The Affair at the Semiramis Hotel

By A.E.W. Mason

1917

First Published

3.37

Average Rating

Number of Pages

2H10M

Audio Length

Part of Series

Inspector Hanaud

Series · 6 books

By A.E.W. Mason

A young, wealthy vagabond English man, Calladine, whom Ricardo knew before, hastily comes to Ricardo's London home in the morning, while Hanaud happens to be visiting. Calladine, very agitated, still dressed formally as for an evening ball, tells his disturbing story- He had gone to a costume party that night in a hotel ballroom, met a beautiful young woman, Joan Carew, with whom he danced, dined, and talked. While dancing, Joan's eyes fixed upon a stout costumed lady, obviously wealthy. Calladine was puzzled, but didn't ask why the fascination with that woman. Joan and Calladine leave the party and Joan runs off at 1:30am. A few hours later, Joan appears at Calladine's apartment door, very distressed. He lets her in. She tells her story about being obsessed with the pearls the lady wore; about finding the lady's dropped key to her hotel suite; about sneaking into the room at night to steal the pearls but being surprised by other thieves already in the dark room, who grabbed her and tied her as she fell unconscious; about awakening in the early morning and finding herself untied, on the couch, with the wealthy lady motionless in bed, apparently dead; then fleeing, seeking Calladine's help. Ricardo and Hanaud accompany Calladine to his home. While Calladine showers, Hanaud finds hidden beans of mescal, a hallucinogenic plant. On the mantle, there is a porcelain figurine of a woman looking exactly as Calladine described Joan. Hanaud's astute mind wonders, was Calladine's story truth or a fantasy imagined in a vivid mescaline dream? He and Ricardo then endeavor to solve this mystery.

Avg Rating

3.37

Number of Ratings

132

5 STARS

15%

4 STARS

23%

3 STARS

46%

2 STARS

14%

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

A.E.W. Mason

Author · 15 books

Major Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 Dulwich, London - 22 November 1948 London) was a British author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel The Four Feathers. He studied at Dulwich College and graduated from Trinity College, Oxford in 1888. He was a contemporary of fellow Liberal Anthony Hope, who went on to write the adventure novel The Prisoner of Zenda. His first novel, A Romance of Wastdale, was published in 1895. He was the author of more than 20 books, including At The Villa Rose (1910), a mystery novel in which he introduced his French detective, Inspector Hanaud. His best-known book is The Four Feathers, which has been made into several films. Many consider it his masterpiece. Other books are The House of the Arrow (1924), No Other Tiger (1927), The Prisoner in the Opal (1929) and Fire Over England (1937).