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An impoverished young bride enters a joyless marriage, then discovers that beauty can confer a power her husband never expected.
A penniless painter prepares to leave his summer lodging while dreaming of fame and avoiding the young woman who believes in his future.
An accomplished engineer complains that the public knows performers and criminals better than builders and scholars—until his seatmate tests the claim.
A small-town mayor sees a visiting Persian dignitary as his best chance to acquire the decoration he covets.
A barber's son explains how plagiarism, paid praise, personal attacks, and business deals made him a national literary authority.
News of the Republic reaches a Norman village, where a self-important doctor turns national upheaval into a personal campaign for office.
A wealthy idler devotes himself to earning the red ribbon he has coveted since childhood, despite having done nothing to deserve it.
A lonely traveler reunites with a boastful school friend whose lavish home hides an unexpected family business.
After five years and most of his fortune, Monson must decide whether his flying machine is ready—or whether ridicule has forced the decision.
A ragged stranger claims to carry a fortune in man-made diamonds, but every proof of his success has made him look more like a criminal.
A successful politician confides that a green door has offered him glimpses of a lost garden of perfect happiness throughout his life.
A nervous visitor steals a scientist’s deadliest culture and races across London with catastrophe—and fame—on his mind.
A sculptor and a brilliant stranger use drugs to cross the boundaries of sleep until one reaches a place neither can safely revisit.
A lonely lighthouse keeper boards a white ship under the full moon and sails through dreamlike lands of beauty, mystery, and danger.
After a motor race, a wealthy young Irishman joins his foreign friends for a night of celebration.
Two young working women pursue very different futures in a city where wages, style, and marriage all promise escape.
16 stories
