fictionfan's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliantly baffling...
Mademoiselle Mathilde Stangerson is attacked in her yellow bedroom by a murderer wielding a mutton-bone. When her father and the other people in the house break down the door, Mlle S is on the floor and her murderer is nowhere to be found. There are three exceedingly strange things about this – one: how did the murderer get out of a room in which the only door and window were securely locked; and two: why does everyone keep calling him a murderer when Mlle S is still alive...; and three: a mutton-bone???
OK, to my great disappointment I discovered a mutton-bone is actually the name given to a club-like weapon much used by villains of the day, so that solves number three. Number 2 – the murderer with the living victim – becomes progressively more hysterical as the book goes on and Mlle S stubbornly refuses to die. I couldn’t help wondering what she felt every time a newspaper or one of the characters talked about her murder.
The real meat of the thing, though, is not on the mutton-bone, but in the question of how the murderer got out of the room. Enter our hero, Joseph Rouletabille, (a nickname meaning “Roll Your Marble”, given to him, presumably, on account of his large round red head), a young journalist who at the age of eighteen has already acquired a reputation as an inspired amateur detective. He is introduced to us by our narrator, Jean Sainclair, a young lawyer and friend who acts as Rouletabille’s sidekick.
Off they go to the Château du Glandier, where they will meet Mathilde and her father, her fiance, her loyal and devoted servant, and various assorted estate workers and villagers, all with or without alibis and motives, and all behaving suspiciously in one way or another. Even Frédéric Larsan, famed investigator of the Sûreté, will find himself hard put to it to come up with a solution to this baffling mystery, and when he does, it will be entirely different from Rouletabille’s solution. Who will prove to be right? And how will he (the one who’s right) prove he’s right? And will they catch the murderer before the murder victim is finally murdered???
This is a fabulous little romp that is more and more fun as it goes along. First published in French in 1907, I can’t find anything to tell me who the translator was. At first, I felt the language was quite stilted and thought it could do with a modern update. But as the book’s general mildly melodramatic tone began to come through, I realised the style of the translation is actually perfect for it. It makes it feel terribly French and very old-fashioned – both things which add considerably to its charm.
The plotting is great, enhanced by a couple of detailed floor plans allowing the reader to try to get to the solution before Rouletabille. (I failed miserably!) The initial mystery of the locked room is only one of the “impossible crime” features – there is another halfway through which is not only baffling but quite spooky, and there are other sections where Leroux creates a beautifully tense atmosphere. But overall the book leans more towards entertainment with lots of humour, especially in the rivalry between Rouletabille and Larsan. I love that the title of the first chapter is In Which We Begin Not to Understand – sets the light-hearted tone superbly before the book even begins. The villagers are about as welcoming as the ones in The Wicker Man, complete with a surly publican and a witchy old crone with an exceptionally scary cat called Bête du Bon Dieu, so some lovely almost Gothic touches sprinkled into the story.
Rouletabille’s ability to see through the fog of confusion to the truth that eludes all others is well-nigh miraculous, enhanced by Sainclair’s supreme admiration for his young friend. Rouletabille is the master of the enigmatic utterance, throwing suspects into terror while keeping Sainclair (and me) totally befuddled. But when all is revealed, we see that we have indeed had all the clues all along – well, all the important ones anyway – and it’s only our inferior brain-power that has left us trailing in Rouletabille’s brilliant wake...
Hercule Poirot wasn’t baffled, of course, when he read this book. He talks about it in The Clocks, saying...
“And here is The Mystery of the Yellow Room. That – that really is a classic! I approve of it from start to finish. Such a logical approach!... All through there is truth, concealed with a careful and cunning use of words... Definitely a masterpiece...”
… and Poirot (and Ms Christie) knew a thing or two about crime fiction. Poirot is not Rouletabille’s only admirer among the fictional detective classes – John Dickson Carr’s Gideon Fell refers to the book as “the best detective tale ever written”. I must say the physical book from the Collins Crime Club series is gorgeous too, with a great cover, including quotes from Poirot and Fell where normally there would be puffs from fellow writers. Made me laugh with delight before I even opened it.
I’m so glad to have had the chance to read this one, since I’ve seen it referred to often in my recent travels through vintage crime. And I’m even more glad to be able to say that I feel it fully deserves its reputation, both for the skill in the plotting and for the entertainment value in the storytelling. An essential read for vintage crime fans!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Collins Crime Club.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Mademoiselle Mathilde Stangerson is attacked in her yellow bedroom by a murderer wielding a mutton-bone. When her father and the other people in the house break down the door, Mlle S is on the floor and her murderer is nowhere to be found. There are three exceedingly strange things about this – one: how did the murderer get out of a room in which the only door and window were securely locked; and two: why does everyone keep calling him a murderer when Mlle S is still alive...; and three: a mutton-bone???
OK, to my great disappointment I discovered a mutton-bone is actually the name given to a club-like weapon much used by villains of the day, so that solves number three. Number 2 – the murderer with the living victim – becomes progressively more hysterical as the book goes on and Mlle S stubbornly refuses to die. I couldn’t help wondering what she felt every time a newspaper or one of the characters talked about her murder.
The real meat of the thing, though, is not on the mutton-bone, but in the question of how the murderer got out of the room. Enter our hero, Joseph Rouletabille, (a nickname meaning “Roll Your Marble”, given to him, presumably, on account of his large round red head), a young journalist who at the age of eighteen has already acquired a reputation as an inspired amateur detective. He is introduced to us by our narrator, Jean Sainclair, a young lawyer and friend who acts as Rouletabille’s sidekick.
Off they go to the Château du Glandier, where they will meet Mathilde and her father, her fiance, her loyal and devoted servant, and various assorted estate workers and villagers, all with or without alibis and motives, and all behaving suspiciously in one way or another. Even Frédéric Larsan, famed investigator of the Sûreté, will find himself hard put to it to come up with a solution to this baffling mystery, and when he does, it will be entirely different from Rouletabille’s solution. Who will prove to be right? And how will he (the one who’s right) prove he’s right? And will they catch the murderer before the murder victim is finally murdered???
This is a fabulous little romp that is more and more fun as it goes along. First published in French in 1907, I can’t find anything to tell me who the translator was. At first, I felt the language was quite stilted and thought it could do with a modern update. But as the book’s general mildly melodramatic tone began to come through, I realised the style of the translation is actually perfect for it. It makes it feel terribly French and very old-fashioned – both things which add considerably to its charm.
The plotting is great, enhanced by a couple of detailed floor plans allowing the reader to try to get to the solution before Rouletabille. (I failed miserably!) The initial mystery of the locked room is only one of the “impossible crime” features – there is another halfway through which is not only baffling but quite spooky, and there are other sections where Leroux creates a beautifully tense atmosphere. But overall the book leans more towards entertainment with lots of humour, especially in the rivalry between Rouletabille and Larsan. I love that the title of the first chapter is In Which We Begin Not to Understand – sets the light-hearted tone superbly before the book even begins. The villagers are about as welcoming as the ones in The Wicker Man, complete with a surly publican and a witchy old crone with an exceptionally scary cat called Bête du Bon Dieu, so some lovely almost Gothic touches sprinkled into the story.
Rouletabille’s ability to see through the fog of confusion to the truth that eludes all others is well-nigh miraculous, enhanced by Sainclair’s supreme admiration for his young friend. Rouletabille is the master of the enigmatic utterance, throwing suspects into terror while keeping Sainclair (and me) totally befuddled. But when all is revealed, we see that we have indeed had all the clues all along – well, all the important ones anyway – and it’s only our inferior brain-power that has left us trailing in Rouletabille’s brilliant wake...
Hercule Poirot wasn’t baffled, of course, when he read this book. He talks about it in The Clocks, saying...
“And here is The Mystery of the Yellow Room. That – that really is a classic! I approve of it from start to finish. Such a logical approach!... All through there is truth, concealed with a careful and cunning use of words... Definitely a masterpiece...”
… and Poirot (and Ms Christie) knew a thing or two about crime fiction. Poirot is not Rouletabille’s only admirer among the fictional detective classes – John Dickson Carr’s Gideon Fell refers to the book as “the best detective tale ever written”. I must say the physical book from the Collins Crime Club series is gorgeous too, with a great cover, including quotes from Poirot and Fell where normally there would be puffs from fellow writers. Made me laugh with delight before I even opened it.
I’m so glad to have had the chance to read this one, since I’ve seen it referred to often in my recent travels through vintage crime. And I’m even more glad to be able to say that I feel it fully deserves its reputation, both for the skill in the plotting and for the entertainment value in the storytelling. An essential read for vintage crime fans!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Collins Crime Club.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
daniy's review against another edition
3.0
Las 3 estrellas son por la escritura.
La historia es demasiado fantastica como para que tenga mucho sentido, los personajes algunos aburridos otros medio tontos, como siempre mucha falta de comunicacion para poder crear un misterio.
Siento que me paso lo mismo con el fantasma de la opera.
La historia es demasiado fantastica como para que tenga mucho sentido, los personajes algunos aburridos otros medio tontos, como siempre mucha falta de comunicacion para poder crear un misterio.
Siento que me paso lo mismo con el fantasma de la opera.
acatarina's review against another edition
3.0
I was interested in reading a "murder mistery" book and my mum told me to start with this one because it's one of the first of the genre, and so a classic.
If you ignore the misogyny and kind of not so easy to understand language it's a very intriguing story, with interesting characters and a guilty (almost) murderer who is just impossible to find out by yourself (at least what motivates him).
If you ignore the misogyny and kind of not so easy to understand language it's a very intriguing story, with interesting characters and a guilty (almost) murderer who is just impossible to find out by yourself (at least what motivates him).
flowersinthelibrary's review
5.0
One of the best mystery books I've read; unexpected and a total page turner.
fantine525's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mmlemonade's review against another edition
3.0
Je l'ai lu il y a un bout, mais je m'en souviens plus vraiment. Messemble que c'était «correct» sans plus.
alissabar's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. Honestly I should be giving this one 2 stars, but I think my version was lacking because of the translation, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It just seemed so choppy and annoying. Another thing that tipped it up to 3 stars was that the "locked room mystery" reveal I did not see coming. Kudos for that Gaston Leroux
2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge: #13 A locked-room mystery
2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge: #13 A locked-room mystery
gardensong's review against another edition
1.0
It's probably because I'm grumpy and reading this last minute for a class, but *fart noises*
babsbutler14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
audrey042's review against another edition
4.0
L’histoire…
La tentative de meurtre sur la personne de Mlle Stangerson et la disparition incompréhensible du coupable m’ont tenue incontestablement en haleine même si mon intérêt pour la découverte du mystère de la chambre jaune s’est étiolé au fil de l’histoire.
J’ai beaucoup aimé le fait que l’auteur donne plein de détails sur les faits, sur le déroulement de l’enquête, les péripéties de Rouletabille… Cela donne le sentiment de participer à l’enquête ou du moins, de la vivre au côté de son ami avocat qui nous la narre.
Quant au dénouement, j’ai été un peu déçue m’attendant à une révélation plus spectaculaire pour expliquer le mystère de la chambre jaune. Le motif de la tentative de meurtre m’a semblé, en outre, plutôt banal même si je ne l’avais pas deviné. En revanche, les indices donnés par l’auteur m’avait permis de trouver le coupable avant la fin du livre.
Les personnages…
Dès le début du livre, j’ai souri puisqu’il est difficile de garder son sérieux face à un personnage du nom de Rouletabille. J’ai bien aimé l’effet comique d’un tel nom. Le livre n’est d’ailleurs pas exempt d’humour avec cette impression d’une certaine caricature des enquêtes policières par l’auteur.
J’ai toutefois été un peu gênée par les trop nombreux effets de manche de Rouletabille. C’est vrai que cela correspond bien à ce personnage rocambolesque et haut en couleurs, mais ça finit tout de même par le desservir. Il en devient fatiguant avec toutes ces simagrées qui alourdissent la lecture ! Cela donne même le sentiment qu’il fait des tours et des détours dans l’enquête afin de mieux étaler sa supériorité intellectuelle et ainsi briller devant les autres. Il faut dire que le jeune homme ne connaît pas vraiment le mot modestie…
Je dis jeune homme car ce cher journaliste n’a que 18 ans ce que je ne trouve pas du tout crédible au regard de son comportement, de ses analyses, de ses déductions… Je pense que cela était voulu par l’auteur, mais ce trop jeune âge m’a quand même gênée.
Quant aux autres personnages, certains m’ont semblé caricaturaux comme l’amoureux transi prêt à tout pour sa dulcinée quand d’autres m’ont franchement agacée comme la victime, Melle Stangerson. Par son silence, elle complique une histoire qui aurait pu être réglée très rapidement. Il est vrai que si on se replace dans le contexte de l’époque, son comportement peut mieux se comprendre, mais il n’empêche, difficile de ne pas avoir envie de la secouer.
En conclusion, j’ai pris plaisir à lire ce roman notamment grâce à la plume de l’auteur très agréable à lire. L’enquête pour découvrir le mystère de la chambre jaune se révèle globalement intéressante même si elle souffre de quelques longueurs. Si vous aimez jouer les détectives, découvrir des personnages hauts en couleurs et apprécier les retournements de situation, ce roman devrait vous plaire.
La tentative de meurtre sur la personne de Mlle Stangerson et la disparition incompréhensible du coupable m’ont tenue incontestablement en haleine même si mon intérêt pour la découverte du mystère de la chambre jaune s’est étiolé au fil de l’histoire.
J’ai beaucoup aimé le fait que l’auteur donne plein de détails sur les faits, sur le déroulement de l’enquête, les péripéties de Rouletabille… Cela donne le sentiment de participer à l’enquête ou du moins, de la vivre au côté de son ami avocat qui nous la narre.
Quant au dénouement, j’ai été un peu déçue m’attendant à une révélation plus spectaculaire pour expliquer le mystère de la chambre jaune. Le motif de la tentative de meurtre m’a semblé, en outre, plutôt banal même si je ne l’avais pas deviné. En revanche, les indices donnés par l’auteur m’avait permis de trouver le coupable avant la fin du livre.
Les personnages…
Dès le début du livre, j’ai souri puisqu’il est difficile de garder son sérieux face à un personnage du nom de Rouletabille. J’ai bien aimé l’effet comique d’un tel nom. Le livre n’est d’ailleurs pas exempt d’humour avec cette impression d’une certaine caricature des enquêtes policières par l’auteur.
J’ai toutefois été un peu gênée par les trop nombreux effets de manche de Rouletabille. C’est vrai que cela correspond bien à ce personnage rocambolesque et haut en couleurs, mais ça finit tout de même par le desservir. Il en devient fatiguant avec toutes ces simagrées qui alourdissent la lecture ! Cela donne même le sentiment qu’il fait des tours et des détours dans l’enquête afin de mieux étaler sa supériorité intellectuelle et ainsi briller devant les autres. Il faut dire que le jeune homme ne connaît pas vraiment le mot modestie…
Je dis jeune homme car ce cher journaliste n’a que 18 ans ce que je ne trouve pas du tout crédible au regard de son comportement, de ses analyses, de ses déductions… Je pense que cela était voulu par l’auteur, mais ce trop jeune âge m’a quand même gênée.
Quant aux autres personnages, certains m’ont semblé caricaturaux comme l’amoureux transi prêt à tout pour sa dulcinée quand d’autres m’ont franchement agacée comme la victime, Melle Stangerson. Par son silence, elle complique une histoire qui aurait pu être réglée très rapidement. Il est vrai que si on se replace dans le contexte de l’époque, son comportement peut mieux se comprendre, mais il n’empêche, difficile de ne pas avoir envie de la secouer.
En conclusion, j’ai pris plaisir à lire ce roman notamment grâce à la plume de l’auteur très agréable à lire. L’enquête pour découvrir le mystère de la chambre jaune se révèle globalement intéressante même si elle souffre de quelques longueurs. Si vous aimez jouer les détectives, découvrir des personnages hauts en couleurs et apprécier les retournements de situation, ce roman devrait vous plaire.