The Clue of the Twisted Candle
埃德加·华莱士
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Literature Foreign Literature Crime MysteryFramed and JailedDetective FictionMystery NovelsBritish LiteratureSummary
The Clue of the Twisted Candle is a crime and detective novel written by the British author Edgar Wallace in 1918 and one of his most representative early works in the locked-room mystery genre. The story's protagonist, John Lexman, is a detective novelist of ingenious plots who stumbles in his own life: framed for the murder of a moneylender, he is sent to prison, while behind the scenes his wealthy and sinister Greek friend Remington Kara appears to be pulling the strings. Lexman's friend T. X. Meredith, Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, is convinced that Lexman has been deliberately incriminated and moves heaven and earth to clear his name; yet before the pardon is signed, Lexman makes a mysterious escape from prison and vanishes without a trace together with his wife, Grace. Two years later, Kara is murdered in his London mansion. His bedroom has been converted into something like a vault: walls and floor of reinforced concrete, a door that can be opened only by the owner from within, and windows beyond reach, with police officers patrolling outside every night. Yet the killer manages to murder him in this locked room and leave. Stranger still, the dog in the basement has been killed, a candle is left in the bedroom, and Kara's secretary and manservant have disappeared. T. X. must find the truth amid layer upon layer of mystery, and this locked-room murder case ultimately hinges on one question: why do people fear candles? Through a narrative that advances along multiple threads and leaps back and forth in time, Wallace interweaves revenge, old romance, financial blackmail, and a locked-room trick, and also creates a group of vivid and quick-witted female characters, including the secretary and the landlady. In 1960, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title, with Bernard Lee playing T. X. Meredith.Editor's review
埃德加·华莱士一生写下百余部小说，销量数以千万计，被称为“英国惊悚小说之王”，而《扭曲蜡烛的秘密》正是他密室推理的代表作。它的谜面极其干净漂亮：一间被改成保险库的卧室，四面是钢筋混凝土，唯一的门只能由主人从内打开，窗外每晚有警察巡街，而屋主偏偏死在里面。这种“不可能犯罪”的设定，放到今天读来依然成立。 更耐读的是华莱士讲故事的方式。他不满足于让侦探像做题一样解开机关，还让一条复仇线在暗处慢慢收紧：入狱、越狱、消失、归来，人物动机层层反转。书中的 T. X. 梅雷迪思诙谐散漫、满嘴俏皮话，是很有魅力的英式绅士侦探；几位女性角色也都聪明、有主见，在百年前的通俗小说里相当难得。 对于喜欢黄金时代侦探小说的读者，这本公版书是一段几乎没有阅读门槛的消遣：篇幅不长，节奏明快，还能看到后世无数密室故事的“原型”。若你读过《四义人》《十三号房》，更不该错过这一本。Who it's for
A good fit for
- 喜欢密室、不可能犯罪题材的推理读者
- 想系统了解英国黄金时代侦探小说的书迷
- 读过华莱士其他作品、希望补全早期代表作的人
- 希望以英文原版或双语对照方式学习英语的读者
Not a good fit for
- 偏好硬派社会派推理、重视现实逻辑与法医细节的读者
- 不能接受近百年前小说叙事节奏与时代观念差异的读者
- 期待严密本格解谜、追求唯一解答的读者
Reading tips
- 先留意那间“保险库卧室”的结构描述，谜底的关键就藏在房间本身。
- 把 T. X. 与莱克斯曼两条线分开梳理，能更清楚看到叙事时间跳跃的用意。
- 读到中段不妨自己列出嫌疑人动机表，再对照结局检验推理。
- 若读英文原版，可配合公版电子书（如 Project Gutenberg）与音频对照阅读。
FAQ
这本书是埃德加·华莱士的哪一年作品？
原作于1918年在英国出版，是华莱士较早的长篇犯罪小说之一，也常被列为他的密室推理代表作。中文有译言古登堡计划推出的译本，题为《扭曲蜡烛的秘密》。“扭曲的蜡烛”这个书名是什么意思？
蜡烛在书中既是死者卡拉最恐惧的东西，也是理解密室案件的关键物件。书名指向的正是这一线索，而并非单纯的装饰性比喻。主角 T. X. 梅雷迪思是谁？
他是伦敦警察厅助理总监，也是约翰·莱克斯曼的好友，在本案中负责追查真相。这个人物也在华莱士的其他作品中登场，是颇受欢迎的系列侦探角色。这本书有影视改编吗？
有。1960年英国默顿帕克影业将它拍成同名电影《Clue of the Twisted Candle》，由艾伦·戴维斯执导，伯纳德·李饰演 T. X. 梅雷迪思。这本书适合推理入门读者吗？
比较适合。它篇幅不长、悬念集中、密室设定直观，且已进入公共版权领域，容易找到免费电子版；只是叙事跳跃与时代观念需读者有所包容。This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
埃德加·华莱士 AuthorEdgar Wallace was a British writer active in the early twentieth century, best known for his mystery and detective fiction. Because public information is limited, his early life and education are difficult to describe in detail, yet his achievements in popular literature can still be traced. Wallace's works often revolve around crime, mystery, and investigation, with tightly paced plots and layer upon layer of suspense; he was skilled at closing a story with an unexpected twist, giving his writing the strong appeal of popular fiction. This narrative style made his books easy to read and earned him a place among readers of detective fiction. His representative work, Room 13, reflects these qualities to some extent, drawing readers in with a puzzle set in a confined space and showing his command of tension and narrative rhythm. The library currently holds one work by him, Room 13, classified as mystery and detective fiction, through which readers may gain a sense of his writing.