Article #172-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from The Haunted Bookshop, by Christopher Morley

"Yes, that time Metzger had taken it," said Aubrey. "He misunderstood
his instructions, and thought he was to steal the book. You see, owing
to the absence of their third man, they were working at cross purposes.
Metzger, I think, was only intended to get his information out of the
book, and leave it where it was. At any rate, he was puzzled, and
inserted that ad in the Times the next morning--that LOST ad, you
remember. By that, I imagine, he intended to convey the idea that he
had located the bookshop, but didn't know what to do next. And the
date he mentioned in the ad, midnight on Tuesday, December third, was
to inform Weintraub (of whose identity he was still ignorant) when
Metzger was to go on board the ship. Weintraub had been instructed by
their spy organization to watch the LOST and FOUND ads."

"Think of it!" cried Titania.

"Well," continued Aubrey, "all this may not be 100 per cent. accurate,
but after putting things together this is how it dopes out. Weintraub,
who was as canny as they make them, saw he'd have to get into direct
touch with Metzger. He sent him word, on the Friday, to come over to
see him and bring the book. Metzger, meanwhile, had had a bad fright
when I spoke to him in the hotel elevator. He returned the book to the
shop that night, as Mrs. Mifflin remembers. Then, when I stopped in at
the drug store on my way home, he must have been with Weintraub. I
found the Cromwell cover in the drug-store bookcase--why Weintraub was
careless enough to leave it there I can't guess--and they spotted me
right away as having some kind of hunch. So they followed me over the
Bridge and tried to get rid of me. It was because I got that cover on
Friday night that Weintraub broke into the shop again early Sunday
morning. He had to have the cover of the book to bind his bomb in."

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley**

Context of the Source

The Haunted Bookshop (1919) is a novel by American writer Christopher Morley, a sequel to his earlier work Parnassus on Wheels (1917). The story follows Roger Mifflin, a book-loving proprietor of a secondhand bookshop in Brooklyn, and his wife Helen, as they become entangled in a German spy plot during World War I. The novel blends mystery, humor, and bibliophilia, reflecting Morley’s love for books and his wartime anxieties.

This excerpt comes near the end of the novel, where Aubrey Gilbert, a young man helping the Mifflins, explains how a network of German spies (Metzger and Weintraub) used coded messages, stolen books, and even a bookshop to smuggle explosives onto a ship bound for Europe. The passage reveals the clever but flawed spy operation, where miscommunication and chance interventions (like Aubrey’s own sleuthing) disrupt their plans.

Breakdown of the Excerpt

1. The Spy Plot & Miscommunication

Aubrey explains how Metzger, a German agent, misunderstood his orders regarding a book in the Mifflins’ shop. The spies’ plan was likely to:

Extract information from the book (possibly hidden codes or instructions).
Leave the book in place so as not to arouse suspicion.

However, Metzger took the book, realizing too late that he was supposed to leave it. To signal his confusion and location, he placed a coded "LOST" ad in The New York Times, mentioning:

Midnight, Tuesday, December 3rd – A prearranged date for Metzger to board a ship (likely carrying explosives).
The ad was meant for Weintraub, another spy, who was monitoring "LOST and FOUND" ads (a common spy tactic in wartime fiction).

Key Detail: The spies’ third man was absent, leading to crossed purposes—a theme of miscommunication in espionage.

2. Weintraub’s Counter-Move

Weintraub, described as "as canny as they make them" (i.e., very clever), realizes he must contact Metzger directly. He sends word for Metzger to:

Bring the book to him on Friday.
Metzger, now nervous (after Aubrey confronted him in a hotel elevator), returns the book to the shop that night (as Mrs. Mifflin later recalls).

3. The Drugstore Clue & Aubrey’s Discovery

Aubrey, while stopping at a drugstore, notices:

A book cover (Cromwell’s works) left carelessly in the store’s bookcase.
This was Weintraub’s mistake—he and Metzger were meeting there, and the cover was part of their bomb-disguise plan.

When Aubrey takes the cover, the spies spot him and realize he’s onto them. They:

Follow him across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Try to "get rid of him" (likely meaning harm or intimidate him).

4. The Final Break-In & the Bomb Plot

Because Aubrey took the Cromwell cover, Weintraub panics—he needs it to disguise his bomb as a book. Thus, he:

Breaks into the bookshop early Sunday morning to retrieve the original book’s cover.
The implication is that the bomb was meant to be smuggled aboard a ship (likely the one Metzger was to board on Dec. 3rd).

Themes in the Excerpt

Espionage & Miscommunication
- The spies’ plan fails due to poor coordination (Metzger’s misunderstanding, Weintraub’s carelessness).
- Reflects real-world WWI paranoia about German saboteurs in America.
Books as Tools of Deception
- The novel’s central irony: books (symbols of knowledge and peace) are used for destruction.
- The Cromwell cover is repurposed for a bomb, twisting the idea of literature as harmless.
Amateur Sleuthing vs. Professional Spies
- Aubrey, an ordinary young man, outwits the spies through observation and luck.
- Contrasts with the overconfident, bumbling spies (Weintraub’s carelessness, Metzger’s panic).
War’s Encroachment on Civilian Life
- The bookshop, a place of intellectual refuge, becomes a battleground for espionage.
- Mirrors how WWI disrupted everyday American life.

Literary Devices

Dramatic Irony
- The reader (and Aubrey) pieces together the plot before the spies realize their mistakes.
- Example: Weintraub doesn’t know Aubrey has the cover until it’s too late.
Foreshadowing
- The "LOST" ad hints at deeper intrigue.
- Metzger’s nervousness in the elevator foreshadows his later panic.
Symbolism
- The book cover = deception (literature hiding destruction).
- The bookshop = innocence under threat.
Colloquial Language & Humor
- Aubrey’s phrase "this is how it dopes out" (slang for "figures out") keeps the tone light despite the serious plot.
- Titania’s "Think of it!" adds a dramatic, almost comedic reaction.
Unreliable Narration (to an extent)
- Aubrey admits his theory "may not be 100 per cent. accurate", making the reader question how much is guesswork.

Significance of the Passage

Historical Context
- Written during WWI (1917-1918), the novel reflects American fears of German sabotage (e.g., the Black Tom explosion of 1916, a real German-sponsored attack in NYC).
- The LOST ad code was a real spy tactic used in the war.
Genre Blending
- Morley mixes mystery, comedy, and propaganda—the spies are both threatening and ridiculous.
- The bookshop setting makes the thriller intellectually cozy despite the danger.
Characterization of Aubrey
- Unlike a hardboiled detective, Aubrey is an everyman who stumbles into danger.
- His logical deduction (though not perfect) shows how ordinary people could thwart spies.
Meta-Commentary on Books
- The novel celebrates books while showing how they can be misused.
- The haunted bookshop of the title suggests stories have hidden depths—some benign, some sinister.

Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters

This passage is the climax of the spy subplot, where all the clues, coincidences, and blunders converge. Morley uses it to:

Satirize wartime paranoia (the spies are incompetent, not supervillains).
Reaffirm the power of books (even when used for evil, they remain central to the mystery).
Show how ordinary people can outsmart professionals through curiosity and luck.

The excerpt’s tone—part thriller, part comedy— captures Morley’s unique style: a love letter to books, wrapped in a spy story, with a dash of wartime anxiety. The LOST ad, the drugstore cover, and the midnight ship departure all tie into the novel’s central theme: even in chaos, stories (and bookshops) endure.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s depiction of Weintraub’s decision to contact Metzger directly after seeing the LOST ad most strongly suggests which of the following about espionage operations during wartime?

A. The necessity of improvisation when prearranged systems of communication prove inadequate.
B. The inherent superiority of face-to-face coordination over coded messages in high-stakes scenarios.
C. The tendency for agents to prioritise personal survival over mission objectives when under pressure.
D. The critical role of psychological manipulation in forcing errant operatives back into compliance.
E. The inevitability of operational collapse when agents are drawn from culturally disparate backgrounds.

Question 2

Aubrey’s admission that his reconstruction of events may not be “100 per cent. accurate” serves primarily to:

A. undermine the reader’s confidence in his deductive abilities, casting doubt on the reliability of the entire narrative.
B. highlight the provisional nature of truth in espionage, where even the most plausible explanations remain speculative.
C. signal the author’s self-awareness about the contrived nature of detective fiction tropes in a wartime setting.
D. foreshadow a later revelation that key details of the plot have been misinterpreted by the characters.
E. establish Aubrey as an unreliable narrator whose subjective biases distort the objective facts of the case.

Question 3

The Cromwell book cover’s dual function—as both a discarded clue and a critical component of the bomb disguise—is most thematically resonant with which of the following ideas?

A. The arbitrary nature of symbolic meaning in wartime, where objects lose their intrinsic value.
B. The fragility of intellectual pursuits when co-opted by violent political ideologies.
C. The subversion of cultural artifacts, whereby tools of enlightenment become instruments of destruction.
D. The inevitability of human error in high-pressure scenarios, regardless of an agent’s training.
E. The paradoxical durability of literature, which survives even when repurposed for malevolent ends.

Question 4

Titania’s exclamation “Think of it!” is most effectively interpreted as fulfilling which narrative role in the passage?

A. Comic relief, undercutting the tension of the espionage plot with an overly dramatic reaction.
B. A meta-commentary on the absurdity of using bookshops as fronts for wartime sabotage.
C. An appeal to the reader’s suspense, urging them to consider the broader implications of the spy ring.
D. A device to emphasise the gendered dynamics of the scene, positioning Titania as an emotional foil to Aubrey’s rationality.
E. A rhetorical invitation to the audience to engage in the same process of speculative reconstruction as Aubrey.

Question 5

The passage’s structural emphasis on the timing of events (e.g., the LOST ad’s date, Metzger’s Friday return of the book, Weintraub’s Sunday break-in) primarily serves to:

A. create a sense of urgency that mirrors the high-stakes nature of wartime espionage.
B. illustrate how temporal misalignments between agents precipitate operational failure.
C. provide a realistic framework for the reader to verify the plausibility of Aubrey’s theory.
D. contrast the methodical precision of the spies with the haphazard interventions of the amateur sleuths.
E. reinforce the theme that historical outcomes often hinge on arbitrary or contingent sequences.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The passage explicitly states that Weintraub’s decision to contact Metzger directly was a response to the breakdown of their prearranged communication system (the LOST ad, monitored by the spy organisation). Weintraub, described as “canny,” recognises that the ad’s ambiguity and Metzger’s confusion necessitate improvisation—a shift from coded messages to direct contact. This aligns with A’s focus on the adaptive measures required when standard protocols fail, a hallmark of wartime espionage where rigidity can be fatal.