The Scarlet Bat: A Detective Story: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The Scarlet Bat: A Detective Story: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.

The Scarlet Bat: A Detective Story is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Hume, Fergus (1859–1932).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The Scarlet Bat: A Detective Story" by Fergus Hume is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around Frank Lancaster, a journalist who finds himself implicated in the murder of Walter Starth, a man with whom he had a violent confrontation. As Lancaster navigates the complexities of suspicion and a shadowy past, he faces the threats of both the law and hidden enemies, forcing him into a desperate search for the truth. At the start of the novel, Frank Lancaster engages in a brawl in a bar after being insulted by Starth, who openly expresses his dislike for Lancaster, especially concerning his attention towards the attractive music-hall star, "Fairy Fan." After the fight, Lancaster receives an invitation from Starth to reconcile, but upon arriving at Starth’s home, he is drugged and later wakes up to discover Starth dead from a gunshot wound—his own missing pistol the primary murder weapon. The opening chapters deftly set up a whirlwind of drama, foreshadowing the entangled relationships and sinister motives that will unfold as Lancaster attempts to clear his name.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Scarlet Bat: A Detective Story
- Author credits: Hume, Fergus (1859–1932)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Detective and mystery stories
- London (England) -- Fiction
- Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery
- Category: Novels
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
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.


