I read this short story by the famous playwright in the hope it would prove a better read than his ‘The Birthday of the Infanta’. My hope was based on ‘The Sphinx Without a Secret’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, this moral tale is similar to the ‘Infanta’, in that it concentrates on fantastic sub-tales and detailed descriptions of luxury, and some nonsensical locations and objects.

I found the style tiresome, so much so that I skipped portions out of pure boredom.

Definitely of its time, and not the best of his writing.

[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]