In some ways this novel reminds me of a novel by Edith Wharton--a glimpse of upper society in New York City in the early years of the 20th century. But it is a dark and threatening Edith Wharton. It begins: "It is just as well to say at the onset that the tragedy in which Tristrem Varick was the central figure has not been rightly understood. The world in which he lived, as well as the newspaper public, have had but one theory between them to account for it, and that theory is that Tristrem Varick was insane." In the book, Tristrem Varick falls in love with Viola Raritan, a beautiful and enigmatic woman. He idealizes her, pursues her, wins her, loses her, pursues her again, and all ends in the tragedy referred to at the outset of the novel. In all this, there are elements of mystery, adultery, incest and murder.

The author Edgar Saltus was a well-known writer in his time, and a friend of Oscar Wilde, although now he is an obscure and forgotten writer. He was American, and wrote "lurid" histories of Ancient Rome and Russia, in addition to his novels. One critic described his style as "unique" with prose that "wavers between the lurid excess of a romantic poem and the spare, dangerous staccato of a telegram." Saltus himself wrote: "{I}n literature only three things count: style, style polished, style repolished. Style may be defined as harmony of syllables, the fall of sentences, the absence of metaphor, the pursuit of repetition even unto the thirtieth and fortieth line, the use of the exact term no matter what the term may be." And Oscar Wilde said, "In Edgar Saltus's work passion struggles with grammar on every page."

I agree that the prose in this book is lush and unique. However, there's a darn good story here too. ( )