Books with title The Brass Bottle

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Skillfully narrated by storyteller Darla Middlebrook, this Robert Louis Stevenson tale of Keawe, a poor Hawaiian man, who buys a strange bottle from a sad, elderly gentleman who credits the bottle with his fortune. The elderly gentleman promises that an imp residing in the bottle will also grant Keawe his every desire. Of course, there is a catch - the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin (not paper money or a bank check). The bottle may not be thrown or given away. All of these commands must be transmitted from each seller to each purchaser. If an owner of the bottle dies without having sold it in the prescribed manner, that person's soul will burn for eternity in hell....

In 1853, a mysterious Bottle changes colors, from Emerald to bronze, as it passes into the hands of Esther King. The young half caste slave girl, who works on the King plantation in Maryland, just doesn’t fit in. Teased by the other slaves in the quarters, rejected by her white father, and tormented by an odious overseer, Esther comes to distrust both white and black people. A kindly man named Old Jed secretly teaches Esther and her friend, Bucky, to read at night school. The old trapper also shows the young friends how to survive in the wilderness so they might one day escape to the north. With the help of a curious Bronze Bottle, Esther returns to the south as a conductor on the underground railroad to rescue her family. In the process, she learned valuable lessons of love and forgiveness.

Offering an engrossing spin on a time-honored theme--the risky business of making a pact with the devil--this short story is a radiant jewel. It recounts the mercurial lot of Keawe, a Hawaiian who purchases a bottle inhabited by an imp capable of granting any wish. Yet this enticing object holds a dark curse: anyone who dies with it in his possession will burn forever in hell. And here's the rub: one can sell the bottle only for less than its purchase price. Keawe rids himself of the bottle after acquiring a palatial home. But when he needs it again to ensure his happiness with a newfound love, its cost is, chillingly, one cent, and the responsibility of ownership becomes a good deal more complex

Thomas Anstey Guthrie (1856-1934), was an English novelist and journalist, who wrote his comic novels under the pseudonym F. Anstey. He was educated at King's College London and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1880. But the popular success of his story Vice Versa (1882) with its topsy-turvy substitution of a father for his schoolboy son, at once made his reputation as a humourist of an original type. He published in 1883 a serious novel, The Giant's Robe; but, in spite of its excellence, he discovered that it was not as a serious novelist but as a humourist that the public insisted on regarding him. As such his reputation was further confirmed by The Black Poodle (1884), The Tinted Venus (1885), and A Fallen Idol (1886). Many of Anstey's stories have been adapted into theatrical productions and motion pictures. The Tinted Venus (1885) was adapted by S. J. Perelman, Ogden Nash, and Kurt Weill into One Touch of Venus in 1943.

In 1853, a mysterious Bottle changes colors, from Emerald to bronze, as it passes into the hands of Esther King. The young half caste slave girl, who works on the King plantation in Maryland, just doesn’t fit in.Teased by the other slaves in the quarters, rejected by her white father, and tormented by an odious overseer, Esther comes to distrust both white and black people. A kindly man named Old Jed secretly teaches Esther and her friend, Bucky, to read at night school. The old trapper also shows the young friends how to survive in the wilderness so they might one day escape to the north.With the help of a curious Bronze Bottle, Esther returns to the south as a conductor on the underground railroad to rescue her family. In the process, she learned valuable lessons of love and forgiveness.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.