The Wiles of the Wicked

The narrator, writing under a false name to avoid publicity, sets out to correct distorted rumours and to vindicate the honour of someone dear linked to a powerful European imperial house. He recounts travel and illness abroad that resulted in blindness, his return to dingy lodgings in London, and the companionship of an old college friend who now works as a journalist. The account is presented as a factual dossier held in a ministry archive and promises a succession of strange adventures and exposures; early episodes include a scandalous discovery of blood on his clothes and an implausible explanation that he was knocked down by a cab.