The King's Messenger: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The King's Messenger: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The King's Messenger is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion) (1854–1909).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"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.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The King's Messenger
- Author credits: Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion) (1854–1909)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Short stories
- Supernatural -- Fiction
- Youth and death -- Fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: Short Stories
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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