The Golden Chimera by Edgar Saltus
A journalist narrates the story in retrospect, prompted by an unexpected reunion with the lawyer Bundy at the Hôtel des Bains in Oriol before the war. Years earlier in New York, the narrator had interviewed Hall Ferrol, a wealthy recluse obsessed with alchemy, who lived apart from his socially prominent wife, Janet Ferrol. Ferrol lectured the narrator on the history of alchemy and the alkahest, the fabled solvent for transmuting lead into gold, and boasted that he was on the verge of producing gold himself, requiring, he claimed, the blood of a human being for the process. Some time later, Ferrol died suddenly at night, and Janet Ferrol was arrested and tried for his murder, allegedly by poisoning him with muscarin found in her possession. The narrator covered the trial as a reporter. The prosecutor Melvale argued she killed her husband for his money and for another man, Asher, her cousin who had come from Virginia to support her. Bundy, defending her, drew out through her testimony that Ferrol's estate was in fact worthless beyond a soon-to-lapse annuity, that she had known this before marrying him, and that she had taken the muscarin from Ferrol's study because he had spoken of dosing and dissecting Sir William Ramsay to obtain blood for his experiment. She testified that Ferrol had told her, shortly before his death, that he had finally succeeded in recovering the alkahest and snaring the "golden chimera," promising to make her the richest woman in the world. Medical testimony for the defense suggested Ferrol died of heart failure brought on by his own excitability. Janet was acquitted. Back at Oriol, the narrator finds Bundy greatly changed, thinner and pale. Over conversation and wine, Bundy tells an elaborate private account: that Janet had planned to leave Ferrol, that she had assisted in his experiments hoping he would fail, that when Ferrol actually succeeded in transmuting metal she was present, and that he died that same night. Bundy claims he always believed in her innocence, recalls that she fainted upon acquittal, and says that afterward she turned to him for protection and they secretly married. According to Bundy, they lived poor for a time because Janet had forgotten a crucial element of the process during the trauma of the trial, but he now boasts they will soon be as rich as the satraps of Babylon once the secret is recovered again. Mid-rant, he is summoned away by a waiter saying "Madame" wishes to speak with him, and he departs abruptly. The next day Bundy does not appear, and the narrator finds an older woman in his usual seat, introduced by the waiter as Mrs. Bundy — Bundy's mother, not a wife. She reveals that Bundy is unwell, that he was never married, and that the real Janet Ferrol, whom she had visited and believed innocent in the Tombs, had after a year of widowhood married her cousin Paul Asher and was living happily. The narrator realizes Bundy's entire account of a secret marriage and impending alchemical fortune was delusion, a product of his mental collapse. The narrator reflects with pity on Bundy's condition, feels relief at learning of Janet's true and settled fate, and resolves to leave Oriol, recognizing that the golden chimera has again slipped away, this time for good.
By Edgar Saltus · First published 1917 · Genre: Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction · 5 chapters · 7,980 words
First lines
"Janet Ferrol to the bar!"
At Oriol, before the war, in the dining-room of the Hôtel des Bains where I sat, memory had raised a latch and, from behind it, echoed that cry.
What this Textopian page supports
The Golden Chimera is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edgar Saltus, dated 1917 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edgar Saltus
- Date: 1917 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction, Philosophical Fiction, Psychological Thriller
- Length: 7,980 words
- Structure: 5 chapters, 239 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Golden Chimera by Edgar Saltus
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Similar titles
- The Coronation Murder by Robert Graves
- Last Resort by Stephen Bartholomew
- Krakatit by Karel Capek
- Daughters Of The Rich by Edgar Saltus
- A Drama In A Dining Room by Edgar Saltus
- A Physiologists Wife by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Genres
- Psychological Fiction — The novella centers on the psychological deterioration and delusions of its characters, particularly Bundy's mental breakdown and the narrator's growing uncertainty about the reality of events unfolding around him.
- Literary Fiction — Saltus employs sophisticated prose, complex nested narratives, extensive philosophical digressions, and psychological depth that transcend simple plot mechanics.
- Mystery/Detective Fiction — A murder trial and its investigation form the central plot, with the narrator as reporter investigating Janet Ferrol's guilt or innocence in her husband's death.
- Philosophical Fiction — The narrative is laden with philosophical inquiries into alchemy, the nature of wealth, human desire, the pursuit of gold, and the boundary between reality and delusion.
Tags
historical fiction · ancient rome · romance · political intrigue · ambition · wealth · power dynamics · decadence · luxury · imperial setting · classical antiquity · desire