{"product_id":"2940014043632","title":"The Monster Maker and other stories","description":"A young man of refined appearance, but evidently suffering great\u003cbr\u003emental distress, presented himself one morning at the residence of a\u003cbr\u003esingular old man, who was known as a surgeon of remarkable skill. The\u003cbr\u003ehouse was a queer and primitive brick affair, entirely out of date,\u003cbr\u003eand tolerable only in the decayed part of the city in which it stood.\u003cbr\u003eIt was large, gloomy, and dark, and had long corridors and dismal\u003cbr\u003erooms; and it was absurdly large for the small family--man and wife--\u003cbr\u003ethat occupied it. The house described, the man is portrayed--but not\u003cbr\u003ethe woman. He could be agreeable on occasion, but, for all that, he\u003cbr\u003ewas but animated mystery. His wife was weak, wan, reticent, evidently\u003cbr\u003emiserable, and possibly living a life of dread or horror--perhaps\u003cbr\u003ewitness of repulsive things, subject of anxieties, and victim of fear\u003cbr\u003eand tyranny; but there is a great deal of guessing in these\u003cbr\u003eassumptions. He was about sixty-five years of age and she about forty.\u003cbr\u003eHe was lean, tall, and bald, with thin, smooth-shaven face, and very\u003cbr\u003ekeen eyes; kept always at home, and was slovenly. The man was strong,\u003cbr\u003ethe woman weak; he dominated, she suffered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough he was a surgeon of rare skill, his practice was almost\u003cbr\u003enothing, for it was a rare occurrence that the few who knew of his\u003cbr\u003egreat ability were brave enough to penetrate the gloom of his house,\u003cbr\u003eand when they did so it was with deaf ear turned to sundry ghoulish\u003cbr\u003estories that were whispered concerning him. These were, in great part,\u003cbr\u003ebut exaggerations of his experiments in vivisection; he was devoted to\u003cbr\u003ethe science of surgery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe young man who presented himself on the morning just mentioned was\u003cbr\u003ea handsome fellow, yet of evident weak character and unhealthy\u003cbr\u003etemperament--sensitive, and easily exalted or depressed. A single\u003cbr\u003eglance convinced the surgeon that his visitor was seriously affected\u003cbr\u003ein mind, for there was never bolder skull-grin of melancholia, fixed\u003cbr\u003eand irremediable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA stranger would not have suspected any occupancy of the house. The\u003cbr\u003estreet door--old, warped, and blistered by the sun--was locked, and\u003cbr\u003ethe small, faded-green window-blinds were closed. The young man rapped\u003cbr\u003eat the door. No answer. He rapped again. Still no sign. He examined a\u003cbr\u003eslip of paper, glanced at the number of the house, and then, with the\u003cbr\u003eimpatience of a child, he furiously kicked the door. There were signs\u003cbr\u003eof numerous other such kicks. A response came in the shape of a\u003cbr\u003eshuffling footstep in the hail, a turning of the rusty key, and a\u003cbr\u003esharp face that peered through a cautious opening in the door.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Are you the doctor?\" asked the young man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, yes! Come in,\" briskly replied the master of the house.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe young man entered. The old surgeon closed the door and carefully\u003cbr\u003elocked it. \"This way,\" he said, advancing to a rickety flight of stairs. The young man\u003cbr\u003efollowed. The surgeon led the way up the stairs, turned into a narrow,\u003cbr\u003emusty-smelling corridor at the left, traversed it, rattling the loose\u003cbr\u003eboards under his feet, at the farther end opened a door at the right,\u003cbr\u003eand beckoned his visitor to enter. The young man found himself in a\u003cbr\u003epleasant room, furnished in antique fashion and with hard simplicity.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47073860518128,"sku":"2940014043632","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014043632_p0.jpg?v=1763599577","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014043632","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}