Welcome to Part Three of my serialization of The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, the latest in our series of audio adventures, Tales for Our Time.
This fantastical novella by Scott Fitzgerald was published by The Smart Set in 1922, and has never been out of print. In tonight's episode we learn the history of the Washington family - and how they came to their glittering mountain:
When he had been in Montana for less than a month and things were going very poorly indeed, he stumbled on his great discovery. He had lost his way when riding in the hills, and after a day without food he began to grow hungry. As he was without his rifle, he was forced to pursue a squirrel, and, in the course of the pursuit, he noticed that it was carrying something shiny in its mouth. Just before it vanished into its hole—for Providence did not intend that this squirrel should alleviate his hunger—it dropped its burden. Sitting down to consider the situation Fitz-Norman's eye was caught by a gleam in the grass beside him. In ten seconds he had completely lost his appetite and gained one hundred thousand dollars. The squirrel, which had refused with annoying persistence to become food, had made him a present of a large and perfect diamond.
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear Part Three of our adventure simply by clicking here and logging-in. Parts One and Two can be found here - and if you've only joined in recent days and missed our earlier serials (Conan Doyle's The Tragedy of the Korosko, H G Wells' The Time Machine, Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda and our bonus Kipling short story "The Cat That Walked By Himself"), you can find them all here. Richard Burgess writes:
New member here and I have no buyer's remorse. Tales for Our Time is a great feature and I hope you'll retain it. Adds to the panache that differentiates your enterprise from its competitors whose content is delivered so one dimensionally. Nice work.
Thank you for that, Richard. Much appreciated. We don't always succeed, but our goal is to cover a good swathe of life's rich tapestry at SteynOnline.
If you're looking ahead to Yuletide and thinking your nearest and dearest might enjoy Tales for Our Time, we have a special limited-time offer Steyn Club Christmas Gift Membership that includes a book or CD set personally autographed by yours truly. We have fun in The Mark Steyn Club, and in return the Club helps support all our content - whether in print, audio or video - and keep it out there in the world for everyone. In return, membership confers, aside from Tales for Our Time and the autographed book or CDs, a few other benefits:
~Exclusive Steyn Store member pricing on over 40 books and other items - plus this year's Christmas specials;
~The opportunity to take part in our Clubland Q&A sessions;
~Transcript and audio versions of The Mark Steyn Show and our other video content;
~My new quarterly newsletter The Clubbable Steyn;
~Our new series of video poetry;
~Advance booking for my live appearances around the world;
~Customized email alerts for new content in your areas of interest;
~and the opportunity to support our print, audio and video ventures as they wing their way around the globe.
To become a member of The Mark Steyn Club, please click here - and, for a friend or family member, don't forget that new Christmas Gift Membership. And please join me tomorrow for Part Four of The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.
