Originally published in 1899, The Greater Inclination was Wharton's first collection and comprised seven short stories and a play in two parts. Most of the pieces had been previously published in magazines, with one, The Portrait, composed specifically for the book to replace another that Wharton thought was too over-wrought. Of those pieces included, two of them stand out; the new composition is one and the other is The Muse's Tragedy. In the latter, Wharton contrives...