At a mountain resort near Vienna, a bored young baron looking for a conquest befriends a sickly twelve-year-old boy as a way to reach his mother. Edgar is flattered, then shut out, and slowly grasps that the adults share a secret he is meant not to understand, turning jealousy, rage and cunning against them both.
A taut psychological novella by Stefan Zweig, a perfect introduction to his work. Download the free EPUB.