If Sinners Entice Thee by William Le Queux AUDIOBOOK

William Le Queux’s "If Sinners Entice Thee" opens with an atmosphere fraught with distrust, shifting fortunes, and the faded glamour of a once-brilliant world. Known for his prolific contribution to late Victorian and Edwardian literature, Le Queux crafts a tale poised between rural seclusion and cosmopolitan intrigue. The narrative unfolds in the tranquil yet stifling English village of Stratfield Mortimer, where the ex-cavalry officer Captain Erle Brooker finds himself a social outsider amidst local gossip and genteel disapproval. The cottage he shares with his daughter Liane and her companion Nelly Bridson, a fellow orphan, stands as both refuge and reminder of vanished prosperity.

At the heart of the novel lies the figure of Zertho d'Auzac, whose presence disturbs the uneasy peace. The exchanges between Brooker and Zertho pulse with tension, revealing conflicted loyalties, cynicism born of hard living, and the shadow of past deceptions. Zertho’s ambitions—focused on winning Liane’s hand and restoring his own image—underscore the complex tangle of aspirations and moral choices threading through the narrative. The dialogue is sharp, psychological, and laced with the ambiguities of past friendships and betrayals, capturing the shifting social dynamics of the period.

Against the backdrop of rural monotony and genteel poverty, the characters are sharply drawn: Liane’s poise and unaffected virtue contrast with the world-weariness of both Brooker and Zertho, while local suspicion of foreign influences and unconventional ways add another layer of realism. Le Queux’s prose evokes the late 19th-century world in all its melancholy and faded elegance, exploring themes of temptation, reputation, loyalty, and the pursuit of happiness within society’s ever-watchful eye. For listeners, the novel offers a blend of psychological drama and social observation, marked by deft characterisation and a quietly suspenseful tone.

Audiobook time & format : 7h36m38s, OPUS, 355 Mo
Audiobook free extract time & format : 5m (see below to listen), WAV
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