Cover of The Room in the Dragon Volant

The Room in the Dragon Volant

  • Free to read
  • 3 hours to read
  • 27 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"The Room in the Dragon Volant" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is a novel likely written in the mid-19th century. This tale weaves mystery and romance through the adventures of the protagonist, Richard Beckett, a young English gentleman who finds himself embroiled in unexpected intrigue while traveling in post-Napoleonic Europe. As he journeys from Brussels to Paris, Beckett encounters a captivating yet enigmatic lady shrouded in mystery, hinting at deeper, potentially perilous connections. At the start of the novel, Richard Beckett is introduced as a spirited young man recently come into a substantial inheritance. As he travels towards Paris, he encounters a distressed carriage containing a veiled lady and her elderly companion. Despite his efforts to assist, her identity remains elusive, which only intensifies his fascination. Shortly thereafter, Beckett checks into the Belle Étoile inn, where he becomes increasingly aware of the tensions surrounding the mysterious Count and Countess de St. Alyre. The atmosphere thickens further with the introduction of Colonel Gaillarde, whose violent outburst foreshadows darker events to come. The opening chapters paint a vivid picture of intrigue, potential danger, and the beguiling nature of love, setting the stage for the unfolding drama.

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  • Horror tales
  • France · History · 19th century
  • British · France · Paris

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Chapter I

ON THE ROAD

In the eventful year, 1815, I was exactly three-and-twenty, and had just succeeded to a very large sum in consols and other securities. The first fall of Napoleon had thrown the continent open to English excursionists, anxious, let us suppose, to improve their minds by foreign travel; and I—the slight check of the "hundred days" removed, by the genius of Wellington, on the field of Waterloo—was now added to the philosophic throng.

I was posting up to Paris from Brussels, following, I presume, the route that the allied army had pursued but a few weeks before—more carriages than you could believe were pursuing the same line. You could not look back or forward, without seeing into far perspective the clouds of dust which marked the line of the long series of vehicles. We were perpetually passing relays of return-horses, on their way, jaded and dusty, to the inns from which they had been taken. They were arduous times for those patient public servants. The whole world seemed posting up to Paris.

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Contents

Show all 27 chapters
  1. Front Matter
  2. Chapter I
  3. Chapter II: The Inn-Yard of the Belle ÉToile
  4. Chapter III
  5. Chapter IV
  6. Chapter V: Supper at the Belle ÉToile
  7. Chapter VI
  8. Chapter VII
  9. Chapter VIII
  10. Chapter IX
  11. Chapter X
  12. Chapter XI
  13. Chapter XII
  14. Chapter XIII
  15. Chapter XIV: Mademoiselle De La ValliÈRe
  16. Chapter XV
  17. Chapter XVI: The Parc of the ChÂTeau De La Carque
  18. Chapter XVII
  19. Chapter XVIII
  20. Chapter XIX
  21. Chapter XX
  22. Chapter XXI
  23. Chapter XXII
  24. Chapter XXIII
  25. Chapter XXIV
  26. Chapter XXV
  27. Chapter XXVI

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About this edition

This free edition of The Room in the Dragon Volant by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #9502, released 2005-12-01. 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, Crime, Thrillers and Mystery, Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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