''The Mystery of the Open Window'' is a 1929

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

by Anthony Gilbert, the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the fourth novel in a series featuring her

amateur detective Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple of detective mystery crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "G ...

, the politician Scott Egerton. Unlike the rest of the series it was published by Gollancz rather than Collins.Reilly p.659 It takes the form of a

locked room mystery The "locked-room" or "impossible crime" mystery is a type of crime seen in crime and detective fiction. The crime in question, typically murder ("locked-room murder"), is committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible for the perp ...

, a popular branch of the genre during the

Golden Age of Detective Fiction The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. While the Golden Age proper is usually taken to refer to works from that period, this type of f ...

Synopsis

By coincidence, Egerton is at a disreputable

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

when the proprietor is visited by the wealthy Sir Henry Archer, owner of the famous Archer Library, carrying several valuable books with him. Obviously in a state of terror, he demands that his room be locked and his window barred. Nonetheless the following morning he is found in bed, stabbed to death.

References

Bibliography

* Magill, Frank Northen . ''Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction: Authors, Volume 2''. Salem Press, 1988. *Murphy, Bruce F. ''The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery''. Springer, 1999. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1929 British novels British mystery novels British thriller novels Novels by Anthony Gilbert Novels set in Paris British detective novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books {{1920s-mystery-novel-stub