Back to Standard Ebooks
Cover of The House by the River

The House by the River

by

A celebrated young poet commits a spontaneous act of violence, then has to deal with the consequences.

en-GB7/21/2025Standard Ebooks

Subjects

About This Book

In west London on the bank of the Thames is a well-heeled but down to earth street. The residents are all accomplished in their own ways, but the shining star that dominates their attention is Stephen Byrne, the war poet. But Stephen isn’t the perfect specimen that they imagine him to be: he spontaneously assaults his new maid, killing her, and setting his life—and that of his friend John Egerton—on a dangerously out-of-control path.

The House by the River is A. P. Herbert’s second novel, following the success of The Secret Battle, and it was here that he began to develop—despite the subject matter—his trademark wit. These days the novel is perhaps best known as the source material for Fritz Lang’s 1950 film of the same name.

Download Formats

Public domain in the United States. Users located outside of the United States must check their local laws before using this ebook. Original content released to the public domain via the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Pricing© 2026 Scriptwerk. Made with ❤️ for book lovers.