The Shadow on the Stone

THE SHADOW ON THE STONE This 1917 novel by Marguerite Bryant follows Niel Meredith, an Oxford-educated idealist with visionary schemes, and his older associate Ambrose Dale. The narrative opens with both men climbing a seven-hundred-foot English cliff, establishing Meredith's risk-taking nature and philosophical indifference to danger. They are waiting to meet James Farr, a wealthy financier and company promoter interested in Meredith's plans. Meanwhile, Miss Pauline Paget, daughter of their host, returns from defeating Dr. Ford at golf and becomes attracted to the charismatic younger Meredith, though she finds his abstract ideals impractical. The novel presents a collision between Meredith's spiritual ambitions—he envisions creating a small point of unity untouched by worldly success—and the practical concerns of those around him, including Dale's protective anxiety and Paget's romantic interest.