- Who is it for?
- Ages 10–14
- How long is it?
- 29 min
- What does it include?
- Synced read-along and a quiz
- What does it cost?
- Premium access in Emma's Library
About this audiobook
In class-divided 1880s Melbourne, Oliver Whyte is found dead from chloroform poisoning inside a hansom cab. Suspicion falls on Brian Fitzgerald, who is engaged to Madge Frettlby, daughter of the wealthy Mark Frettlby. Brian had quarreled with Whyte and refuses to explain his movements because his alibi would expose a secret that could ruin Madge's family. Lawyer Duncan Calton and detectives Gorby and Kilsip follow the case from drawing rooms to the poverty of Little Bourke Street. They learn that Mark secretly married Rosanna Moore before his respected public marriage. Rosanna survived when he believed her dead, making Madge legally illegitimate; Whyte possessed the marriage certificate and used it to blackmail Mark. Testimony clears Brian, but the deeper mystery remains. Mark dies after writing a confession of his past and of Roger Moreland's later attempt to sell him the stolen certificate. The investigators confront Moreland with the document and proof that he drugged Whyte in the cab to steal it. Moreland is arrested and dies by suicide in his cell. To protect Madge from public scandal, the survivors burn Mark's confession; Brian and Madge marry, carrying a truth Melbourne never learns.
Why it's worth a listen
Step into the gaslit streets of Victorian Melbourne, where a shocking murder inside a hansom cab exposes the dark underbelly of high society. Follow the desperate quest of a young lawyer and a loyal fiancée as they race to clear an innocent man's name against mounting evidence. This pioneering Australian detective story reveals how easily wealth and respectability can be shattered by the ghosts of the past.
What listeners will learn
Subjects: literature, storytelling, historical imagination.
- character
- setting
- conflict
- choice
- consequence
- theme
- retelling
- mystery
- hansom
- classic
Questions for after listening
- Retell the central conflict in order.
- Name one important choice and what happened because of it.
- How did the setting or tradition shape the story?
A question to keep
Is it ever truly possible to protect the innocent by burying the truth, or do buried secrets inevitably poison the lives of those we seek to shield?
Chapters
- The Midnight Fare
- A Gentleman's Silence
- The Shadows of Little Bourke Street
- The Price of a Secret
- The Trap is Sprung
- A Question to Keep
Editorial review
Quality reviewed · 98/100 on . Certificate EL-32FA-DADB is bound to the exact narrated script.
The review checks factual care, audience fit, teaching quality, structure, tone and source honesty. Read the editorial standards.
Published 2026-07-13 · Updated
