The opening chapters need no account. A free account opens the whole text.
The Beetle: A Mystery
Richard Marsh · 1897
In late-Victorian London, a penniless journalist stumbles into a mystery of mesmerism, vanished identities, and a strange visitor from Egypt. As a scientist and an investigator pursue the truth, the story moves from drawing rooms and laboratories to the desert edge of the Nile.
Inside this edition
Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 62 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.
The Beetle: Principal Figures and Their Circle
The Supporting Cast in London and Cairo
The Principal Cast at the Hammersmith Villa
OutsideHolt pauses before a London house when he notices its open bow window.
The Man in the BedA light reveals a strange occupant in a bed.
The Night at Lessingham’s House
London and Egypt
Egypt: Cairo and Wady Halfa
This edition
- Title
- The Beetle: A Mystery
- Author
- Richard Marsh
- First published
- 1897
- Illustrated plates
- 167 original artworks · 62 open to everyone
- Chapters
- 49 · about 110,147 words
- Reading time
- 7 h 21 min
- Language
- EN
- Formats
- Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription
- Publisher
- LitLab — The Illustrated Classics
- On LitLab since
- October 2026
- Rights
- Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.
Neighbours in the library
Chosen by what they share with The Beetle: A Mystery — the same years.