The Lonely House

The Lonely House

American first edition
Author	Marie Belloc Lowndes
Language	English
Series	Hercules Popeau
Genre	Mystery detective
Publisher	Hutchinson Doran (US)
Publication date	1920
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print

The Lonely House is a 1920 mystery detective novel by the British author Marie Belloc Lowndes. ^[1] It features the French police detective Hercules Popeau, a near exact contemporary creation as Agatha Christie's Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot. It initiated a dispute between the two authors with Lowndes claiming that Christie had effectively stolen her character and complained to the Society of Authors. ^[2] In 1924 Lowndes adapted it for the stage, and it premiered in Eastbourne. ^[3] Hercules Popeau appeared in several short stories and another novel One of Those Ways , but never enjoyed the same levels of popularity as Poirot.

Synopsis

Lily Fairfied, an heiress, goes to stay with her aunt at a house in Monte Carlo. She finds the family impoverished and when a body is discovered nearby, she turns to Hercules Popeau for assistance.

References

1. Vinson p.450
2. Warkentin p.xxiii
3. Nicoll p.506

Bibliography

• Edwards, Martin. The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators. HarperCollins UK, 2022.
• Nicoll, Allardyce. English Drama, 1900-1930: The Beginnings of the Modern Period, Volume 2. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.
• Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015.
• Warkentin, Elyssa (ed.) The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015.
• Vinson, James. Twentieth-Century Romance and Gothic Writers. Macmillan, 1982.