Moon Face and Other Stories

Published in 1906, Moon Face and Other Stories is an anthology of short stories linked by the theme of antipathy or hatred. In addition to the title story, this anthology serves up an interesting genre piece called The Minions of Midas in which the eponymous collective, describing themselves as an intellectual proletariat, send a series of missives that threaten to kill unless another character passes over US$20 million. As the threats are enacted, the tone and the shock of the epistles increase. Such conspiracy thrillers were few and far between at the time and this little short story thus marks itself out as a predecessor to later works where a shadowy but powerful group dictate events.