Roden's Corner

In The Hague's shadowed streets and among London's polished drawing rooms, hidden bargains, public honors, and private motives collide. Professor von Holzen, a cultured German scientist, slips into a poor quarter to visit a dying man who still holds the knowledge he needs, and their grim transaction over money, illness, and a long-guarded formula ends in a deathwatch that feels both clinical and intimate. From that bleak chamber, the story turns to the absurdities of fame, as plain, modest Major White is unexpectedly hailed as a colonial hero while Tony Cornish, witty and socially fluent, moves him through the rituals of London society and toward Joan Ferriby. Joan's practical energy, her charitable work, and her sharp eye for status complicate White's place in her world, while Lord Ferriby's grand philanthropic scheme for malgamite exposes the hypocrisies behind benevolence. When paper-makers confront him over monopoly disguised as charity, the argument strips away moral pretence and forces Cornish toward a difficult practical solution. Meanwhile, in The Hague, Percy Roden and Mrs. Vansittart circle each other in elegant, wary flirtation, each probing the secrets behind his success and her interest. Beneath every encounter lies the same tension: wealth, power, and desire are never as straightforward as they seem. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.