THE BEETLE (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Supernatural Horror ThrillerBy Richard Marsh
Length13h 14m
About this audiobook
Published in 1897, Richard Marsh's The Beetle is a sensational Gothic romance of invasion, mesmerism, and bodily metamorphosis, set amid the nervous modernity of fin-de-siècle London. Through a shifting sequence of narrators, Marsh combines detective fiction, imperial nightmare, occult melodrama, and urban thriller, producing a text that stands beside Dracula as a key expression of late-Victorian anxieties about empire, sexuality, race, and unstable identity. Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of Richard Bernard Heldmann, a prolific and commercially astute writer whose career ranged across journalism, popular fiction, mystery, humour, and the supernatural. His intimate knowledge of the periodical marketplace helped shape the novel's brisk pacing, cliff-hanging structure, and theatrical effects. Marsh's own experience of social precarity and reinvention may also have sharpened his fascination with disguise, vulnerability, and the collapse of respectable surfaces. The Beetle is recommended to readers interested in Victorian Gothic, early horror, and the cultural imagination of empire. Its lurid energy and troubling symbolism make it both an absorbing popular entertainment and a rewarding object of critical study. Those who know Dracula will find here a stranger, more disquieting companion-piece, one whose ambiguities continue to provoke debate.
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★★★★ 3.8 (6.6K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreHorror, Mystery and Thriller
Length13 hrs 14 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJul 18, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1DRACULA (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5BOOK I
Mostrar todos os capítulosVer menos
6CHAPTER I. OUTSIDE
7CHAPTER II. INSIDE
8CHAPTER III. THE MAN IN THE BED
9CHAPTER IV. A LONELY VIGIL
10CHAPTER V. AN INSTRUCTION TO COMMIT BURGLARY
11CHAPTER VI. A SINGULAR FELONY
12CHAPTER VII. THE GREAT PAUL LESSINGHAM
13CHAPTER VIII. THE MAN IN THE STREET
14CHAPTER IX. THE CONTENTS OF THE PACKET
15BOOK II
16CHAPTER X. REJECTED
17CHAPTER XI. A MIDNIGHT EPISODE
18CHAPTER XII. A MORNING VISITOR
19CHAPTER XIII. THE PICTURE
20CHAPTER XIV. THE DUCHESS’ BALL
21CHAPTER XV. MR LESSINGHAM SPEAKS
22CHAPTER XVI. ATHERTON’S MAGIC VAPOUR
23CHAPTER XVII. MAGIC?—OR MIRACLE?
24CHAPTER XVIII. THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE BEETLE
25CHAPTER XIX. THE LADY RAGES
26CHAPTER XX. A HEAVY FATHER
27CHAPTER XXI. THE TERROR IN THE NIGHT
28CHAPTER XXII. THE HAUNTED MAN
29BOOK III
30CHAPTER XXIII. THE WAY HE TOLD HER
31CHAPTER XXIV. A WOMAN’S VIEW
32CHAPTER XXV. THE MAN IN THE STREET
33CHAPTER XXVI. A FATHER’S NO
34CHAPTER XXVII. THE TERROR BY NIGHT
35CHAPTER XXVIII. THE STRANGE STORY OF THE MAN IN THE STREET
36CHAPTER XXIX. THE HOUSE ON THE ROAD FROM THE WORKHOUSE
37CHAPTER XXX. THE SINGULAR BEHAVIOUR OF MR HOLT
38CHAPTER XXXI. THE TERROR BY DAY
39BOOK IV
40CHAPTER XXXII. A NEW CLIENT
41CHAPTER XXXIII. WHAT CAME OF LOOKING THROUGH A LATTICE
42CHAPTER XXXIV. AFTER TWENTY YEARS
43CHAPTER XXXV. A BRINGER OF TIDINGS
44CHAPTER XXXVI. WHAT THE TIDINGS WERE
45CHAPTER XXXVII. WHAT WAS HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOOR
46CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE REST OF THE FIND
47CHAPTER XXXIX. MISS LOUISA COLEMAN
48CHAPTER XL. WHAT MISS COLEMAN SAW THROUGH THE WINDOW
49CHAPTER XLI. THE CONSTABLE,—HIS CLUE,—AND THE CAB
50CHAPTER XLII. THE QUARRY DOUBLES
Tom Ossington's Ghost (Annotated)Richard Marsh6h 35m$2 · $0.00
CRIME & MYSTERY COLLECTION: 12 Thrillers & Action-Adventure Novels (Illustrated) (Annotated)Richard Marsh102h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Datchet Diamonds (Annotated)Richard Marsh6h 48m3.6 (84)$2 · $0.00
Crime and Criminal (Annotated)Richard Marsh12h 42m$2 · $0.00
The Great Temptation (Annotated)Richard Marsh11h 55m3.4 (23)$2 · $0.00
Under One FlagRichard Marsh7h 15m$2 · $0.00
The Joss: A ReversionRichard Marsh9h 50m3.5 (51)$2 · $0.00
Tom Ossington's GhostRichard Marsh6h 11m3.5 (71)$2 · $0.00
The Magnetic GirlRichard Marsh6h 37m3.3 (31)$2 · $0.00
Confessions of a Young Lady: Her Doings and MisdoingsRichard Marsh7h 44m$2 · $0.00
Between the Dark and the DaylightRichard Marsh6h 42m3.2 (33)$2 · $0.00
Der KäferRichard Marsh14h 12m4.1 (93)$2 · $0.00
A Second ComingRichard Marsh6h 29m3.1 (16)$2 · $0.00
The Chase of the RubyRichard Marsh3h 36m3.5 (38)$1 · $0.00
The Collected Works of Richard Marsh (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Richard Marsh191h 14m$2 · $0.00
A Hero of Romance (Annotated)Richard Marsh9h 39m$2 · $0.00
RICHARD MARSH Ultimate Collection: Horror Classics, Murder Mysteries & Supernatural Thrillers (Illustrated) (Annotated)Richard Marsh191h 14m4.6 (11)$1.99 · $0.00
Richard Marsh Boxed Set: Murder Mysteries, Horror Classics & Supernatural ThrillersRichard Marsh190h 51m4.4 (10)$1.99 · $0.00
The Chase of the Ruby (Annotated)Richard Marsh5h 33m3.5 (22)$1.99 · $0.00
Lost GodsBrom14h 50m4.4 (18.5K)$33 · $0.00
The AccusedJana DeLeon6h 32m4.4 (3.9K)$12 · $0.00
Corpus HermeticumHermes Trismegistus3h 43m4.4 (8.6K)$7 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
CARMILLA (Gothic Classic) (Annotated)Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu4h 2m4.4 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The ExorcistWilliam Peter Blatty12h 52m4.3 (285.9K)$8 · $0.00
Lost ValleyWalt Browning7h 47m4.3 (5.4K)$20 · $0.00
Twice TemptedJeaniene Frost8h 17m4.3 (54.8K)$26 · $0.00
Scared to BreatheKerena Swan10h 56m4.4 (1.7K)$13.60 · $0.00
1984George Orwell12h 18m4.3 (6M)$25 · $0.00
The Best Tales of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe5h 19m4.4 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens3h 7m4.3 (1.1M)$5 · $0.00
Hollywood DeadRichard Kadrey9h 22m4.3 (5.5K)$29 · $0.00
Frankenstein (The Uncensored 1818 Edition) (Annotated)Mary Shelley9h 25m4.3 (1.7M)$3 · $0.00
The Collected Ghost StoriesM. R. James18h 30m4.3 (12.1K)$2 · $0.00
Jane Eyre (Annotated)Charlotte Brontë22h 44m4.2 (2.4M)$2 · $0.00
The Chance of a Lifetime (Musaicum Romance Classics)Grace Livingston Hill8h 27m4.3 (862)$1 · $0.00
Heat 2Michael Mann, Meg Gardiner18h 39m4.3 (20.9K)$40 · $0.00
The Silence of Bonaventure ArrowRita Leganski11h 23m4.3 (7.5K)$29 · $0.00
Zanoni (Annotated)Edward Bulwer-Lytton17h 9m4.4 (301)$2 · $0.00
Three ComradesErich Maria Remarque15h 50m4.5 (47.3K)$2 · $0.00
AngelAnita Waller10h 30m4.6 (672)$30 · $0.00
The BorderDon Winslow29h 8m4.5 (35.7K)$53 · $0.00
FlashpointCatherine Coulter11h 38m4.5 (11.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Man in the Brown Suit & They Came to BaghdadAgatha Christie15h 43m4.6 (495)$33 · $0.00
Fang Si-Chi's First Love ParadiseYi-Han Lin8h 25m4.5 (4K)$26 · $0.00
The Rose CodeKate Quinn16h 2m4.4 (493.7K)$33 · $0.00
No Woman Left BehindJulie Moffett8h 49m4.5 (3K)$25 · $0.00
CovertJanie Crouch6h 15m4.5 (2K)$12 · $0.00
Cold Case InvestigationNicole Helm5h 30m4.6 (321)$5 · $0.00
The ReunionJana DeLeon6h 31m4.5 (1.6K)$12 · $0.00
Courage Under FireSharon Dunn5h 50m4.5 (730)$24 · $0.00
Decoding the TruthJulie Miller7h 31m4.6 (350)$12 · $0.00
Murder Gone ColdB.J. Daniels5h 50m4.5 (562)$12 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky22h 22m4.4 (1.3M)$0.60 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoyevsky23h 14m4.4 (1.3M)$1 · $0.00
Exit FeeBrad Taylor3h 16m4.5 (1.9K)$18 · $0.00
Sworn to ProtectShirlee McCoy5h 7m4.5 (1K)$12 · $0.00
The Last RemainsElly Griffiths9h 41m4.4 (37.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Goddess of WarsawLisa Barr13h 4m4.4 (36.4K)$33 · $0.00
You may also like
THE GREAT GOD PAN (Horror Classic) (Annotated)Arthur Machen3h 10m3.8 (23.2K)$2 · $0.00
The House of SoulsArthur Machen8h 53m4.0 (1.2K)$2.30
WhirlwindCharles Grant5h 42m3.6 (3.2K)$17
The Beetle (Horror Classic)Richard Marsh13h 9m3.6 (6.2K)$2 · $0.00
World's Greatest Horror StoriesMark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, M. R. James, F. Harvey, E. M. Delafield, H.P. Lovecraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Franz Kafka, Charles Dickens, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Arthur Conan Doyle, Margaret Oliphant, Walter de la Mare, Achmed Abdullah, Eleanor Scott, Harriet Prescott Spofford, E. F. Benson, Fitz-James O'Brien, E. T. A. Hoffmann48h 43m4.2 (434)$35 · $0.00
Stitches in TimeBarbara Michaels13h 14m4.1 (4.1K)$33 · $0.00
The ParasiteArthur Conan Doyle29m3.7 (1.9K)$1 · $0.00
Midnight SomewhereJohnny Compton9h 44m3.9 (1.9K)$23
The Horror at Red HookH. P. Lovecraft56m3.5 (14K)$2.40
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Annotated)Robert Louis Stevenson4h 19m4.0 (767.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeRobert Louis Stevenson2h 42m4.0 (714.8K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Damned ThingAmbrose Bierce0m3.8 (2.3K)$1 · $0.00
The Thing on the DoorstepH. P. Lovecraft1h 15m4.1 (20.8K)$2.30
CarmillaJoseph Sheridan Le Fanu3h4.0 (276.1K)$10
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeRobert Louis Stevenson2h 38m4.0 (762.7K)$15
The Three Impostors; or, The Transmutations (Annotated)Arthur Machen5h 58m3.9 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Collected Works of Richard Marsh (Illustrated Edition) (Annotated)Richard Marsh191h 14m$2 · $0.00
The Last LaughD. H. Lawrence44m3.5 (27)$2.30 · $0.00
Secret SantaAndrew Shaffer5h 25m3.4 (6K)$17
Haunted HolidaysLinda Joy Singleton44m$4