Mysterious Mr. Sabin

Mysterious Mr. Sabin is a 1898 spy thriller novel by the British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim. It was the first spy novel by Oppenheim, a genre which he came to dominate during the First World War and interwar era. Revolving around a plot of a Frenchman selling British military secrets it became a bestseller, establishing him as a popular writer. It has been described as the novel "that launched Oppenheim's career of xenophobic espionage fantasy". It contains elements of invasion fiction, a common genre theme at the time.

Synopsis
A ruthless French criminal mastermind, Sabin plots to restore the French monarchy and place his niece Hélène on the throne. To accomplish this he steals various military secrets in a complex plan that involves a German invasion of Britain. He is thwarted by a young Englishman Lord Wolfenden who eventually ends up marrying Hélène.