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The Crimson Circle · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Crimson Circle by Edgar Wallace.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    The book is dedicated to Bryan.

  2. Chapter 2

    The Crimson Circle

    The chapter introduces the Crimson Circle, a secret criminal organization that terrorizes wealthy individuals through threats and extortion. The narrative follows the initial victims and the authorities' attempts to uncover the group's identity and motives.

  3. Chapter 3

    Prologue: The Nail

    The prologue recounts how a botched execution of a criminal named Lightman in Toulouse, caused by a nail driven into the guillotine by M. Pallion after a birthday celebration, set the stage for the Crimson Circle mystery and the deaths that followed eleven years later.

  4. Chapter 4

    The Initiation

    A man, on the verge of bankruptcy and contemplating suicide, meets a mysterious driver in a dark car. The driver, wearing a black silk cowl, reveals intimate knowledge of the man's desperate situation and offers him a way out by becoming an agent for the Crimson Circle. The man agrees, receives a bulky envelope, and exits the car. After he leaves, Felix Marl, who had been watching through binoculars, emerges from a doorway and follows, but loses sight of his quarry.

  5. Chapter 5

    The Girl Who Was Indifferent

    Jack Beardmore, burdened by worry, walks to the valley between his estate and Harvey Froyant's. He meets Thalia Drummond, who coolly rebuffs his advances, explaining that his infatuation is merely a product of isolation. Harvey Froyant interrupts, scolding Thalia for wasting time, but she calmly defends herself. After Froyant and Jack leave, they discover a fresh crimson circle painted on an elm tree, signaling a new threat.

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  1. Chapter 6Mr. Felix Marl
  2. Chapter 7The Girl Who Ran
  3. Chapter 8VI: “Thalia Drummond Is a Crook”
  4. Chapter 9The Stolen Idol
  5. Chapter 10The Charge
  6. Chapter 11IX: Thalia in the Police Court
  7. Chapter 12X: The Summons of the Crimson Circle
  8. Chapter 13The Confession
  9. Chapter 14XII: The Pointed Boots
  10. Chapter 15Mr. Marl Squeezes a Little More
  11. Chapter 16XIV: Thalia Is Asked Out
  12. Chapter 17Thalia Joins the Gang
  13. Chapter 18Mr. Marl Goes Out
  14. Chapter 19XVII: The Blower of Bubbles
  15. Chapter 20XVIII: “Flush” Barnet’s Story
  16. Chapter 21Thalia Accepts an Offer
  17. Chapter 22The Key of River House
  18. Chapter 23River House
  19. Chapter 24The Messenger of the Circle
  20. Chapter 25XXIII: The Woman in the Cupboard
  21. Chapter 26£10,000 Reward
  22. Chapter 27The Tenant of River House
  23. Chapter 28The Bottle of Chloroform
  24. Chapter 29Mr. Parr's Mother
  25. Chapter 30A Shot in the Night
  26. Chapter 31XXIX: “The Red Circle”
  27. Chapter 32XXX: The Silencing of Froyant
  28. Chapter 33XXXI: Thalia Answers a Few Questions
  29. Chapter 34A Trip to the Country
  30. Chapter 35The Posters
  31. Chapter 36Blackmailing a Government
  32. Chapter 37Thalia Lunches with a Cabinet Minister
  33. Chapter 38The Circle Meets
  34. Chapter 39XXXVII: “I Will See You—If You Are Alive”
  35. Chapter 40The Arrest of Thalia
  36. Chapter 41A Prison Diet
  37. Chapter 42The Escape
  38. Chapter 43Who Is the Crimson Circle?
  39. Chapter 44XLII: Mother
  40. Chapter 45The Story Continued