The Top of the Heap by Edgar Saltus
Josiah T. Beamish, a self-made American millionaire summering in Paris, is determined to marry his son Harry into a titled English family so he can use the connection to break into New York society and become "top of the heap." He forces Harry to court Lady Angelica, daughter of the bankrupt Duke and Duchess of Finsbury, offering the impoverished family enough money to consent to the match. At the duchess's cream-and-gold apartment on the Avenue Marceau, Harry meets Angelica, a tall, large-mouthed, small-eyed girl who says almost nothing and behaves oddly — flushing, going pale, and pointedly refusing to speak. The duchess dominates every exchange with fatuous small talk, punctuating remarks with "and that, I think, shows..." She invites Harry and his father to lunch at Paillard's, where a cat named Posey is mentioned as missing its breakfast. At the restaurant, amid Paris's fashionable "High Life" crowd, the duchess talks continually of aristocratic marriages to Americans while Harry tries to converse with the mute Angelica. A cat's cry is heard repeatedly; the duchess claims her daughter's Angora, Posey, has been smuggled in and asks Harry to fetch a servant to remove it. Harry misidentifies servants and is confused. As the party leaves in a cab, Harry offers to take "Posey" home himself — and realizes, from a meow issuing from behind Angelica's veil, that Angelica herself makes the cat sounds: the "little fascination" is hers, not a pet's. Appalled, Harry declares he will not marry her for anything, "not for the top of the heap," but his father drives off before hearing him. Wandering the Champs Élysées, Harry becomes fascinated by an elegant young woman he glimpses in a passing brougham, whose profile seems familiar. Following her on foot up the avenue, he saves her from being struck by a tricycle while she is crossing the street, catching her in his arms. She is indignant, denies ever speaking to him, and insists she has no need of his help, but softens somewhat as they talk. She reveals she is staying at the Hotel Albe. Harry escorts her across the street, and there they encounter a gray-bearded Englishman, Lord Chudleigh, arriving by cab. The young woman introduces Harry to Chudleigh as "a gentleman whom I do not know" and disappears into the hotel, amused. Harry explains his predicament to Chudleigh — his father Josiah T. Beamish is forcing him into a marriage he doesn't want — and Chudleigh, delighted at the mention of Josiah T., invites Harry upstairs to meet his household, assuming his own daughter is expecting him. Upstairs, Harry discovers the young woman from the street is Chudleigh's stepdaughter, Miss Maud Morningside, an American. They flirt openly; she teases him about his forced engagement and calls him "a dear," warning him to behave. Their tête-à-tête is interrupted by the arrival of the duchess, Angelica, and Mr. Beamish, drawn there after the duchess's brother's butler collapsed dead during their earlier visit. Introductions reveal that the duchess is Lord Chudleigh's sister, making Angelica and Maud connections by marriage. Mr. Beamish, delighted by this new web of aristocratic ties, announces that he and the duchess have arranged that he himself will marry Angelica. Harry, thrilled to be freed from the engagement, seizes the opportunity to ask Lord Chudleigh for Maud's hand instead, citing his rescue of her from the tricycle. Chudleigh, amused and approving, gives his consent, correcting that Maud is technically his stepdaughter. Beamish calculates that this new arrangement — himself married to a duke's daughter, his son to an earl's stepdaughter — will let him "corner the market" and be "top of the heap" after all. As tea is served, Harry quietly tells his father that he and Maud have chosen a wedding present for Angelica: a small cage, in reference to her feline habit. When Beamish, still unaware of the joke's full meaning, asks Angelica about the commotion over a dead waiter, she answers, blushing, with a single word: "Meow."
By Edgar Saltus · First published 1921 · Genre: Satire, Social Comedy, Farce · 6,107 words
First lines
"Blind obedience and the truth. That's what I want from you. Nothing else."
Mr. Beamish, as he spoke, glared imperially. There are men whom it is more agreeable to avoid than to meet. Mr. Beamish had succeeded in becoming one of them. He was fat, and quite as fascinating as vulgarity and a French tailor could make him. What a French tailor can accomplish in that line exceeds the powers of prose. Yet, though fat, he was forceful, and if vulgar, valiant.
Similar titles
- The Pace That Kills by Edgar Saltus
- Snobs And Marriage Ii by William Makepeace Thackeray
- On Approval by Saki
- An Excellent Opportunity by Charles Dickens
- Forewarned by Saki
- Out Of Sorts by Anton Chekhov
Genres
- Satire — The novella is fundamentally a satire of social climbing and wealth-seeking. Mr. Beamish's obsession with being 'top of the heap' and his willingness to orchestrate his son's marriage for social advantage critique the emptiness of nouveau-riche ambition and the corrupting influence of money on authentic human relationships.
- Social Comedy — The work satirizes the collision between American wealth and British aristocratic pretension, exposing the absurdities and hypocrisies of both cultures. The duchess's affected mannerisms, Lord Chudleigh's casual acceptance of financial arrangement marriages, and Beamish's vulgar displays all serve as targets of comedic critique.
- Farce — The narrative employs increasingly absurd situations and exaggerated circumstances, culminating in the revelation that the 'Lady Angelica' is mentally troubled and communicates by meowing. This escalating comic absurdity—the cat under tables, the frantic misunderstandings, the farcical gathering at the end—drives much of the plot's momentum.
- Romantic Comedy — The central plot involves Harry's comic resistance to an arranged marriage, his chance meeting with Maud, and their eventual romantic connection, which resolves the conflict between duty and desire with a happy ending that unites both couples and resolves the father's social ambitions.
Tags
romance · social climbing · ambition · wealth · class conflict · satire · society · desire · decadence · relationships · human nature · status seeking
What this Textopian page supports
The Top of the Heap is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edgar Saltus, dated 1921 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: 1921 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Satire, Social Comedy, Farce, Romantic Comedy, Literary Fiction
- Length: 6,107 words
- Structure: 1 section, 157 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Top of the Heap 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