What do you think?
Rate this book
The Green Dragon
This young couple who have just eloped get into a car accident and a heap of trouble when they stumble into a tramp and the Green Dragon Inn. They have to solve the mysteries of why the Inn was abandoned, who locked the cook in the cupboard, and why the Chinaman is after the blind man's dog.
This newlywed couple find themselves in charge of the deserted inn. They then quickly find themselves surrounded by a bevy of strange people, various smugglers, thieves, and innocent bystanders who must get sorted out. Not just a mystery, but the story of a crime involving a stolen ruby from China.
This newlywed couple find themselves in charge of the deserted inn. They then quickly find themselves surrounded by a bevy of strange people, various smugglers, thieves, and innocent bystanders who must get sorted out. Not just a mystery, but the story of a crime involving a stolen ruby from China.
- GenresMystery
351 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1926
About the author
J. Jefferson Farjeon
113 books98 followersJoseph Jefferson Farjeon was always going to be a writer as, born in London, he was the son of Benjamin Leopold Farjeon who at the time was a well-known novelist whose other children were Eleanor Farjeon, who became a children's writer, and Herbert Farjeon, who became a playwright and who wrote the well-respected 'A Cricket Bag'.
The family were descended from Thomas Jefferson but it was his maternal grandfather, the American actor Joseph Jefferson, after whom Joseph was named. He was educated privately and at Peterborough Lodge and one of his early jobs, from 1910 to 1920, was doing some editorial work for the Amalgamated Press.
His first published work was in 1924 when Brentano's produced 'The Master Criminal', which is a tale of identity reversal involving two brothers, one a master detective, the other a master criminal. A New York Times reviewer commented favourably, "Mr. Farjeon displays a great deal of knowledge about story-telling and multiplies the interest of his plot through a terse, telling style and a rigid compression." This was the beginning of a career that would encompass over 80 published novels, ending with 'The Caravan Adventure' in 1955.
He also wrote a number of plays, some of which were filmed, most notably Number Seventeen which was produced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1932, and many short stories.
Many of his novels were in the mystery and detective genre although he was recognised as being one of the first novelists to entwine romance with crime. In addition he was known for his keen humour and flashing wit but he also used sinister and terrifying storylines quite freely. One critic for the Saturday Review of Literature reviewed one of his later books writing that it was "amusing, satirical, and [a] frequently hair-raising yarn of an author who got dangerously mixed up with his imaginary characters. Tricky."
When he died at Hove in Sussex in 1955 his obituary in The Times wrote of his "deserved popularity for ingenious and entertaining plots and characterization".
Gerry Wolstenholme
June 2010
The family were descended from Thomas Jefferson but it was his maternal grandfather, the American actor Joseph Jefferson, after whom Joseph was named. He was educated privately and at Peterborough Lodge and one of his early jobs, from 1910 to 1920, was doing some editorial work for the Amalgamated Press.
His first published work was in 1924 when Brentano's produced 'The Master Criminal', which is a tale of identity reversal involving two brothers, one a master detective, the other a master criminal. A New York Times reviewer commented favourably, "Mr. Farjeon displays a great deal of knowledge about story-telling and multiplies the interest of his plot through a terse, telling style and a rigid compression." This was the beginning of a career that would encompass over 80 published novels, ending with 'The Caravan Adventure' in 1955.
He also wrote a number of plays, some of which were filmed, most notably Number Seventeen which was produced by Alfred Hitchcock in 1932, and many short stories.
Many of his novels were in the mystery and detective genre although he was recognised as being one of the first novelists to entwine romance with crime. In addition he was known for his keen humour and flashing wit but he also used sinister and terrifying storylines quite freely. One critic for the Saturday Review of Literature reviewed one of his later books writing that it was "amusing, satirical, and [a] frequently hair-raising yarn of an author who got dangerously mixed up with his imaginary characters. Tricky."
When he died at Hove in Sussex in 1955 his obituary in The Times wrote of his "deserved popularity for ingenious and entertaining plots and characterization".
Gerry Wolstenholme
June 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 16, 2010
This is something of a surreal novel, particularly in the early stages.
It develops into a quite unusual mystery, written very much in the style of the 1920s, particularly popular at the time but perhaps not so much today, and the various strands all come together at the conclusion - even an explanation for the rather surreal opening at an abandoned Green Dragon inn!
On later reflection this could well become a four star item; it takes time to digest and to realise that really it is very good.
It develops into a quite unusual mystery, written very much in the style of the 1920s, particularly popular at the time but perhaps not so much today, and the various strands all come together at the conclusion - even an explanation for the rather surreal opening at an abandoned Green Dragon inn!
On later reflection this could well become a four star item; it takes time to digest and to realise that really it is very good.
August 25, 2026
Quite a decent example of 30s mystery/thriller. A honeymoon couple are stranded near the Green Dragon Inn. But the landlord is missing, a suspicious blind man appears, and then there's a sinister Chinese.
Throw in an innocent young girl and a passing tramp (Fargeon apparently had a thing for tramps), and expected drama and crime ensue.
Although there was a lot of atmospheric filler, it didn't drag for me until 3/4 of the way through, when the action flashed back to one of those "white man steals sacred Oriental relic" stories.
Throw in an innocent young girl and a passing tramp (Fargeon apparently had a thing for tramps), and expected drama and crime ensue.
Although there was a lot of atmospheric filler, it didn't drag for me until 3/4 of the way through, when the action flashed back to one of those "white man steals sacred Oriental relic" stories.
December 16, 2008
I like his stories, but Farjeon's writing seems to get worse and worse with evey book I read. His "accents" are terrible and pretty fn offensive.
Want to Read
April 4, 2012Also looking to read: Ben sees it through (1932), Mystery on the moor (1930), Person called Z (1930) and Trunk Call (1932)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews