The Shrieking Pit

Arthur John ReesProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 555K words
Chapters: 56

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Shrieking Pit by Arthur J. ReesAuthor: Rees, Arthur J. (Arthur John), 1872-1942,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 2, 2007

Editor's review

The Shrieking Pit is a detective novel by the British author Arthur J. Rees, made available to today's readers through Project Gutenberg's free digitization. Rees wrote in the first half of the twentieth century, and the work has the typical pleasures of classical mystery: a closed or semi-closed setting, a death full of suspicion, an investigation that advances layer by layer, and character relationships gradually brought to light. The title itself carries a strong sense of suspense; the story is good at using atmosphere and detail to create unease, then reconnecting the clues through the detective's reasoning. For readers familiar with Golden Age detective fiction, it offers that solid jigsaw-puzzle pleasure of reading—information is deliberately held back, and the reader can guess alongside the investigator. As a public-domain eBook, it works well as a supplementary read in the genre and for readers who want to see what early English detective fiction looked like. One caveat: such old works bear the marks of their era in characterization and narrative pacing, and their way of moving the plot differs from contemporary thrillers; readers should enter with the patience of genre history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy classical mystery and Golden Age detective fiction
Genre-fiction fans who want to catch up on public-domain English detective works
Readers who prefer an atmosphere of suspense and are willing to follow investigative clues
Advanced learners using English originals for extensive reading in genre fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting fast-paced modern thrillers and strong action scenes
Readers short on patience for old-fashioned narrative pacing and setup
Readers who only read Chinese translations and do not yet read English originals

Reading tips

Before reading, avoid spoiler-filled introductions; keeping curiosity about the solution intact gives the best experience.
Jot down the characters and key points of doubt as you go, so you can sort out the relationships between clues midway.
Read in several sessions, and after each chapter ask yourself: what did the new information change?
After finishing, look back at the foreshadowing in the opening to appreciate how classical mystery is constructed.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of work is this book?

It is an English detective novel with the typical features of classical mystery: an investigation unfolds around a suspicious event, and the truth is gradually approached through accumulating clues and questioning characters. The pleasure of reading comes mainly from suspense and the process of reasoning.

I haven't read other works by the author. Can I start with this one?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and does not depend on prior background. As long as you have a basic expectation of how classical detective fiction is told, you can enter the story smoothly.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for learning English?

It is an English novel from the first half of the twentieth century, with sentence patterns and vocabulary characteristic of its time. It is not especially difficult overall but requires a certain vocabulary. Read a chapter first to judge the difficulty, then decide whether to read intensively or extensively.

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About the author

Arthur John Rees Author · Australian · 1872–1942

Arthur J. Rees (born Arthur John Rees, 1872–1942) was an Australian-born journalist and mystery novelist, born in St Kilda, Melbourne. Public information about him is limited, and many details of his life remain obscure. He worked in journalism in Melbourne and New Zealand in his early years before moving to London and turning to fiction writing. Rees is known for his detective Corwin Gray series and mystery novels such as The Moon Rock (1922). Three of his works are held in this collection, including The Hand in the Dark, The Shrieking Pit, and The Moon Rock. His fiction features suspenseful plots and a gloomy atmosphere, emphasizing the construction of puzzles and detective solution, and has been translated into French and German, giving him a certain influence among mystery readers in Britain, America, and continental Europe.