The Nebuly Coat, by John Meade Falkner.
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This extraordinary book was acclaimed on its publication in 1903 as one
of the very best books ever written in the English language. We have
worked for this transcription from the first edition, which was given
two printings, of which we used the second.
There are not so many actors in the story that the reader is baffled,
and each of them is beautifully drawn, so that their characters stand
out clearly and consistently. It appears that the action of the story
was set in the 1860s.
There is a sudden death. Was it a murder? It was recorded as an
accidental death in the inquest. If it was a murder then who did it?
There is one possibility, but it is unthinkable.
Through a very minor accident the whole situation becomes clear: the
mystery is unravelled; the reasons for various earlier actions become
known to us.
From the very beginning of the book there is sustained tension, and our
interest is kept with ever increasing intensity until we reach the
extraordinary climax in the last words of the book.
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