Prince Zaleski, an exiled Russian nobleman, inhabits a half-ruined abbey in Wales, where he spends most of his time smoking cannabis and opium, reading from his library of medieval books, or admiring his collection of rare curios dating from ancient antiquity. His retirement from the world is occasionally interrupted by his friend Shiel, who comes to seek Zaleski's help in solving mysteries that have baffled the greatest minds in Britain.
In "The Race of Orven," Zaleski must unravel a case involving a burglary, a murder, a floating phantasm, and three severed fingers. In "The Stone of the Edmundsbury Monks," the prince races against time to solve the mystery of a jewel from the Crusades that may cause a man's death. And in the final story in the collection, "The S.S.," an inexplicable wave of thousands of apparent suicides puts Zaleski to the ultimate test and leads to a deeply disturbing conclusion.
Originally appearing in 1895 as the seventh entry in John Lane's provocative
Keynotes
series,Prince Zaleski
incorporated two of the popular trends in 1890s literature: Decadence and detective stories. Influenced by Poe, Huysmans, and Wilde, Shiel's Decadent detective remains one of the most intriguing creations of fin de siècle British fiction. This edition includes the unabridged text of the original edition and features a new introduction by Paul Fox.
