Book Anatomy · The Red Thumb Mark
The Red Thumb Mark: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 65 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
6,788 different words. On average 49 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,237 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
thumb, print, reuben, prints, walter. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 17.43 words ending in 'ly' and 12.32 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 3.6% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 9.9% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 32% of sentences: i, the, it, he, you.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 521 |
| the | 252 |
| it | 160 |
| he | 150 |
| you | 146 |
| but | 139 |
| hornby | 125 |
| yes | 124 |
| and | 94 |
| what | 72 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.77 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
76 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.07 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 4: "My dear Jervis," he exclaimed, as we clasped hands warmly, "this is a great and delightful surprise. How often have I thought of my old comrade and wondered …
Ch 2, para 59: "I expect nothing but a conviction," replied Reuben in a calm and resolute voice, "and can face it like a man if only you do not take my …
Ch 2, para 60: "Everything shall be done that I am capable of doing," said Thorndyke; "that I can promise you. The long odds against us are themselves a spur to endeavour, …
Ch 2, para 61: Reuben Hornby held out both his hands for my colleague's inspection, and I noticed that they were powerful and shapely, like the hands of a skilled craftsman, though …
Ch 3, para 7: "A wonderful man that, Jervis," my friend observed as his assistant retired. "Looks like a rural dean or a chancery judge, and was obviously intended by Nature to …
Ch 3, para 9: "He was an in-patient at the hospital when I first met him, miserably ill and broken, a victim of poverty and undeserved misfortune. I gave him one or …
Similes and metaphors are sparse and functional. Thorndyke's mind is compared to a machine; evidence is weighed and measured. Most figurative language serves scientific or legal argument rather than lyrical effect.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 8, Ch 13
A finger-print is merely a fact--a very important and significant one, I admit--but still a fact, which, like any other fact, requires to be weighed and measured with reference to its evidential value (Ch 3, para 21)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 68%, sound 22%, touch 7%, taste 2%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 411 |
| sound | 136 |
| touch | 43 |
| taste | 14 |
| smell | 3 |
Sight dominates: microscopes, photographs, finger-prints, physical evidence. Sound appears in dialogue and courtroom scenes. Smell, touch and taste are minimal; the poisoned cigar is tasted only in theory, never by victim.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 13, Ch 16
They would hardly make a Trichinopoly cheroot from leaf grown in the West Indies (Ch 13, para 31)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
43 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.61 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in Thorndyke's deductions and evidence catalogues. Repetition of key phrases like 'finger-print' and 'forgery' builds obsession. Patterns emerge in Walter's assassination attempts: needle, cigar, typed evidence.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 16
I make it a rule, in all cases, to proceed on the strictly classical lines of inductive inquiry--collect facts, make hypotheses, test them and seek for verification (Ch 3, para 13)
I do; and I also say that it is certain that the forgery was executed by means of the 'Thumbograph. (Ch 16, para 125)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whence, art, whilst, ere.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whence | 6 |
| art | 2 |
| whilst | 1 |
| ere | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The book shows rather than tells through Jervis's observations and Thorndyke's demonstrations. The poisoned cigar is dissected on stage; the forgery is proven by reproduction, not explanation. Juliet's feelings emerge through her actions and silences.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 16, Ch 17
there was a sparkle of the eye and a scarcely perceptible flush of suppressed excitement and triumph which I had begun to recognise beneath the impassive mask that he presented to the world (Ch 5, para 42)
No. I am of opinion that it was not made by a human thumb at all. (Ch 16, para 30)
I do; and I also say that it is certain that the forgery was executed by means of the 'Thumbograph. (Ch 16, para 125)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is minimal and woven into action. Jervis notes details as he moves: prison conditions appear during a visit, the courtroom during trial. Settings are functional backdrops to investigation and dialogue rather than set pieces.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 15, Ch 16
The innocent man is a negligible quantity, and no arrangements are made for him or his visitors (Ch 9, para 17)
a black-painted prison van turned into the courtyard with its freight of squalid misery (Ch 9, para 54)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 2.71 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 43 |
| heard | 38 |
| seemed | 32 |
| saw | 25 |
| felt | 15 |
| noticed | 14 |
| knew | 13 |
| realised | 6 |
| watched | 4 |
| wondered | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from friendly reunion in Chapter 1 to urgent mystery in Chapter 2, then darkens with assassination attempts in Chapters 11 and 13. The trial in Chapters 15 to 16 builds tension before resolution's quiet relief in Chapter 17.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 11, Ch 13, Ch 15, Ch 17
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is dry and sparse. Polton's silent competence, Mrs. Hornby's rambling conversation, and Reuben's cool indifference to Juliet's devotion provide light moments. Humour serves character rather than plot.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 9, Ch 12
she's a deuced good sort, is Juliet (Ch 9, para 39)
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