Unravelled Knots

In Unravelled Knots, Baroness Orczy returns to the enigmatic figure of the Old Man in the Corner — the shabby, eccentric sleuth who solves baffling mysteries without ever leaving his teashop chair. With only his sharp intellect and a piece of string he knots absentmindedly, he untangles cases that have stumped the police and confounded the courts. From stolen jewels to sinister murders, each tale reveals hidden motives and overlooked clues, culminating in clever, unexpected solutions. This final collection is both a celebration of Orczy's pioneering detective and a masterclass in logical reasoning, cementing the Old Man's place alongside Sherlock Holmes as one of the earliest icons of mystery fiction.

Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865–1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist, playwright, and artist, best remembered as the creator of the legendary hero The Scarlet Pimpernel. Born in Tarnaörs, Hungary, she moved to London in her youth and established herself in literary circles with her flair for romantic adventure and historical drama. Orczy's groundbreaking novel The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) introduced readers to Sir Percy Blakeney, the daring English aristocrat who, in disguise, rescued French nobles from the guillotine during the Revolution—an archetype that inspired countless masked and double-identity heroes in popular culture, from Zorro to Batman. Beyond the Pimpernel series, she penned detective stories such as The Old Man in the Corner, historical romances, and even works on Hungarian life and folklore. Her works combined suspense, wit, and a deep love for heroism, earning her international acclaim. Orczy continued writing until her final years, leaving behind a legacy as one of the pioneers of modern adventure and mystery fiction