The Champdoce Mystery

"The Champdoce Mystery" by Emile Gaboriau is a continuation of "Caught in the Net," following Louis Norbert de Champdoce as he grapples with his confining upbringing under his miserly father, the Duke de Champdoce, and his family's lofty ambitions. Norbert's sheltered life, dictated by the Duke's eccentric belief that peasant living will restore their family's honor, is upended when he journeys to Poitiers and experiences love and society firsthand. The narrative tension stems from Norbert's budding romance with Diana de Laurebourg and their struggle against the rigid social boundaries and the Duke's overbearing control, which threatens to define Norbert's future and happiness, creating a whirlwind of love, class conflict, and mystery.