell Boothby
The son of a hardworking country doctor, William Standerton found himself alone in Australia at the age of sixteen. In fifty years’ time, he was a wealthy man, telling himself that he owed his good fortune to his own hard work and shrewd business capabilities. A widower with a grown son and daughter, he turned his Australian holdings over to carefully selected managers, took his children with him, and returned to England to live the life of a country gentleman.
Deciding that Childerbridge Manor will suit his needs, he settles into the estate despite local lore which holds it to be haunted. But once the family takes up residence, the trouble starts. The ghost – or ghosts – seem to be both real and unfriendly, and a menacing secret has followed him from Australia, along with the villanous man who holds the key to that secret.
William Standerton will meet his fate in Childerbridge Manor, and an unexpected twist or two will lie along the path to solving the mystery of his death and uncovering the dark secret of his life.
One of the earliest “murder-in-the-manor” mysteries, this relatively short novel does not have a particularly complex plot, but does have all the elements mystery fans expect – a romance, a murder, an heroic young man and a rather stodgy detective both working on solving the mystery, and a bit of suspense.
Typical of Boothby’s work the story takes on an almost gothic tone with elements and atmospherics such as a more or less malevolent ghost or two lurking in a brooding old manor house, and a dark and perhaps unsavory family secret in the background to add a second mystery to the story.
This quality large print edition is not a machine-scan or reproduction. Prepared by human editors it contains the complete and unabridged original version of The Childerbridge Mystery, printed on heavyweight bright white paper with a fully laminated cover.
About the Author: Guy Newell Boothby
Guy Newell Boothby (1867–1905) was a prolific Australian novelist and writer, noted for sensationalist fiction and best known today for the Dr. Nikola series. Born in Adelaide, Boothby was the son of a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly and the grandson of a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia. When Boothby was six he and his mother traveled to England and he was educated at Warminster School in Salisbury and Christ’s Hospital, London.
He returned to Australia at the age of 16 in 1883, and his family’s political ties led to his appointment as private secretary to the mayor of Adelaide. Boothby found the work uninteresting and, becoming bored, he quit. He subsequently traveled across Australia with his brother, and this journey became the basis for his first published work, “On the Wallaby: or, Through the East and Across Australia” (1894). Boothby’s early works dealt mainly with Australian life, but he soon turned to genre fiction, often primarily with an occult theme.
One of the most widely read and financially successful writers of his era, Boothby amassed a personal fortune while publishing over 50 novels in a career that spanned just over ten years before he died at 38 from influenza.
Although largely forgotten today, Boothby’s work was influential in the growing mystery genre, as a pioneer of the “murder-in-the-manor” format that became a staple of the “Golden Age” of mysteries and the creator of the “gentleman thief” character, anticipating “Raffles” and his progeny by a matter of a few years.
Product details
Publisher: Apex Publications, Independently published (February 21, 2024)
Language: English
Paperback: 250 pages
ISBN: 979-8880374359
Item Weight: 15.5 ounces
Dimensions: 6 x 0.57 x 9 inches
List Price: $12.97
