The Mysterious Three

"The Mysterious Three" by William Le Queux is a novel likely written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around a mysterious visitor named Mr. Smithson, who calls on Sir Charles Thorold and subsequently triggers a chain of unsettling events involving the Thorold family, their butler, and the protagonist, Richard Ashton. This gripping tale explores elements of love, intrigue, and the shadows of dark secrets. The opening of the novel introduces the characters and sets a tone of mystery as Sir Charles and Lady Thorold discuss an enigmatic figure named Mr. Smithson. As the conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that his unexpected arrival has unsettled them, particularly when a portrait of a man resembling Smithson is revealed. Tension escalates when it becomes evident that something is amiss at Houghton Park, leading to the shocking discovery of the butler's body in the lake and the sudden disappearance of the Thorolds. Meanwhile, Richard Ashton finds himself drawn to Vera Thorold, the daughter, who is fiercely protective of her family's secrets and is later revealed to be in distress, setting up a dramatic intersection of romance and mystery. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

William Tufnell Le Queux was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat, a traveller, a flying buff who officiated at the first British air meeting at Doncaster in 1909, and a wireless pioneer who broadcast music from his own station long before radio was generally available; his claims regarding his own abilities and exploits, however, were usually exaggerated. His best-known works are the anti-French and anti-Russian invasion fantasy The Great War in England in 1897 (1894) and the anti-German invasion fantasy The Invasion of 1910 (1906), the latter becoming a bestseller.