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| Plot Summary of The Mystery of the Yellow Chamber |
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"Professor Stangerson has been working and living for fifteen years with his daughter in their castle, Glantier. A few days after Miss Stangerson decides to marry Robert Darzac, who has been courting her for fifteen years, somebody tries to kill her. A young reporter, Rouletabille, will try to solve the mystery. The yellow room where the attack took place was closed from the inside, so how did the attacker get there? During the research he finds out the killing was not the only purpose of the attack. Mr. Stangerson's scientific research disappeared.
In the meantime, there is another official inquiry lead by inspector Larsan who suspects Darzac. But Rouletabille thinks that Larsan's behavior is strange. He uses a cane that he pretends to have from London, but the reporter knows it was bought from Paris by a man who looked just like Darzac. A second attempt to kill Miss Stangerson takes place and this time a man gets killed by father Jacques: the guard known as “the green man”. But when they examine the body they realize that he was hurt before Jacques hit him. Darzac is arrested but Rouletabille promises to prove his innocence. Rouletabille says that he knows the name of the assassin but will not tell it until a certain hour.
At 18:30 he says the name of the murderer: F. Larsan, whose name was actually Ballmeyer. He was a French con man who fled to America, took the identity of Jean Roussel and met the young Mathile Stangerson, who lived with her father in America. They fell in love but Dr. Stagerson did not agree so she sent his daughter to Ohio. Roussel came after her but he was arrested his real name, Ballmeyer, was revealed to the girl. "
Dana Samson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Mystery of the Yellow Chamber |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Special suspect?
- lover
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- criminal
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Gaston Leroux Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Dana Samson
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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