The Beetle

Richard Marsh

Feb 2015 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

The thrilling classic tale of a strange and sinister creature that stalks its prey mercilessly and changes shape at will

From the mysterious depths of Egypt comes a creature “born neither of God nor man.” This shape-shifting being has made its way to London seeking revenge for the crimes that have been committed against the order of its ancient religion—and the primary target of this merciless and relentless terror is politician Paul Lessingham. As panic spreads throughout the city, it falls to Paul and his friends to stop the beast once and for all.
 
Published the same year as the horror classic Dracula, The Beetle originally outsold Bram Stoker’s famous book. Richard Marsh’s story is a dark mirror of England at the end of the century, a tale of Victorian horror and mystery with a monster as dreadful and elusive as any in literature.
 
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Ratings and reviews

Jam-packed with hoary cliches. I read the whole thing through just to see what it was that, briefly, made it more popular than Stoker's "Dracula." Never did discover it.

Really good mystery story loved it

on a par with lovecraft

About the author

Richard Marsh (1857–1915), born Richard Bernard Heldmann, was a prolific, bestselling author of fiction in the genres of horror, crime, and romance. Marsh began his career by writing adventure stories for magazines, later earning coeditorship of Union Jack magazine. The Beetle’s release in 1897 proved to be Marsh’s greatest commercial success, followed in 1900 by the publication of The Goddess: A Demon. Marsh went on to amass a bibliography of more than eighty books before his death.