The King's Messenger by F. Marion Crawford
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"The King's Messenger by F. Marion Crawford" is a short story written during the early 20th century. As a piece of literary fiction, it blends elements of the supernatural and the psychological, exploring themes of mortality, love, and fate. The book revolves around a mysterious dinner party and touches upon the topic of death, presenting it in a symbolic and almost gentle manner. The story centers on the narrator’s experience at a
dinner party where the guests, especially the beautiful young Miss Lorna, display an unusual familiarity with each other. As the thirteenth guest arrives—an enigmatic and compelling man—Miss Lorna confides in the narrator that she will be leaving with this man that very night. Through their conversations, it becomes clear that the newcomer embodies more than he seems, his presence casting a strange spell over the group. After dinner, Miss Lorna leaves with the man, and it is only afterwards that the narrator learns from his hostess that the guest is none other than Death himself—the true “King’s Messenger.” The narrative is ultimately revealed to be a dream, which gains poignant significance when the narrator receives a real-life message of Lorna’s sudden passing, merging dream and reality in a meditation on life, love, and mortality. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion), 1854-1909 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Snapp, Frank |
| Title | The King's Messenger |
| Original Publication | New York: International Magazine Company, 1907. |
| Series Title | Produced from the November 1907 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. |
| Credits | Roger Frank |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 78.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Supernatural -- Fiction |
| Subject | Youth and death -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 75905 |
| Release Date | Apr 21, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 303 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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