Castle Craneycrow
by George Barr McCutcheon (1866–1928)
- Free to read
- 5 hours to read
- 30 chapters
- Reading level: 6th grade
"Castle Craneycrow" by George Barr McCutcheon is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story centers around Philip Quentin, a charming and wealthy young man in New York City who finds himself embroiled in unexpected relationships that intertwine his past with intrigue and romance, particularly concerning his former love, Dorothy Garrison, now engaged to a prince. The opening of the novel introduces us to Philip Quentin's character through a series of amusing and whimsical interactions, the most notable being his encounter with a burglar named James Turkington, who comes to be known as Turk. After capturing Turk during a break-in, Quentin invites him to supper, forming an unusual bond that sees the burglar transformed into a loyal servant. As the narrative unfolds, we glimpse Quentin's adventurous spirit and his gradual entanglement in romantic tensions involving Dorothy and the enigmatic Prince Ugo. These early chapters set the stage for a blend of comedy, romance, and the complexities of class dynamics as Quentin navigates his feelings and connections against the backdrop of his charmed yet complicated life.
- Love stories
- Abduction
- Americans · Europe
Read the opening
I. The Taking of Turk
It was characteristic of Mr. Philip Quentin that he first lectured his servant on the superiority of mind over matter and then took him cheerfully by the throat and threw him into a far corner of the room. As the servant was not more than half the size of the master, his opposition was merely vocal, but it was nevertheless unmistakable. His early career had increased his vocabulary and his language was more picturesque than pretty. Yet of his loyalty and faithfulness, there could be no doubt. During the seven years of his service, he had been obliged to forget that he possessed such a name as Turkington or even James. He had been Turk from the beginning, and Turk he remained—and, in spite of occasional out breaks, he had proved his devotion to the young gentleman whose goods and chattels he guarded with more assiduity than he did his own soul or—what meant more to him—his personal comfort. His employment came about in an unusual way. Mr. Quentin had an apartment in a smart building uptown. One night he was awakened by a noise in his room. In the darkness he saw a man fumbling among his things, and in an instant he had seized his revolver from the stand at his bedside and covered the intruder. Then he calmly demanded: “Now, what are you doing here?”
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About this edition
This free edition of Castle Craneycrow by George Barr McCutcheon comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #5349, released 2004-03-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Romance, Humour, Novels, American Literature.
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