{"product_id":"2940012011749","title":"THE PRETENDER - A Story of the Latin Quarter","description":"This ebook edition has been proofed and corrected and compiled to be read with without errors!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e***\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCONTENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBOOK I—THE CHALLENGE\u003cbr\u003eI. The Happiest Young Man in Manhattan\u003cbr\u003eII. The Sheep and the Goats\u003cbr\u003eIII. Grilled Kidney and Bacon \u003cbr\u003eIV. An Unintentional Philanderer\u003cbr\u003eV. A Seasick Sentimentalist\u003cbr\u003eVI. An Involuntary Fiancé\u003cbr\u003eVII. A Bottle of Ink\u003cbr\u003eVIII. The Girl Who Looked Interesting\u003cbr\u003eIX. The Chewing Gum of Destiny\u003cbr\u003eX. The Young Man Who Makes Good\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBOOK II—THE STRUGGLE\u003cbr\u003eI. The Newly-weds\u003cbr\u003eII. That Muddle-Headed Santa Claus\u003cbr\u003eIII. The City of Light\u003cbr\u003eIV. The City of Laughter\u003cbr\u003eV. The City of Love\u003cbr\u003eVI. Getting Down to Cases\u003cbr\u003eVII. The Merry Month of May\u003cbr\u003eVIII. \"Tom, Dick and Harry\"\u003cbr\u003eIX. An Unexpected Development\u003cbr\u003eX. The Life and Death of Dorothy Madden\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBOOK III—THE AWAKENING\u003cbr\u003eI. The Stress of the Struggle\u003cbr\u003eII. The Darkest Hour\u003cbr\u003eIII. The Dawn\u003cbr\u003eIV. A Chapter That Begins Well and Ends Badl\u003cbr\u003eV. The Great Quietus\u003cbr\u003eVI. The Shadow of Success\u003cbr\u003eVII. The Fate of Fame \u003cbr\u003eVIII. The Manufacture of a Villain\u003cbr\u003eIX. A Cheque and a Check \u003cbr\u003eX. Prince of Dreamers \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e***\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn excerpt from the beginning of:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBOOK I—THE CHALLENGE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003eTHE HAPPIEST YOUNG MAN IN MANHATTAN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo have omnibus tastes and an automobile income—how ironic?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith this reflexion I let myself collapse into a padded chair of transcendent comfort, lit a cigarette and inspected once more the amazing bank-book. Since I had seen it last several credit entries had been made—over twenty thousand dollars; and in the meantime, dawdling and dreaming in the woods of Maine, all I had managed to squander was a paltry thousand. Being a man of imagination I sought for a simile. As I sat there by the favourite window of my favourite club I could see great snowflakes falling in the quiet square, and at that moment it seemed to me that I too was standing under a snowfall, a snowfall of dollars steadily banking me about.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor a moment I revelled in the charming vision, then like a flash it changed. Now I could see two figures locked in Homeric combat. Like a serene over-soul I watched them, I, philosopher, life-critic; for was not one of them James H. Madden, a man of affairs, the other, J. Horace Madden, dilettante and dreamer. . . . Look! from that clutter of stale snow a form springs triumphant. Hurrah! It is the near-poet, the man on the side of the angels.—And so rejoiced was I at this issue that I regarded the little bank-book almost resentfully.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Figures, figures,\" I sighed, \"what do you mean to me? Crabbed symbols on a smudgy page! can you buy for me that fresh Spring-morning feeling in the brain, that rapture of a fine thing finely done? Ah no! the luxury you spell means care and worry. In comfort is contentment. And am I not content? Nay! in all Manhattan is there man more happy? Young, famous, free—could life possibly be more charming? And so in my tower of tranquillity let me work and dream; and every now and then, little book, your totals will grow absurd, and I will look at you and say: 'Figures, figures, what do you mean to me?'\"","brand":"Leila's Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47163825225968,"sku":"2940012011749","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012011749_p0.jpg?v=1763552054","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012011749","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}