The Lock and Key Library

Classic Mystery and Detective Stories: Modern English

By: Stanley John Weyman, Arthur Conan Doyle, various authors, Robert Louis Stevenson, Egerton Castle, Wilkie Collins, Rudyard Kipling, Julian Hawthorne

Narrated by: John Rubinstein, Paul Boehmer, John Lee, Stefan Rudnicki, various narrators

Assembled and edited by Julian Hawthorne and first published in 1909, the Modern English volume of The Lock and Key Library features sixteen classic mystery and detective stories by such luminaries as Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Wilkie Collins.

Detective stories existed for centuries before the concept of the detective itself—amateur or professional— was fully formulated, and tales of mystery and intrigue have been thrilling readers since ancient times. The Lock and Key Library is the classic overview of the history of the mystery genre, at once a rousing listen for fans of the unsolved and unknown as well as an essential literary resource for those seeking to understand the roots of modern pulp fiction.

The Modern English volume of The Lock and Key Library features sixteen stories that explore the genre, from Rudyard Kipling’s supernatural mysteries in India to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved and classic tales of detection (including the introduction of Irene Adler into the Sherlock Holmes canon). Other special additions include the reality-bending “The Dream Woman: A Mystery in Four Narratives” by Wilkie Collins, whom T. S. Eliot called “a master of plot and situation”; and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Pavilion on the Links,” which was regarded by Doyle as “the high-water mark of [Stevenson’s] genius” and “the first short story in the world.” And the mystery goes beyond the ordinary in this comprehensive collection: the last five stories are all written by anonymous writers, giving the listener an extra shroud of secrecy to peek behind.

This volume of The Lock and Key Library is sure to delight and enthrall armchair detectives and fans of classic mysteries alike.

Full contents:

1. “My Own True Ghost Story” by Rudyard Kipling—read by Stefan Rudnicki
2. “The Sending of Dana Da” by Rudyard Kipling—read by Stefan Rudnicki
3. “In the House of Suddhoo” by Rudyard Kipling—read by Stefan Rudnicki
4. “His Wedded Wife” by Rudyard Kipling—read by Stefan Rudnicki
5. “A Case of Identity” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—read by John Rubinstein
6. “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Sir Arthur Conan Conan Doyle—read by John Rubinstein
7. “The Red-Headed League” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—read by John Rubinstein
8. “The Baron’s Quarry” by Egerton Castle—read by Paul Boehmer
9. “The Fowl in the Pot” by Stanley J. Weyman—read by John Rubinstein
10. “The Pavilion on the Links” by Robert Louis Stevenson—read by Stefan Rudnicki
11. “The Dream Woman: A Mystery in Four Narratives” by Wilkie Collins—read by Paul Boehmer, Stefan Rudnicki—and John Rubinstein
12. “The Lost Duchess” by Anonymous—read by John Lee
13. “The Minor Canon” by Anonymous—read by Stefan Rudnicki
14. “The Pipe” by Anonymous—read by John Rubinstein
15. “The Puzzle” by Anonymous—read by John Rubinstein
16. “The Great Valdez Sapphire” by Anonymous—read by Stefan Rudnicki

Public Domain (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing