The opening chapters need no account. A free account opens the whole text.
The Mystery of Black Jean
Julian Kilman · 1923 · Mystery & Detective, Horror & Gothic
A French-Canadian drifter, two bears, a schoolteacher with black eyes and a limekiln at Split Hill turn rural memory into a compact Weird Tales mystery.
Inside this edition
Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 21 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.
Julian Kilman's Publishing World
The Road to Split Hill
The Boy Narrator — Profile
The Split Hill Mystery Road
Morgan's CoveThe windmill work that calls for quicklime.
Split Hill Witnesses
The Hotel PumpBlack Jean wrestles the muzzled bear beneath the tree by the worn-out pump.
The Schoolroom RulerThe teacher's small figure reveals a cruelty the boy never forgets.
This edition
- Title
- The Mystery of Black Jean
- Author
- Julian Kilman (1878-1954)
- First published
- 1923
- Illustrated plates
- 45 original artworks · 21 open to everyone
- Chapters
- 1 · about 3,835 words
- Reading time
- 15 min
- Language
- EN
- Formats
- Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription
- Publisher
- LitLab — The Illustrated Classics
- On LitLab since
- September 2026
- Rights
- Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.
Neighbours in the library
Chosen by what they share with The Mystery of Black Jean — the same author, the same genre.