On the island of Minorca some things never change: the sun shines, the breeze ruffles the Mediterranean, and the Grand Dukes are eternally in debt.
Grand Duke Ramon XX doesn’t let his permanent state of near-bankruptcy interfere with the simple pleasures of life: a good lunch, a cigar and a glass of cognac. But trouble is on the horizon when the island is visited by a German businessman who will stop at nothing to get his hands on potential sulfur mines. At the same time, a moneylender in Paris threatens to expose a devastating secret, leaving Ramon on the verge of losing not only his beloved island, but his honor and reputation as well. It’s not until he crosses paths with Mr Collin, gentleman thief and swindler, that a gleam of hope appears. But who is the mysterious and beautiful woman pretending to be Mr Collin’s wife, and does she hold the key to solving the Grand Duke’s financial problems once and for all?
Frank Heller was the first internationally famous Swedish crime writer. The son of a clergyman, to avoid arrest after a financial fraud he left Sweden for the continent. In desperate straits after losing the swindled money in a casino in Monte Carlo, he tried his hand at writing novels with immediate success, and produced forty-three novels, short stories and travelogues before his death in 1947.
‘A first-rate mystery thriller…A novel every one will enjoy’ – The Sketch
‘A story of national bankruptcy, revolution and high adventure in the curious Grand Duchy of Minorca and elsewhere…It is all wildly impossible but none the less amusing on that account.’ – Westminster Gazette
Tabla de materias
I. AMONG PINES AND PALMS
1 From which it will be seen that Fortune does not always dwell among the High
2 In which the reader attends a breakfast and makes the acquaintance of a gentleman from Frankfort
3 In which St. Urban has an opportunity of distinguishing himself
4 In which a vessel leaves Minorca
II. KINGS IN EXILE
1 In which the reader either meets with two former acquaintances or is introduced to a great financier
2 In which the reader will realize by what thin threads the fate of a nation may hang . . .
3 In which the reader finds himself in Paris and gets a glimpse of a mysterious young lady . . .
4 In which it is seen there are times when the voice of the newsboy, even as the voice of the people, is the voice of God
5 A spring evening in Marseilles
III. MIDST REBELS AND ROGUES
1 A March day at sea and what took place there . .
2 Which is the beginning of very adventurous events
3 In which we again meet with an old acquaintance, and in which surprises begin for the Grand Duke
4 In which the existence of the Republic of Minorca seems gravely threatened
5 The Grand Duke shall be hung-long live the Grand Duke!
6 In which the Republic of Minorca’s Reign of Terror finds its Bonaparte
7 In which it is shown that those who escape Scylla have not necessarily settled their accounts with Charybdis
8 In which Mr. Collin attends the most illustrious wedding of his life
IV. THE KINGDOM, THE POWER AND THE GLORY
The first and last chapter: In which Mr. Collin leaves Minorca
Sobre el autor
Frank Heller was the first internationally famous Swedish crime writer. The son of a clergyman, to avoid arrest after a financial fraud he left Sweden for the continent. In desperate straits after losing the swindled money in a casino in Monte Carlo, he tried his hand at writing novels with immediate success, and produced forty-three novels, short stories and travelogues before his death in 1947.
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