The Lodger was the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's first thriller, and a remarkable film it is. But the story Hitchcock tells -- of young love and mistaken identity (and is that a mistake, or malicious accusation by a rival. . . ?) -- is very different from Lowndes's tale, a story of an elderly couple with a strange and unsettling tenant -- a man with peculiar habits who may be the Ripper himself. . . .

"[Belloc Lowndes] brings to the making of a mystery a literary sense and an imagination that puts life into the tale and into the readers." - The Observer An enigmatic young woman named Laura Dousland stands on trial for murder, accused of poisoning her elderly husband Fordish. It seems clear that the poison was delivered in a flask of Chianti with supper, but according to the couple's servant in the witness-box, the flask disappeared the night Fordish died and all attempts to trace it have come to nothing. The jury delivers its verdict, but this is just the end of the beginning of Marie Belloc Lowndes' gripping story. First published in 1934, this exquisitely crafted novel blends the tenets of a traditional mystery with an exploration of the psychological impact of death, accusation, guilt and justice in the aftermath of murder.

The Lodger (1913) is a novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes. Inspired by the infamous murders committed by Jack the Ripper and Dr. Neill Cream-also known as the Lambeth Poisoner-The Lodger is a thriller that employs aspects of the popular penny dreadful novel while maintaining its literary status as a bone-chilling and highly original tale. "The room, especially when it be known that it was part of a house standing in a grimy, if not exactly sordid, London thoroughfare, was exceptionally clean and well-cared-for. A casual stranger, more particularly one of a Superior class to their own, on suddenly opening the door of that sitting-room; would have thought that Mr. and Mrs. Bunting presented a very pleasant cosy picture of comfortable married life." Behind their polished exterior, the Buntings hide a common struggle. After countless failures, their business is threatened with total failure, forcing them to go cold and hungry in order to keep up appearances. As their savings plummet, a strange man named Mr. Sleuth arrives offering to pay for the next month in advance. The Buntings are in no position to turn him down. At the same time, a series of brutal murders shocks the city of London, raising their suspicions and fears to a fever pitch. The Lodger is a story of desperation and terror inspired by some of the twentieth century's most notorious serial killers. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Marie Belloc Lowndes' The Lodger is a classic work of British literature reimagined for modern readers.

To take but one point: Mr. Sleuth did not ask to be called unduly early. Bunting and his Ellen had fallen into the way of lying rather late in the morning, and it was a great comfort not to have to turn out to make the lodger a cup of tea at seven, or even half-past seven. Mr. Sleuth seldom required anything before eleven.

The Lodger, published in 1913, is based on the Jack the Ripper murders, it is about a London family who suspects that their upstairs lodger is a mysterious killer known as 'The Avenger'. The novel was the basis for four movie adaptions. The first was the silent film version directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927, it was followed by several remakes. The film was remade by Maurice Elvey in 1932, John Brahm in 1944, as ""Man in the Attic"" in 1953, and once again by David Ondaatje in 2009.