Coniston

In the political whirl of Coniston, William Wetherell and Cynthia are pulled ever deeper into the orbit of Jethro Bass, a man whose power depends less on open force than on charm, patience, and relentless calculation. From the sly approach of Bijah Bixby in the village store to the glittering dinners and backroom talk of the state capital, every encounter reveals a world where innocence is a liability and every gesture is read as strategy. Wetherell's discomfort grows as he faces bribery, insinuation, and the humiliating ease with which Bass's men turn a room. As the Truro Railroad fight intensifies, Jethro calmly outmaneuvers his enemies, seizes control of the road-agent scheme, and even draws political rivals into his plans. Around him gather ambitious figures, including Sam Price, Chester Perkins, Isaac Worthington, and the influential Alvy Hopkins, while Cynthia begins to glimpse the scale of Bass's authority. Against this rising tide of corruption and wit, Wetherell's moral resistance only sharpens the novel's comic, tense portrait of small-town politics and the price of power. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.