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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Krimi
- Sprache: Englisch
In "The Mystery of Evelin Delorme," Albert Bigelow Paine employs a masterful blend of gothic elements and psychological depth to weave a tale of intrigue and moral quandary. Set against an atmospheric backdrop that mirrors the protagonist's inner turmoil, the narrative explores themes of identity, secrecy, and the haunting repercussions of the past. Paine's adept storytelling and rich descriptive style draw readers into a world where the lines between reality and imagination blur, reflecting the literary context of early 20th-century American fiction, where authors grappled with evolving notions of self and society. Albert Bigelow Paine, a celebrated author and biographer, was deeply influenced by his relationships with prominent literary figures, including Mark Twain. This intimate literary environment likely shaped Paine's fascination with human complexity and the shadows of the human psyche. His broader experiences as a journalist and a storyteller lend a unique authenticity to "The Mystery of Evelin Delorme," enhancing its intriguing plot with moments of keen observation and social critique. Recommended for readers who relish psychological thrillers enriched with atmospheric storytelling, Paine's novel stands as a compelling exploration of the human condition. Engage with the unsettling mysteries of Evelin Delorme, and allow yourself to be drawn into a narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is suspenseful. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
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The Mystery of Evelin Delorme
Table of Contents
Introduction
When a life becomes a riddle, every gesture, rumor, and silence turns into evidence. Albert Bigelow Paine's The Mystery of Evelin Delorme offers a classic invitation to read the world as a case to be solved, drawing us toward the shifting line between appearance and reality. Rather than racing, it advances with the quiet confidence of a tale that trusts observation, tone, and suggestion. The novel builds its intrigue through atmosphere and implication, allowing readers to feel the subtle pressure of doubt as assumptions fray. It is less a parade of shocks than an accumulating unease, an inquiry into character where small details begin to weigh like testimony.
Situated at the turn of the twentieth century, the book belongs to the long tradition of mystery and psychological suspense in American popular fiction. Paine, an American writer best known today for his monumental work on the life of Mark Twain, here turns from biography to the architecture of enigma. The publication context reflects a moment when readers embraced narratives of investigation, reputation, and hidden motive, and the novel aligns with that appetite without surrendering its measured decorum. Its period sensibility is evident in the attention to manners, moral shading, and the social consequences of rumor, even as it pursues the inexorable logic of a puzzle.
At the center stands the elusive Evelin Delorme, a figure whose very name signals allure and uncertainty, and whose presence unsettles easy judgments. The premise is straightforward and enticing: questions gather around her past and her intentions, and those drawn into her orbit must decide what to believe and how far to inquire. The book offers the experience of following a thread through rooms of conversation, hints, and carefully staged encounters, always close enough to feel personal yet distant enough to keep one guessing. Without rushing to reveal, it establishes a field of possibility in which chance, choice, and character quietly contend.
Paine's narrative voice is polished and attentive, favoring clarity over ornament while cultivating an undertone of disquiet. The pacing is deliberate, the kind that rewards patience with the subtle satisfaction of recognition when a casual line acquires new weight. Dialogue and description carry equal responsibility for the suspense, and the composition encourages readers to participate, testing hypotheses against each new glimpse. In keeping with period conventions, the story privileges inference, decorum, and credible psychology more than sensational display, allowing tension to arise from proximity, reputation, and the stakes of trust. The resulting mood is poised, elegant, and quietly disconcerting.
Among the themes that surface are identity as performance and the fragile boundary between truth and the stories we tell about others. The novel invites reflection on how social knowledge is constructed, how reputations harden, and how sympathy can become entangled with suspicion. It also asks what it means to know another person responsibly: when curiosity becomes trespass, when certainty becomes self-deception. Readers will sense an interest in psychology that was increasingly visible in literature of the era, yet the book remains rooted in humane observation rather than technical theory. Its questions are ethical as much as they are investigative.
These concerns feel strikingly timely. In an age saturated with conjecture, curated selves, and circulating narratives, the story's patient examination of belief and evidence offers a calm counterpoint. The novel encourages attentiveness to nuance, to the way small facts accumulate, and to the humility required when lives resist tidy explanation. It resonates with contemporary anxieties about reputation and trust, but it also offers a measured optimism that understanding is possible, if incomplete, through care, listening, and self-scrutiny. Readers today may find in its pages both a caution against easy judgments and an invitation to read more generously.
For those who value classic mysteries shaped by character, atmosphere, and moral inquiry, The Mystery of Evelin Delorme promises a rewarding experience. It provides the pleasures of deduction without reducing people to mere clues, and it sustains suspense without sacrificing dignity or depth. Paine's craftsmanship shows in the steady calibration of tone and the disciplined withholding that lets readers do the imaginative work. Approached on its own terms, the book offers an elegant puzzle and a quietly provocative meditation on how we come to know, trust, and forgive. The case begins in doubt, but the journey rewards attentive minds and hearts.
Synopsis
The narrative opens in a late nineteenth century social and scientific milieu, where interest in hypnotism and suggestion runs high. Evelin Delorme appears as a poised young woman of distinction, admired yet quietly set apart by rumors of strange lapses. Guests observe her composure at gatherings, but also fleeting moments when her expression goes blank and her answers seem not her own. An observer narrator, drawn by curiosity rather than romance, notes a disturbing incident that suggests an unseen influence over her will. This unsettling episode initiates the central question of the book: whether Evelin’s conduct is voluntary, disordered, or directed by another mind.
Background details emerge in fragments, emphasizing uncertainty over revelation. Evelin’s upbringing includes refined instruction and strict guardianship, with hints of decisions made on her behalf. A once promising attachment has been interrupted without clear cause, and documents that might clarify her situation are missing or ambiguous. Occasional nocturnal wanderings, unremembered errands, and meticulous handwriting that she does not recognize intensify concern. Friends debate explanations ranging from nervous illness to deception. A physician who once assessed her case is mentioned, though his conclusions remain incomplete. These threads establish her as the center of a puzzle involving memory, influence, and responsibility, rather than a figure of scandal.
Key figures step forward with differing explanations and motives. A fashionable mesmerist, confident and persuasive, claims insight into the power of suggestion and offers a remedy couched in authority. A skeptical physician insists on careful testing, warning against theatrics and the risks of tampering with a delicate mind. A legal adviser notes that questions of consent may affect inheritance, contracts, and social standing. A watchful confidant promises protection. Early trials to gauge Evelin’s suggestibility are conducted discreetly. A particular phrase, gesture, or rhythm appears to trigger marked changes in her demeanor, yet the results are inconsistent enough to sustain doubt and prevent any immediate conclusion.
A public mishap brings the mystery into sharper focus. During a formal occasion, an act occurs that compromises Evelin’s reputation and raises suspicion of deliberate wrongdoing. Witnesses claim to have seen her in places and at times she cannot recall, while other testimony contradicts their certainty. Records and timetables do not align, suggesting either an orchestrated illusion or a divided state of consciousness. The incident acts as the first major turning point, compelling those around her to move beyond speculation. They resolve to trace the origin of whatever commands or cues seem to govern her, seeking verifiable evidence rather than impressions and rumor.
Inquiry becomes methodical. The physician organizes controlled sessions to observe post hypnotic suggestion, monitoring how declared instructions may persist beyond waking awareness. Handwriting comparisons, accounts from servants and acquaintances, and careful logs of Evelin’s movements are assembled. Where possible, experiments are reversed to test whether earlier triggers can be neutralized. Ethical debates intensify: how far may they proceed without violating Evelin’s autonomy, and what constitutes true consent when influence is in question. Evelin, lucid and composed between episodes, expresses a desire for clarity, though anxiety grows as the inquiry itself threatens her privacy. The investigation’s rigor narrows possibilities without naming a culprit.
A second turning point arrives through a clandestine interview and a trail of small clues. A locket, ring, or sealed note appears to bind current events to obligations formed earlier in Evelin’s life. The mesmerist’s confidence suggests access to personal knowledge that should have been private, while the physician identifies a plausible chain of conditioning that could mimic free choice. The legal adviser warns that a looming deadline may compel Evelin into an agreement she cannot meaningfully affirm. In response, a countermeasure is devised to anchor her awareness and interrupt imposed acts. The plan acknowledges the limits of proof yet aims to prevent further harm.
Surveillance becomes precise. Trusted observers map Evelin’s days and nights, noting subtle cues that precede her blank intervals. A nocturnal scene, quiet and careful, shows her moving with purpose while apparently asleep, guided by a pattern that others can now anticipate. A confrontation between the investigators and the mesmerist yields no decisive admission, but exposes inconsistencies and a reliance on theatrical authority. Protective steps are taken to guard Evelin’s person and property, while maintaining decorum to avoid scandal. Pressure builds toward a final, controlled test that promises either to confirm the hypothesis of suggestion or to dismantle it in favor of another explanation.
