The Touchstone
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The Touchstone is a novella written by Edith Wharton. It was published in 1900 and was her first published novella.
[edit] Plot Introduction
Stephen Glennard betrays a former love, selling her letters to him so that he may raise the money to marry his beautiful fiancee.
[edit] Plot Summary
Stephen Glennard's career is falling apart and he desperately needs money so that he may marry his beautiful fiancee. He happens upon an advertisement in a London magazine promising the prospect of financial gain. Glennard was once pursued by Margaret Aubyn, a famous and recently deceased author, and he still has her passionate love letters to him. Glennard removes his name from the letters and sells them, making him a fortune and building a marriage based on the betrayal of another.
