The Flaw in the Crystal

May Sinclair (1863 - 1946)

One of May Sinclair’s “uncanny” stories, this novella explores many of Sinclair’s most treasured themes: the bounds of marriage, the conflict between flesh and spirit, the complexity of human emotions in relation to other humans, the practical everyday implications of philosophical Idealism. In the story, when Agatha Verrall enters into an extra-marital affair with Rodney Lanyon, she struggles to keep the relationship on a spiritual plane without falling into the physical passion that she fears. To her astonishment, she discovers that she has an extraordinary paranormal ability to manipulate the psyches and even the physical states of the people around her. At first, she uses it in a way that seems harmless to her, coaxing the oblivious Rodney to visit her whenever she wants him. Before long, she learns that her powers have tremendous potential for good, for healing psychological disorders untouched by ordinary medicine. But the exercise of her Power leads to terrifying dangers for herself and her beneficiaries, proving that it might be beyond her ability to harness without vast harm. ( summary by Expatriate)

Genre(s): Horror & Supernatural Fiction, Literary Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter 01 Expatriate
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Play 02 Chapter 02 Expatriate
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Play 03 Chapter 03 Expatriate
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Play 04 Chapter 04 Expatriate
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Play 05 Chapter 05 Expatriate
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Play 06 Chapter 06 Expatriate
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Play 07 Chapter 07 Expatriate
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Play 08 Chapter 08 Expatriate
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Play 09 Chapter 09 Expatriate
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Play 10 Chapter 10 Expatriate
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Play 11 Chapter 11 Expatriate
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Play 12 Chapter 12 Expatriate
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Play 13 Chapter 13 Expatriate
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