The Place of Dragons

William Le Queux

May 2021 · Graphic Arts Books

About this ebook

The Place of Dragons (1916) is a mystery novel by Anglo-French writer William Le Queux. Published at the height of Le Queux’s career as a leading author of popular thrillers, The Place of Dragons is a story of mystery, murder, and suspicion. Using his own research and experience as a journalist and adventurer, Le Queux crafts an accessible, entertaining tale for readers in search of a literary escape. Known for his works of fiction and nonfiction on the possibility of Germany invading Britain—a paranoia common in the early twentieth century—William Le Queux also wrote dozens of thrillers and adventure novels for a dedicated public audience. Although critical acclaim eluded him, popular success made him one of England’s bestselling writers. In The Place of Dragons, an old man and his nephew settle in the sleepy seaside village of Cromer, where locals begin to wonder who they could be. While Vernon Gregory spends his days walking along the beautiful North Sea coast, the young Edward Craig frequents the local billiard halls and golf courses. Noted for his philanthropy and plain tastes, Gregory is soon revealed to be a wealthy industrialist whose fortune was made manufacturing steel armor plates for the British military. When the old man is discovered dead on a remote cliffside, and when his nephew goes missing the same day, the normally quiet town becomes the center of a national investigation. As secrets are slowly revealed, the people of Cromer are forced to confront truths about one another they had formerly hoped to ignore—truths detective Herbert Vidal is keen to expose and examine. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Le Queux’s The Place of Dragons is a classic mystery novel reimagined for modern readers.

About the author

William Le Queux (1864-1927) was an Anglo-French journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster. Born in London to a French father and English mother, Le Queux studied art in Paris and embarked on a walking tour of Europe before finding work as a reporter for various French newspapers. Towards the end of the 1880s, he returned to London where he edited Gossip and Piccadilly before being hired as a reporter for The Globe in 1891. After several unhappy years, he left journalism to pursue his creative interests. Le Queux made a name for himself as a leading writer of popular fiction with such espionage thrillers as The Great War in England in 1897 (1894) and The Invasion of 1910 (1906). In addition to his writing, Le Queux was a notable pioneer of early aviation and radio communication, interests he maintained while publishing around 150 novels over his decades long career.