The Beetle
Published in 1897, the same year as Dracula, Richard Marsh’s shocker actually outsold Stoker’s novel for a time. A monstrous, shape-shifting creature out of ancient Egypt, a servant of the cult of Isis, arrives in London bent on revenge against the rising politician Paul Lessingham, whose past conceals a terrible secret. Working through hypnotic power and sheer dread, the being ensnares a string of helpless victims, and the story unfolds through four narrators whose accounts circle the same nightmarish events from different angles. Marsh blends supernatural horror, detective mystery, and Victorian anxieties about sex, race, and empire into a fast, feverish read that has enjoyed a well-earned rediscovery. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.
Listen to The Beetle Audiobook Free
Listen to The Beetle by Richard Marsh free online. The full audiobook (11 hr 56 min, 48 chapters, read by volunteer narrators) streams free on this page.
The Beetle (1897) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01 - Outside | 14:20 | |
| 2 | 02 - Inside | 17:25 | |
| 3 | 03 - The Man in the Bed | 12:40 | |
| 4 | 04 - A Lonely Vigil | 14:26 | |
| 5 | 05 - An Instruction to Commit Murder | 22:36 | |
| 6 | 06 - A Singular Felony | 19:28 | |
| 7 | 07 - The Great Paul Lessingham | 19:22 | |
| 8 | 08 - The Man in the Street | 5:11 | |
| 9 | 09 - The Contents of the Packet | 12:03 | |
| 10 | 10 - Rejected | 12:39 | |
| 11 | 11 - A Midnight Episode | 14:06 | |
| 12 | 12 - A Morning Visitor | 11:36 | |
| 13 | 13 - The Picture | 25:22 | |
| 14 | 14 - The Duchess' Ball | 18:40 | |
| 15 | 15 - Mr Lessingham Speaks | 15:09 | |
| 16 | 16 - Atherton's Magic Vapour | 18:49 | |
| 17 | 17 - Magic?--Or Miracle? | 5:23 | |
| 18 | 18 - The Apotheosis of the Beetle | 34:33 | |
| 19 | 19 - The Lady Rages | 10:25 | |
| 20 | 20 - A Heavy Father | 10:34 | |
| 21 | 21 - The Terror in the Night | 26:24 | |
| 22 | 22 - The Haunted Man | 27:58 | |
| 23 | 23 - The Way He Told Her | 14:40 | |
| 24 | 24 - A Woman's View | 9:30 | |
| 25 | 25 - The Man in the Street | 11:17 | |
| 26 | 26 - A Father's No | 9:16 | |
| 27 | 27 - The Terror by Night | 18:03 | |
| 28 | 28 - The Strange Story of the Man in the Street | 27:43 | |
| 29 | 29 - The House on the Road From the Workhouse | 30:15 | |
| 30 | 30 - The Singular Behavior of Mr Holt | 6:03 | |
| 31 | 31 - The Terror by Day | 12:25 | |
| 32 | 32 - A New Client | 6:23 | |
| 33 | 33 - What Came From Looking Through a Lattice | 21:18 | |
| 34 | 34 - After Twenty Years | 16:29 | |
| 35 | 35 - A Bringer of Tidings | 5:04 | |
| 36 | 36 - What the Tidings Were | 9:47 | |
| 37 | 37 - What Was Hidden Under the Floor | 12:52 | |
| 38 | 38 - The Rest of the Find | 9:03 | |
| 39 | 39 - Miss Louisa Coleman | 19:35 | |
| 40 | 40 - What Miss Coleman Saw Through the Window | 11:02 | |
| 41 | 41 - The Constable,--His Clue,--And the Cab | 14:57 | |
| 42 | 42 - The Quarry Doubles | 10:38 | |
| 43 | 43 - The Murder at Mrs. 'Enderson's | 22:22 | |
| 44 | 44 - The Man Who Was Murdered | 12:52 | |
| 45 | 45 - All That Mrs. 'Enderson Knew | 6:40 | |
| 46 | 46 - The Sudden Stopping | 15:24 | |
| 47 | 47 - The Contents of the Third-Class Carriage | 5:22 | |
| 48 | 48 - The Conclusion of the Matter | 7:45 |
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