What do you think?
Rate this book
The Yellow House
The Yellow House By E. Phillips Oppenheim
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1898
25 people want to read
About the author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
632 books80 followersEdward Phillips Oppenheim was an English novelist, primarily known for his suspense fiction.
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 21, 2014
Mystery or Morality?
Kate Ffolliot has returned to England after "taking a degree" in Germany. She is living with her father, a learned and aesthetic clergyman, and her sister Alice, in a small northern town, where her father has recently been appointed. Kate is pretty and popular and has received many visitors, including the social gossip Lady Naselton. Their house is near the property of Deville Court, the property of the impoverished and anti-social Bruce Deville. Nearby, in a yellow house, lives the successful writer and social crusader Mrs. Adelaide Fortress.
Into this quaint scene comes Stephen Berdenstein, a millionaire adventurer recently returned from Rio de Janeiro. When he is killed, his sister, Olive Berdenstein, pursues the man whom she thinks is responsible: Philip Maltabar.
Much of the plot of the novel, and the thrill for Victorian readers, lies in the quaint morality of "illegitimacy" and marriage as practiced during that period. The story is told in the first person by Kate, which is unusual for Oppenheim.
Originally published as "As a Man Lives" in 1898. Often republished as "The Yellow House."
Kate Ffolliot has returned to England after "taking a degree" in Germany. She is living with her father, a learned and aesthetic clergyman, and her sister Alice, in a small northern town, where her father has recently been appointed. Kate is pretty and popular and has received many visitors, including the social gossip Lady Naselton. Their house is near the property of Deville Court, the property of the impoverished and anti-social Bruce Deville. Nearby, in a yellow house, lives the successful writer and social crusader Mrs. Adelaide Fortress.
Into this quaint scene comes Stephen Berdenstein, a millionaire adventurer recently returned from Rio de Janeiro. When he is killed, his sister, Olive Berdenstein, pursues the man whom she thinks is responsible: Philip Maltabar.
Much of the plot of the novel, and the thrill for Victorian readers, lies in the quaint morality of "illegitimacy" and marriage as practiced during that period. The story is told in the first person by Kate, which is unusual for Oppenheim.
Originally published as "As a Man Lives" in 1898. Often republished as "The Yellow House."
August 21, 2013
This Edwardian-era mystery really packs in the melodrama and romance, with "shocking twists" and "surprising revelations" at almost every turn of the page. There are mistaken identities, hidden relationships, daring rescues, passion, jealousy, resentment, redemption, and of course, the requisite heroine who can't be quite as demure and ladylike as society thinks she ought to be, and finds herself inexplicably drawn to the gruff and surly hero. Not particularly good literature, but plenty of good fun. Short, quick read, too.
February 12, 2018
This was a very enjoyable read. It is very different from other Phillips Oppenheim books that I have read; many of his stories are about the first world war, spies and the like but this book is very different. I won't spoil it by telling any of the story. Enjoy!
April 21, 2014
Mystery or Morality
Kate Ffolliot has returned to England after "taking a degree" in Germany. She is living with her father, a learned and aesthetic clergyman, and her sister Alice, in a small northern town, where her father has recently been appointed. Kate is pretty and popular and has received many visitors, including the social gossip Lady Naselton. Their house is near the property of Deville Court, the property of the impoverished and anti-social Bruce Deville. Nearby, in a yellow house, lives the successful writer and social crusader Mrs. Adelaide Fortress.
Into this quaint scene comes Stephen Berdenstein, a millionaire adventurer recently returned from Rio de Janeiro. When he is killed, his sister, Olive Berdenstein, pursues the man whom she thinks is responsible: Philip Maltabar.
Much of the plot of the novel, and the thrill for Victorian readers, lies in the quaint morality of "illegitimacy" and marriage as practiced during that period. The story is told in the first person by Kate, which is unusual for Oppenheim.
Originally published as "As a Man Lives" in 1898. Often republished as "The Yellow House."
Kate Ffolliot has returned to England after "taking a degree" in Germany. She is living with her father, a learned and aesthetic clergyman, and her sister Alice, in a small northern town, where her father has recently been appointed. Kate is pretty and popular and has received many visitors, including the social gossip Lady Naselton. Their house is near the property of Deville Court, the property of the impoverished and anti-social Bruce Deville. Nearby, in a yellow house, lives the successful writer and social crusader Mrs. Adelaide Fortress.
Into this quaint scene comes Stephen Berdenstein, a millionaire adventurer recently returned from Rio de Janeiro. When he is killed, his sister, Olive Berdenstein, pursues the man whom she thinks is responsible: Philip Maltabar.
Much of the plot of the novel, and the thrill for Victorian readers, lies in the quaint morality of "illegitimacy" and marriage as practiced during that period. The story is told in the first person by Kate, which is unusual for Oppenheim.
Originally published as "As a Man Lives" in 1898. Often republished as "The Yellow House."
July 26, 2017
2.5 stars. High melodrama with a fairly convoluted plot. I really liked the characters of Kate Ffolliot and Adelaide Fortress for their independent spirits. I also liked the way Oppenheim juxtaposed the personalities of the two sisters. But the characters of Olive was inexplicable and unrealistic. Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read, if you don't expect too much.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews