
Sir Peter, a seasoned baronet, arrives in bustling London after receiving a terse letter that his son Kenelm has vanished on a brief excursion. Determined to settle the tangled affairs of a newly transferred fortune, he plans to meet the enigmatic Chillingly Gordon and secure the £20,000 estate Kenelm left behind. At the same time, Sir Peter’s curiosity is piqued by the reputedly sensible and unpretentious Cecilia Travers, a young lady whose name has lingered in his thoughts ever since Kenelm’s fleeting mentions.
Over a leisurely breakfast with his cousin Mivers, the two men trade wry observations on comfort, marriage, and the shifting roles of women in society. Their banter hints at Kenelm’s restless spirit—a “noble savage” who roams beyond conventional expectations—and sets the stage for a search that may uncover more than just missing papers. The early chapters blend genteel humor with a subtle undercurrent of intrigue, inviting listeners to follow Sir Peter’s quest through the tangled social webs of Regency London.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (180K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2005-03-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1803–1873
Best remembered for vivid historical and supernatural fiction, this prolific Victorian writer also left a surprising mark on everyday language with phrases that people still quote today. His stories mix drama, mystery, politics, and the occult in a way that helped shape popular fiction in the 19th century.
View all books