The cover page is adapted from Taiteilija Fahle Basilier, a painting completed in 1908 by Antti Favén. The cover and title pages feature the League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by The League of Moveable Type. www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
The Talleyrand Maxim
Chapitres (28)
- I: Death Brings Opportunity 0:00
- II: In Trust 18:37
- III: The Shop-Boy 36:38
- IV: The Fortunate Possessors 54:47
- V: Point-Blank 1:13:25
- VI: The Unexpected 1:31:50
- VII: The Supreme Inducement 1:49:37
- VIII: Terms 2:02:46
- IX: Until Next Spring 2:17:59
- X: The Footbridge 2:32:50
- XI: The Prevalent Atmosphere 2:50:56
- XII: The Power of Attorney 3:09:56
- XIII: The First Trick 3:29:18
- XIV: Cards on the Table 3:45:00
- XV: Pratt Offers a Hand 4:01:10
- XVI: A Headquarters Conference 4:16:45
- XVII: Advertisement 4:34:01
- XVIII: The Confiding Landlord 4:52:11
- XIX: The Eyewitness 5:08:16
- XX: The Green Man 5:23:50
- XXI: The Direct Charge 5:39:16
- XXII: The Cat’spaw 5:54:55
- XXIII: Smooth Face and Anxious Brain 6:10:15
- XXIV: The Better Half 6:23:35
- XXV: Dry Sherry 6:40:49
- XXVI: The Telephone Message 6:54:20
- XXVII: Restored to Energy 7:06:00
- XXVIII: The Woman in Black 7:19:07
Comment écouter → Un problème avec cette narration ? Dites-le-nous →
The “Talleyrand Maxim” holds that “With time and patience, the mulberry leaf is turned into satin.” The adage has the character of guidance for life for an ambitious legal clerk, Linford Pratt. The moment comes when a “mulberry leaf” falls into Pratt’s hands in the form of the will of a wealthy local industrial magnate, undiscovered at the time of his death. Realizing that possession of it gives him leverage over the natural beneficiaries—the late man’s nephew and niece, and their mother—Pratt sets to work to transform it into his “satin.” As wily as he proves to be, his aspirations face complications, for it seems his possession of the will is not so secret as he supposed.
J. S. Fletcher is best known for his detective fiction, but The Talleyrand Maxim is not a typical whodunit. Pratt’s culpability is never hidden from the reader, nor is there a traditional “sleuth.” The suspense lies, rather, in whether he will pull it off, as the suspicions of other interested parties deepen.