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Guilty Bonds
"In Guilty Bonds" by William Le Queux, newly rich Frank Burgoyne falls in love with a Russian spy only to become involved in a massive, international plot concerning a series of murders. "Come, have another hand, Burgoyne." "I'll have my revenge tomorrow, old fellow," I replied. "Why not tonight?" "It's past two, and I have a long walk home, remember." "Very well; as you wish."
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1891
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
William Le Queux
424 books29 followersWilliam Tufnell Le Queux was born in London on 2 July 1864. His father, also William of Chateauroux, Indre, was a French draper's assistant and his mother was English.
He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio Spiridon in Paris. He walked extensively in France and Germany and supported himself for a time writing for French newspapers. It was one of his sensational stories in 'The Petit Journal' that attracted the attention of the French novelist Emile Zola and it was supposedly he who encouraged Le Queux to become a full-time writer.
In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines 'Gossip' and 'Piccadilly' before joining the staff of the newspaper 'The Globe' in 1891 as a parliamentary reporter. But he resigned in 1893 and decided to abandon journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. And his extensive travelling saw him visit Russia, the Near East, North Africa, Egypt and the Sudan and in 1912-13 he was a correspondent in the Balkan War for the Daily Mail. On his travels he found it necessary to become an expert revolver shot.
His first book was 'Guilty Bonds' (1891), which concentrated on political conspiracy in Russia to such a degree that it was subsequently banned in that country. A series of short stories 'Strange Tales of a Nihilist' followed in 1892 and from then on he was producing books on a regular basis until his death, and beyond, as a number of posthumous works were published.
His works mainly related to espionage activity and it was said that he was employed for a number of years as a member of the British Secret Service, where he was an expert on wireless transmission. He did claim to have been the first wireless experimenter to have broadcast from his station at Guildford in 1920/21 and he was president of the Wireless Experimental Association and a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He stated at one time that he began writing to help finance his work for British Intelligence for whom he was required to undertake much travelling and to make personal contact with royalty and other high-ranking people. He recorded some of the latter meetings in his autobiography entitled 'Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks' (1923).
He was at one time Consul of the Republic of San Marino and he possessed Italian, Serbian and Montenegrin decorations. He was also a keen collector of medieval manuscripts and monastic seals.
However, all his activities did not stop him turning out novel after novel and at the time of his death he had well over 100 books to his credit.
After several weeks' illness, he died at Knocke, Belgium, in the early hours of 13 October 1927. His body was returned to England and on 19 October he was cremated at Golders Green with the Reverend Francis Taylor of Bedford conducting the service, which was attended by Le Queux's brother and a few intimate friends.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2013
He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio Spiridon in Paris. He walked extensively in France and Germany and supported himself for a time writing for French newspapers. It was one of his sensational stories in 'The Petit Journal' that attracted the attention of the French novelist Emile Zola and it was supposedly he who encouraged Le Queux to become a full-time writer.
In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines 'Gossip' and 'Piccadilly' before joining the staff of the newspaper 'The Globe' in 1891 as a parliamentary reporter. But he resigned in 1893 and decided to abandon journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. And his extensive travelling saw him visit Russia, the Near East, North Africa, Egypt and the Sudan and in 1912-13 he was a correspondent in the Balkan War for the Daily Mail. On his travels he found it necessary to become an expert revolver shot.
His first book was 'Guilty Bonds' (1891), which concentrated on political conspiracy in Russia to such a degree that it was subsequently banned in that country. A series of short stories 'Strange Tales of a Nihilist' followed in 1892 and from then on he was producing books on a regular basis until his death, and beyond, as a number of posthumous works were published.
His works mainly related to espionage activity and it was said that he was employed for a number of years as a member of the British Secret Service, where he was an expert on wireless transmission. He did claim to have been the first wireless experimenter to have broadcast from his station at Guildford in 1920/21 and he was president of the Wireless Experimental Association and a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He stated at one time that he began writing to help finance his work for British Intelligence for whom he was required to undertake much travelling and to make personal contact with royalty and other high-ranking people. He recorded some of the latter meetings in his autobiography entitled 'Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks' (1923).
He was at one time Consul of the Republic of San Marino and he possessed Italian, Serbian and Montenegrin decorations. He was also a keen collector of medieval manuscripts and monastic seals.
However, all his activities did not stop him turning out novel after novel and at the time of his death he had well over 100 books to his credit.
After several weeks' illness, he died at Knocke, Belgium, in the early hours of 13 October 1927. His body was returned to England and on 19 October he was cremated at Golders Green with the Reverend Francis Taylor of Bedford conducting the service, which was attended by Le Queux's brother and a few intimate friends.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 20, 2025
So, there are different levels of "plot relies on coincidence."
Often, when I tag a book that way, I'm referring to one or two coincidences. This book... this book has at least eight, without any one of which the plot would not work. In its defense, it's from 1891, and running your plot on coincidence was more acceptable then; also, it was his first novel (out of 150). Still, even if you call it "fate," it's pretty obviously the author putting his hand on the scale instead of having the main character drive the plot with protagonism.
Not that he really could, because he doesn't have a clue what's going on until people tell him at the end. Despite his vow to find the murderer of the woman who (in the first of those many coincidences) he discovered dead in a random house while walking home late at night from his club, he makes no real effort to do so; I've tagged it "not-solved-by-detective," but he isn't really a detective at all, and nor is anyone else who plays any significant role. That tag is mainly indicating that the solution is told to the main character, and the reader, at the end.
The plot is mostly just a series of things that happen to him. He makes very few decisions, and most of the decisions he does make are ill-considered and get him into more trouble.
For example. Say you've happened to meet a mysterious young Russian woman in Italy, and she won't tell you anything about her past, and you've only known her a few days, but you loooove her desperately. Do you:
a) Agree to smuggle a sealed box, which she says contains her jewels, into St Petersburg for her?
b) When mysteriously arrested, imprisoned without trial, exiled to Siberia, and barely rescued thanks to three more coincidences, go back to England, bump into her again at the theatre, and end up marrying her, despite your well-justified suspicion that she used you as a patsy at the risk of your life, and the fact that she says she's very sorry, but she can't explain?
c) Both of the above?
Yes, Frank (the MC) picks option c.
It's melodramatic. It's implausible. It's rife with coincidence. It's heavily dependent on bad decisions by the main character. And the final explanation doesn't stack up.
The Project Gutenberg edition has a few errors in it, some of which may be scan issues (like the question marks that should be exclamation marks and vice versa), others of which, like the dangling modifiers and missing past perfect tense, are no doubt in the original. I thought missing past perfect was purely a modern issue, but apparently not.
All up, it falls short of the minimum standard for a recommendation from me, even a qualified one.
Often, when I tag a book that way, I'm referring to one or two coincidences. This book... this book has at least eight, without any one of which the plot would not work. In its defense, it's from 1891, and running your plot on coincidence was more acceptable then; also, it was his first novel (out of 150). Still, even if you call it "fate," it's pretty obviously the author putting his hand on the scale instead of having the main character drive the plot with protagonism.
Not that he really could, because he doesn't have a clue what's going on until people tell him at the end. Despite his vow to find the murderer of the woman who (in the first of those many coincidences) he discovered dead in a random house while walking home late at night from his club, he makes no real effort to do so; I've tagged it "not-solved-by-detective," but he isn't really a detective at all, and nor is anyone else who plays any significant role. That tag is mainly indicating that the solution is told to the main character, and the reader, at the end.
The plot is mostly just a series of things that happen to him. He makes very few decisions, and most of the decisions he does make are ill-considered and get him into more trouble.
For example. Say you've happened to meet a mysterious young Russian woman in Italy, and she won't tell you anything about her past, and you've only known her a few days, but you loooove her desperately. Do you:
a) Agree to smuggle a sealed box, which she says contains her jewels, into St Petersburg for her?
b) When mysteriously arrested, imprisoned without trial, exiled to Siberia, and barely rescued thanks to three more coincidences, go back to England, bump into her again at the theatre, and end up marrying her, despite your well-justified suspicion that she used you as a patsy at the risk of your life, and the fact that she says she's very sorry, but she can't explain?
c) Both of the above?
Yes, Frank (the MC) picks option c.
It's melodramatic. It's implausible. It's rife with coincidence. It's heavily dependent on bad decisions by the main character. And the final explanation doesn't stack up.
The Project Gutenberg edition has a few errors in it, some of which may be scan issues (like the question marks that should be exclamation marks and vice versa), others of which, like the dangling modifiers and missing past perfect tense, are no doubt in the original. I thought missing past perfect was purely a modern issue, but apparently not.
All up, it falls short of the minimum standard for a recommendation from me, even a qualified one.
November 16, 2021
A new discovery. William Le Queux published his first book in the same year as Conan Doyle published his. There are similarities in their writings. Guilty Bonds is a gripping drama that hurtles you down a tunnel of intrigue and deception, never letting up for a moment. In some ways like a cross between a Holmes story, without the great detective, and The 39 Steps. A tangle of twists and turns which do not resolve until the very end. A great read and I shall enjoy reading more of his gripping yarns.
October 29, 2021
the narrator falls in love with a Russian woman and then has some dangerous adventures. He can't figure out what is going on but he ends up marrying her and the troubles multiply.
I got frustrated with the narrator. He did some really dumb things. But maybe because when the book was written people didn't travel as much or something? not sure it's worth the read.
I got frustrated with the narrator. He did some really dumb things. But maybe because when the book was written people didn't travel as much or something? not sure it's worth the read.
February 6, 2024
Loved the book. Exciting from start to finish. 5 Stars
January 15, 2024
"Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive"... or protect. This quite the tale of intrigue and misplaced intent. It is a well written... and good Victorian thriller.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews