THE WIRE DEVILS (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Classic Pulp Crime Thriller of Wires, Signals, Disguise, and Modern ConnectivityBy Frank L. Packard
Length9h 7m
About this audiobook
The Wire Devils is a taut early-twentieth-century thriller in which crime, disguise, and modern communications become the instruments of suspense. Packard turns the "wire" technologies of his age—telegraphy, telephony, railway signaling, and the invisible networks of information—into a charged literary environment, where messages travel faster than certainty and criminal ingenuity exploits the gaps. Written in the brisk, episodic idiom of popular magazine fiction, the novel belongs to the lineage of industrial-age mystery and adventure. Frank L. Packard (1877–1942), a Canadian novelist and former civil engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway, brought to his fiction an unusually practical knowledge of systems, routes, timetables, and clandestine movement. Best remembered for the Jimmie Dale stories, he repeatedly explored masks, secret identities, and the moral ambiguities of pursuit—concerns naturally suited to this book's technological underworld. Readers who admire classic crime fiction will find The Wire Devils rewarding for its momentum, mechanical imagination, and period atmosphere. It is especially recommended to those interested in how early popular fiction registered the anxieties of modern connectivity, transforming wires, signals, and speed into engines of danger and revelation.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (236)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing, StoryGraph
GenreMystery and Thriller
Length9 hrs 7 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 2, 2017
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1THE WIRE DEVILS (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5I. The Secret Code
Show all chaptersShow less
6II. The Ten-dollar Counterfeit Note
7III. The Paymaster’s Safe
8IV. At Bald Creek Station
9V. In Which a Cash Box Disappears
10VI. Some of the Little Spiders
11VII. Wanted—The Hawk—Dead or Alive
12VIII. Threads in the Web
13IX. The Looting of the Fast Mail
14X. The Third Party
15XI. The Lead Capsule
16XII. Blindman’s-Buff
17XIII. The Man with the Scar
18XIV. The Clue
19XV. The Ladybird
20XVI. An Even Break
21XVII. A Hole in the Wall
22XVIII. The Hawk Packs His Valise
23XIX. Birds of a Feather
24XX. “Confidential” Correspondence
25Analysis
26Reflection
27Memorable Quotes
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