
A sharp‑dressed young man named Don Pendleton walks into a venerable New York law office, cigarette in hand, to learn that his late father’s will has left him a massive Manhattan townhouse—yet with a twist: the property is held in trust, and Don cannot sell, rent, or otherwise dispose of it. The lawyer, Jonas Barton, struggles to bridge the gap between old‑world formalities and Don’s impatient, modern sensibility, offering a glimpse of the family’s storied past while navigating the peculiar conditions of the inheritance. As Don pushes for a concise explanation, the scene sets up a clash between youthful ambition and the weight of a legacy that binds him to a place he never expected to call home.
The opening frames a world of high‑society intrigue, where a charismatic heir must reconcile his own desires with the constraints of a will crafted by a sentimental patriarch. Listeners are drawn into the tension between the bustling, cut‑throat atmosphere of Wall Street and the intimate, almost nostalgic ties to a family estate, promising a story that explores duty, identity, and the price of privilege.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (300K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-08-10
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1876–1945
A prolific early-20th-century American novelist and short-story writer, he moved from Boston newspaper work into fiction and produced a steady stream of popular novels. His books range from social dramas to fast-moving adventure tales, including the well-known The Web of the Golden Spider.
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