The Carcellini Emerald, With Other Tales

The Carcellini Emerald and its companion tales offer a acid portrait of Gilded Age New York, where reputation is currency and everyone's secrets are priced for sale. At the center stands Ashton Carmichael, a figure as glamorous as he is inexplicable: welcomed everywhere, deferred to by society's elite, yet living in shabby rooms while enjoying luxuries he cannot afford. How did this man of mysterious origins become a power in New York's most exclusive circles? The answer lies buried in old scandals, broken engagements, and the quiet choices of those who prefer silence to exposure. Burton Harrison writes with the sharp eye of a insider satirist, cataloging the rituals and hypocrisies of the moneyed class with ironic precision. These are tales of romantic intrigue, social climbing, and the fragile architecture of reputation. The title story adds a jewel-heist to the mix, but the real mystery is always social: what people will do to maintain their place, and what they know about each other that they will never say aloud.