<p>After the sudden, untimely death of his wife, the wealthy Mr. Incoul proposes to Miss Maida Barhyte: “Marry me, and you will never want for anything again.” Young Maida, under pressure from her mother and facing a future as a housemaid, reluctantly agrees, on the condition that they live as though unmarried—as brother and sister would—until she feels they’ve each come into their own.</p> <p>They wed on these terms and subsequently embark on a honeymoon across Europe. But just as Maida begins to adjust to this unconventional arrangement, the unexpected occurs: at a bullfight in Spain, a former lover resurfaces, vying for her attention once more. Mr. Incoul remains blissfully unaware of this development. Or does he?</p> <p>In <i>Mr. Incoul’s Misadventure</i>, his first published work of fiction, <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/edgar-saltus">Edgar Saltus</a> eruditely applies the biting pessimism that he previously studied in his philosophical works <i>The Philosophy of Disenchantment</i> and <i>The Anatomy of Negation</i>.</p>