The Touchstone — Edith Wharton

The Touchstone was written by Edith Wharton and first published in 1900, it was her very first novella written. This Faustian tale of a man who stoops to publish love letters for money has mesmerizing, even dangerous qualities, it has betrayals, greed, and consequences faced: hidden meanings emerge in places where we do not expect to find them. Perhaps, like Stephen Glennard in The Touchstone, we will go mad with guilt, proving we do after all have a conscience.