When the tall, dark, handsome young millionaire Maurice Courlander closes the grounds of his sprawling estate for a full year his friends in London and neighbors in Bedfordshire were confused. But when curiously worded invitations inviting them all for a visit arrived, everyone was curious. With little haste, Courlander reveals a statue so magnificence and imposing, his guests believe him very strange indeed. Still, his gargantuan tribute to Energy towered over the countryside, face filled with hope and expectation. But when war breaks out and when death arrives in the English country side, one must wonder if her giant shadow conceals genius, murder...or both?
“The secret is ingenius”
—The Observer, 1908
Eden Phillpotts was born in India in 1862, but hailed from the United Kingdom from his early childhood forward. Known as a prolific young adult and mystery novelist, he penned about 250 works in his lifetime, including The Farmer’s Wife, a comic play which Alfred Hitchcock later directed as a silent film. Later in his career, he explored his modern philosophy in a wealth of fantasy and early science-fiction novels.