The Secret of Chimneys

Politician George Lomax convinces Lord Caterham to host a weekend party at his English estate, Chimneys.  Among the guests are George's cousin, Virginia Revel, Hiram Fish, a collector of first edition books and a group scheming to restore the monarchy in Herzeslovakia.   A murder in the house sets off a weeklong series of events in which Scotland Yard and the Surete are called in.

In the meantime, Anthony Cade is given the task of delivering a manuscript to a publisher and returning the letters (on which the manuscript is based) to their owner.  The letters are written by Count Stylptitch of Herzeslovakia, a country in uproar over the recent discovery of oil.  While staying overnight at a London hotel, the letters are stolen.  The thief delivers one of the stolen letters to the home of Virginia Revel, the signature on the letters, intent on blackmailing her.  She pays him some money with the promise of more when he brings another letter.  However, when she comes home the next day, the thief is dead on her doorstep and Anthony Cade is hovering over him.  Cade arranges to have the body discovered elsewhere to avoid a scandal for Revel who proceeds to Chimneys.

Upon arrival at Chimneys, Prince Michael, the heir to the Herzeslovakia throne, is murdered.  Cade, whose footprints are found outside the mansion, is a suspect.  He comes forward and persuades Scotland Yard's Superintendent Battle of his innocence.  In the meantime, he travels to France to track down the real murderer.

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond, stolen from the Tower of London years earlier by a French thief named King Victor, might be hidden in the mansion at Chimneys.  One night Virginia Revel comes upon an intruder, and suspects that it is King Victor, who has been released from prison.  However, it is M. Lemoine of the Surete, who is searching for the thief.

The stolen letters, which appear in Cade's room, provide a clue for Superintendent Battle:  "Richmond seven straight eight left three right."  Battle follows the clue to Richmond where he finds a brick in a hidden passage way.  Cade heads to Dover where he discovers Hiram Fish, who is not a collector of books, but a Pinkerton detective on the theif's trail, and the real M. Lemoine, who is tied up as a hostage.

At Chimneys everyone reconvenes to hear the mystery revealed.  Miss Brun holds a pistol to Boris to retrieve the diamond.  It turns out that Miss Brun was the murderer of Prince Michael, who had discovered her secret identity as the last queen consort of Herzeslovakia.  In a Princess Anastasia-like twist, she was thought to have been murdered with her husband in the revolution but escaped.  She was the one who had written the coveted letters and signed them with Virginia Revel's signature.

Anthony Cade introduces the real M. Lemoine to the group.  Hiram Fish captures King Victor who has been posing as a French detective.  Anthony Cade gives the letters to Jimmy McGrath and earns 1000 pounds.  Cade and Fish follow the code of the letters to a rose on the grounds of Chimneys where they discover the precious diamond. Cade then reveals he is the missing Prince Nicholas, the cousin of the decease Prince Michael.  He is ready to ally himself with British syndicate.  He offers himself as Herzeslovakia's next king.  His queen will be Virginia Revel, whom he married earlier that day.

The Secret of Chimneys circa 1925 courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_of_Chimneys#/media/File:The_Secret_of_Chimneys_First_Edition_Cover_1925.jpg.

The Crystal Palace Exhibition

"Enormous excursion trains daily poured their thousands into the city...Throughout the season...it was like...a giant picnic...large numbers of work people received holidays for the purpose.  Eight hundred agricultural labourers in their peasants attire from Surrey and Sussex conducted by their clergy at a cost of two and twopence each person -- numerous firms in the north sent their people who must have been gratified by the sight of their own handiwork..." (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/travelling-to-the-great-exhibition/)

Over six million people, a third of Britain's population, flocked to The Great Exhibition or The Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851.  It was the first time so many nations had gathered, other than on the battlefield.  The original entrance cost was 3 pounds for gentlemen and 2 pounds for ladies.  However, the fee was later dropped to 1 shilling for the masses.  

Grandiose describes the exhibition that was set up in London's Hyde Park from April to May.  The Crystal Palace, a glass building measuring 1851 feet long and 128 feet high, dominated the landscape.  The invention of the cast plate glass method allowed for the construction of the palace using large, inexpensive sheets of glass.  A 27 foot tall crystal fountain acted as the centre piece of the building.  Full size elm trees from within Hyde Park stood near the fountain.  There was no need for artificial light during the day thanks to the fact that the glass walls let in the natural light.  The palace featured the first public toilets, "lavatories" for the men and "restrooms" for the women.

The Crystal Palace Exhibition was the first to feature manufactured goods. Guests were dazzled by 100,000 objects displayed by over 15,000 contributors.  While Britain occupied half of the space, France was the largest foreign contributor.  Items were divided into four different categories:  Raw Materials, Machinery, Manufacturers and Fine Arts.  The Koh-i-Noor Diamond and Sevres porcelain were two of the more popular items featured.

The legacy of the Great Exhibition is the Crystal Palace. The building was dismantled and reassembled on Sydenham Hill in 1852 where it was host to several new exhibits including:  Egyptian, Alhambra, Roman, Renaissance, Pompeian and Grecian.  In 1861, the palace hosted the first aeronautical exhibit Lord Baden Powell noticed the interest of girls in scouting while hosting the Boy Scouts.  In 1909, the Festival of Empire was held to mark the coronation of George V.  During the First World War, the site was used as a naval training facility.  Towards the end of the Great War, the Crystal Palace reopened as the Imperial War museum.  In 1936, the building caught fire and burned to the ground, the red flames being seen in eight counties.  The Crystal Palace has been duplicated elsewhere in the world, including a building in Dallas, Texas as well as a restaurant in Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace