Uncle Silas
Orphaned and made an heiress, young Maud Ruthyn is sent to live with her father’s estranged brother Silas, a recluse whose reputation never recovered from a guest’s mysterious death years earlier at his crumbling mansion, Bartram-Haugh. As doors lock, servants turn strange, and escape grows impossible, Maud slowly grasps that her inheritance may be worth far more to her guardian than her life. Le Fanu’s best-known novel is a masterclass in slow-burning menace, claustrophobia, and the helplessness of a young woman surrounded by people she cannot trust. First published in 1864, it remains a cornerstone of Victorian Gothic and an early model for the locked-house thriller. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.
About the Author
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish novelist and journalist celebrated for his Gothic mysteries and ghost stories. Writing from Dublin, where he ran several newspapers, he became the defining supernatural author of Victorian Ireland and a formative influence on Bram Stoker and M.…
See all books by J. Sheridan Le Fanu →
Listen to Uncle Silas Audiobook Free
Listen to Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu free online. The full audiobook (18 hr 38 min, 67 chapters, read by Great Plains) streams free on this page.
Uncle Silas (1865) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Preliminary Word | 4:01 | |
| 2 | Austin Ruthyn, Of Knowl, And His Daughter | 16:34 | |
| 3 | Uncle Silas | 11:40 | |
| 4 | A New Face | 12:05 | |
| 5 | Madame De La Rougierre | 8:38 | |
| 6 | Sights And Noises | 11:10 | |
| 7 | A Walk In The Wood | 12:07 | |
| 8 | Church Scarsdale | 11:43 | |
| 9 | The Smoker | 11:05 | |
| 10 | Monica Knollys | 12:44 | |
| 11 | Lady Knollys Removes A Coverlet | 12:02 | |
| 12 | Lady Knollys Sees The Features | 11:23 | |
| 13 | A Curious Conversation | 11:06 | |
| 14 | Before And After Breakfast | 13:24 | |
| 15 | Angry Words | 16:30 | |
| 16 | A Warning | 14:56 | |
| 17 | Doctor Bryerly Looks In | 15:27 | |
| 18 | An Adventure | 17:17 | |
| 19 | A Midnight Visitor | 19:33 | |
| 20 | Au Revoir | 17:19 | |
| 21 | Austin Ruthyn Sets Out On His Journey | 15:59 | |
| 22 | Arrivals | 18:53 | |
| 23 | Somebody In The Room With The Coffin | 15:00 | |
| 24 | I Talk With Doctor Bryerly | 15:44 | |
| 25 | The Opening Of The Will | 22:51 | |
| 26 | I Hear From Uncle Silas | 20:22 | |
| 27 | The Story Of Uncle Silas | 15:43 | |
| 28 | More About Tom Charke’s Suicide | 14:41 | |
| 29 | I Am Persuaded | 20:11 | |
| 30 | How The Ambassador Fared | 20:58 | |
| 31 | On The Road | 17:52 | |
| 32 | Bartram-Haugh | 23:32 | |
| 33 | Uncle Silas | 19:29 | |
| 34 | The Windmill Wood | 15:02 | |
| 35 | Zamiel | 20:08 | |
| 36 | We Visit A Room In The Second Storey | 15:49 | |
| 37 | An Arrival At Dead Of Night | 17:37 | |
| 38 | Doctor Bryerly Emerges | 17:50 | |
| 39 | A Midnight Departure | 17:56 | |
| 40 | Cousin Monica And Uncle Silas Meet | 20:06 | |
| 41 | In Which I Make Another Cousin's Acquaintance | 17:16 | |
| 42 | My Cousin Dudley | 16:54 | |
| 43 | Elverston And Its People | 22:54 | |
| 44 | News At Bartram Gate | 23:43 | |
| 45 | A Friend Arises | 24:09 | |
| 46 | A Chapter-Full of Lovers | 17:56 | |
| 47 | The Rivals | 18:27 | |
| 48 | Doctor Bryerly Reappears | 16:13 | |
| 49 | Question and Answer | 16:41 | |
| 50 | An Apparition | 20:13 | |
| 51 | Milly's Farewell | 20:43 | |
| 52 | Sarah Matilda Comes To Light | 20:02 | |
| 53 | The Picture of a Wolf | 20:56 | |
| 54 | An Odd Proposal | 21:31 | |
| 55 | In Search Of Mr. Charke’s Skeleton | 23:18 | |
| 56 | The Foot of Hercules | 16:45 | |
| 57 | I Conspire | 14:00 | |
| 58 | The Letter | 17:59 | |
| 59 | Lady Knollys' Carriage | 18:14 | |
| 60 | A Sudden Departure | 20:27 | |
| 61 | The Journey | 16:47 | |
| 62 | Our Bed-Chamber | 18:30 | |
| 63 | A Well-Known Face Looks In | 18:20 | |
| 64 | Spiced Claret | 18:31 | |
| 65 | The Hour of Death | 13:47 | |
| 66 | In The Oak Parlour | 5:24 | |
| 67 | Conclusion | 12:20 |
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