
A rainy November afternoon in 1837 drapes London’s streets in a thick, yellow mist, turning the tidy garden of Baregrove Square into a ghostly stage. Young Samuel Snoxell, a page to the respectable Mr. Zachary Thorpe, is tasked with delivering three umbrellas—one for the Thorpes, one for the father‑in‑law, and a sturdy gingham for the six‑year‑old “Master Zack.” The simple errand quickly reveals the cramped, soot‑stained world of a middle‑class household where propriety and hidden anxieties mingle beneath the drizzle.
As Snoxell navigates the fog‑filled lanes, the novel gently lifts the veil on the Thorpe family’s private concerns, hinting at whispered secrets and the subtle power games that shape their lives. Through the eyes of a diligent servant and the innocent curiosity of a child, listeners are drawn into a quietly tense portrait of Victorian society, where every seemingly ordinary act may conceal a deeper motive. The story promises an elegant blend of atmosphere, character study, and the quiet suspense of what lies just out of sight.
Language
en
Duration
~15 hours (887K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by James Rusk, and David Widger
Release date
2005-04-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1824–1889
Best known for The Woman in White and The Moonstone, this pioneering Victorian novelist helped shape the modern mystery and suspense story. His fiction mixed page-turning plots with sharp observations about money, law, identity, and social rules.
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