
In the lingering shadows of a wintry London, Jerry O’Brien finds his world upended when his close friend Alfred falls gravely ill. Torn between his deep affection for Madge—Alfred’s gentle sister—and the guilt of having inadvertently contributed to the crisis, Jerry wrestles with despair and sleepless nights in his modest Cecil Street lodgings. The narrative captures his restless mind as he paces through dimly lit rooms, clings to fleeting comforts, and confronts the stark reality of a possible tragedy.
Amidst the fog‑filled streets, a mysterious letter from solicitor John O’Hanlon arrives, promising a distraction from his woes yet hinting at deeper entanglements. As Jerry pores over its contents, the story balances the intimate anxieties of love and loyalty with the broader social currents of the era. Listeners are drawn into a richly atmospheric tale where emotional storms mirror the literal tempest outside, promising a poignant exploration of duty, heartache, and hope.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (185K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Release date
2013-05-20
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1846–1898
An Irish novelist with a strong gift for storytelling, he wrote bustling Victorian fiction and a huge number of magazine pieces. His best-known work, The Mystery of Killard, helped make him a popular name with late-19th-century readers.
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