A Transaction in Hearts — Edgar Saltus

In this romance, the admirers of Mr. Saltus will find some of his strongest and most characteristic work. "A Transaction in Hearts" will press "Tristrem Varick" very closely in the race for enduring popularity. In many ways the former is the greater work. Its merciless moral surgery, its almost savage exposure of the beast crouching in the depths of our common nature, and the pitiless finger pointed at the hypocrisy writhing in the cold light of day send a tremor of consciousness to every heart capable of honest self-analysis. Few readers of this terrible book who have passed the innocence of childhood but will involuntarily draw the cloak still closer about them, and in the trepidation of undiscovered shame mutter, "It is not I."
-"The Book Buyer," Volume 6