The Beetle: A Mystery

"The Beetle: A Mystery" by Richard Marsh is a Gothic novel written during the late 19th century. The story begins with a despondent character named Robert Holt, who is homeless and desperate for shelter when he encounters a seemingly abandoned house with an open window. The narrative introduces themes of urban decay, desperation, and the supernatural, as Holt's situation rapidly spirals into a strange and sinister encounter. The opening of the book sets the stage by chronicling Holt's desperate plight as he wanders the streets of London. After being refused admission to a workhouse, he stumbles upon a mysterious house with an open window that beckons him in out of the rain. As he cautiously enters, he is immediately enveloped in an ominous atmosphere that suggests he is not alone. An unsettling presence bears down on him, and his encounter with a mysterious figure in a bed amplifies the tension. The presence exerts a terrifying control over Holt, compelling him into a series of chilling actions, and ultimately setting him on a path towards a confrontation with a powerful and enigmatic individual, Paul Lessingham. This blend of existential dread and eerie surrealism captivates the reader and establishes the thematic foundation for the unfolding mystery. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of the English author born Richard Bernard Heldmann. A best-selling and prolific author of the late 19th century and the Edwardian period, Marsh is best known now for his supernatural thriller novel The Beetle, which was published the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), and was initially even more popular, outselling Dracula six times over. The Beetle remained in print until 1960. Marsh produced nearly 80 volumes of fiction and numerous short stories, in genres including horror, crime, romance and humour. Many of these have been republished recently, beginning with The Beetle in 2004. Marsh's grandson Robert Aickman was a notable writer of short "strange stories".