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John Merriam is the picture‑perfect principal of a tiny Illinois high school, admired for his moral sermons and spotless reputation. Beneath his respectable exterior, however, he feels a restless hunger for something beyond the predictable rhythms of rural life. One evening he slips away to the dazzling Peacock Cabaret in Chicago, where the lights, music, and a mysterious waiter known only as “No. 73” draw him into a world far removed from his Sunday‑school lectures.
That chance encounter sets off a chain of far‑cical misadventures, pulling the earnest educator into schemes involving impostors, social clubs, and a bewildering cast of strangers. As Merriam navigates the glittering yet treacherous urban scene, his well‑meaning intentions clash with unexpected obligations, hinting at a tangled romance that could rewrite his notion of duty. Listeners will be delighted by the witty twists and the charming clash between small‑town virtue and big‑city intrigue.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (459K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2015-04-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
b. 1881
Best known today for the 1920 novel Mollie’s Substitute Husband, this American writer also worked in higher education and wrote sharply about college life. His career moved between fiction, criticism, and university leadership, giving his work an insider’s eye for student culture.
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