The crimson butterfly: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The crimson butterfly: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The crimson butterfly is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Snell, Edmund (1889–1972).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The crimson butterfly" by Edmund Snell is a novel written in the early 20th century. Set in colonial Borneo, it blends mystery, adventure, and hints of the supernatural around a sinister “doctor,” a talismanic pendant, and perilous jungle lore. The story centers on district officer James Battiscombe, his captivating and reckless wife Vera, fellow magistrate Michael Armourer, and visiting Professor Standen and his daughter Joyce, as they become entangled in intrigue and obsession. The opening of the novel introduces Battiscombe’s clash with the unsettling Dr. Abu-Samar, who is later revealed to wield eerie influence and a fascination with a crimson butterfly talisman. Vera, lured by Abu-Samar under false pretenses, is forced to accept the pendant and flees, shaken. Meanwhile, Armourer rescues Professor Standen and Joyce after a trolly mishap, hosts them, and later, during a visit to collect clothes from Vera, is nearly compromised when Battiscombe returns and confronts his wife over her affair with planter Dick Moberly; she promises to end it and sends back Moberly’s gifts. That night Vera experiences a disturbing vision—or abduction—to a “temple” of the Crimson Butterfly and mysteriously recovers the very parcel she meant to dispatch; by morning a grotesque crimson butterfly appears at her bungalow, and Standen separately spots a large red specimen near Moberly’s estate. Soon after, Moberly is found dead with a butterfly-shaped rash and the pendant on his table; Vera arrives, panics, and faints, as Armourer summons Standen and Abu-Samar to confront the deepening mystery.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The crimson butterfly
- Author credits: Snell, Edmund (1889–1972)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Borneo -- Fiction
- Detective and mystery stories
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Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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