
Peter Mann, a once‑celebrated playwright now mired in a creative drought, spends his days drifting through the bustling streets of early‑20th‑century Greenwich Village. He watches the city’s eclectic mix of artists, radicals, and ordinary folk, hoping for a spark that will revive his stalled career and restore his dwindling savings. His routine is broken when a striking young woman in a plaid coat freezes in the traffic, catching his eye and stirring a curiosity he hasn’t felt in years.
The encounter sets Peter on an unexpected path, prompting him to question his rigid ideas about love, marriage, and the modern woman he’s been trying to depict onstage. As the city’s noise swirls around them, their brief meeting hints at possibilities both artistic and personal, offering a glimmer of hope amid his lingering melancholy. Listeners will be drawn into a vivid portrait of a restless New York, where the line between inspiration and obsession begins to blur.
Language
en
Duration
~8 hours (482K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive
Release date
2016-05-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1874–1936
An American novelist and playwright, he wrote popular fiction, collaborated with Henry Kitchell Webster, and brought a journalist’s eye to subjects as varied as industry, politics, and social change. His career also included magazine editing and a reporting trip to China to investigate the opium trade.
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