Seven short stories from the prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist Edith Wharton. With a wide variety of protagonists – a cloistered monk to a struggling artist to a Governor to a New England lawyer's wife – she is flexing her writing muscles and trying on personas. Includes „The Last Asset", „In Trust", „The Pretext", „The Verdict", „The Pot-Boiler", and „The Best Man". In the title story, the reader learns that the „hermit," as a young boy, witnessed the killing of his parents and sister during an attack on his town. As a result of his trauma, he has retreated into isolation until he meets a „wild woman" who comes to live nearby. Highly recommended when you want something short but stimulating between longer reads!