Four stories by one of literature's most outrageous and original writers that reveal the social, moral and sexual abuses of an age... The Mystified Magistrate ... describes with cynical wit the difficulties experienced by an evil old man who is endeavouring to consummate his marriage to a reluctant young girl. Augustine de Villeblanche, or, Love's Strategem ... the story of a lesbian who masquerades as a man and is herself seduced by the trickery of her suitor. Retaliation ... a young wife discovering her husband's infidelity with a nun seeks her revenge in the arms of an amorous priest. Miss Henrietta Stralson, or, The Effects of Despair ... recounts the ingenious stratagems employed by an English peer in an attempt to debauch an unwilling girl.