Count Cornelius Agrippa, “The Elixir of Immortality”
This particular selection in the collection is infamous for not exactly being a work “by” the author. In fact, it is widely considered now to be an example of outright plagiarism of a story written by Mary Shelley. Even the name of the mysterious Mephistophelian alchemist who invents an elixir capable of bestowing immortality is retained. The story is a Faustian nightmare narrated by a more over three-hundred-years old who drank the elixir, but it is the Count who is the most interesting character.
Captain Gubart, “Captain Gubart’s Foturne”
Two paragraphs into the story, the reader learns that Gubart could play the violin but most listeners would prefer he did not. He is furthermore characterized as poor due to laziness, but fertile enough to produce three sons. He also ultimately winds up being characterized as a possessor of that greatest of all gifts of mankind: luck. The story recalls one of the Tales of the Arabian Nights when he is lucky enough to be mistakenly awarded the military commission which earns him his rank. The luck is no mere element of fable, however, it is a commentary on the ruthless insanity of rigidly observed class distinctions.
Baron B., “A Spirit in the Raspberry”
The Baron eats the titular berry from a bush which has grown over the grave of a housemaid who was murdered. You can bet her ghost was just itching for the opportunity to wreak havoc and that simple act of plucking and eating does the trick. Suddenly, Baron B. has a body that is no longer his own. This tale of corporeal possession by the incorporeal spirit of the unfortunately young woman provides more chuckles than chills.
The Madman, “The Letter U (A Madman’s Manuscript)”
The most original story in this text—and almost universally acknowledged as its masterpiece—is told by an unidentified narrator. That he is quite mad is never really questioned; it’s not a story that hinges on whether the narrator is or is not insane. The fun comes from exploring the monomaniacal compulsion of his insanity: a psychotic hatred of a single letter of the alphabet which his mind has transformed into a full-scale antagonist.
