The Last Penny and Other Stories

In Short

Composed of earnest, moral tales from mid-nineteenth-century America, this collection explores the spiritual and practical rewards of virtue, industry, and self-denial. Across various walks of life—from a struggling shoemaker and a revolutionary war heroine to a retired tradesman and a cruel practical joker—ordinary people confront pivotal choices between selfish indulgence and moral duty. Through trials of poverty, war, and professional ambition, characters who choose integrity and service find lasting happiness and redemption, while those driven by ego face humbling consequences.

The Story

The collection opens with Thomas Claire, a poorly skilled cobbler whose meager earnings are partly squandered on a pipe and ale. When his sickly young daughter, Lizzy, needs nourishing food, Claire overcomes his deeply ingrained habits to spend his very last penny on her instead of tobacco. This small act of self-denial transforms his household, improving Lizzy's health and inspiring a permanent lifestyle change that brings greater domestic peace and stability.

In another narrative, two young men adopt contrasting philosophies. James Abercrombie pursues the law with low, selfish ambition, welcoming bad causes to test his tactical skill, while Harvey anchors his practice in unselfish love, religion, and strict justice. Ten years later, Harvey triumphs in a high-profile case defending a destitute widow against her late husband's fraudulent former partner, exposing Abercrombie's cold manipulation in the courtroom.

During the American Revolution, General Greene faces a critical juncture while retreating from British forces. Needing to dispatch a message to General Sumter across perilous terrain, he finds an unexpected volunteer in Emily Geiger, a young country girl. Emily rides alone through enemy territory, cleverly evades tories at Morgan's Range, and even talks her way past Lord Rawdon after a temporary detention, successfully completing her mission to aid the American cause.

In a lighter vein, Thomas Bunting spends his days playing cruel April Fools' jokes, targeting awkward, impoverished Doctor Grimes by sending him on a false errand to a prominent merchant named Mr. L----. Instead of a trick, the meeting leads Mr. L---- to discover Grimes's genuine testimonials and secure him a lucrative post as a resident hospital physician. Ironically, when Bunting receives a genuine letter from his own business associates regarding a dying uncle's ten-thousand-dollar inheritance, he dismisses it as an April Fools' hoax, missing out on half the estate and learning a bitter lesson about cynicism.

Finally, the collection follows Parker, an industrious hatter who happily sings at his work. Persuaded to retire in the prime of life, he quickly grows weary, irritable, and a nuisance to his plain-spoken wife. After a disastrous venture into the grocery business that costs him a third of his wealth, Parker joyfully returns to his hat-making shop, realizing that honest, busy labor is the true key to contentment.

How It Unfolds

The cobbler's sacrifice Thomas Claire debates whether to buy tobacco or an orange for his ailing daughter, ultimately choosing his child over his personal vice. This initial sacrifice breaks his harmful habits, permanently improves his family's income, and restores his sick daughter's vitality.

The rival advocates James Abercrombie and Harvey embark on legal careers with opposite philosophies, one embracing selfish tactics and the other adhering strictly to equity and moral principle. Years later, their opposing methods clash directly in a dramatic courtroom trial where Harvey successfully defends a widow against an unjust executor.

The perilous ride General Greene accepts the daring offer of a young country girl named Emily Geiger to carry vital despatches across dangerous territory to General Sumter. Emily bravely navigates midnight forests, outsmarts tories at Morgan's Range, and survives a tense interrogation by Lord Rawdon to complete her mission.

The April trickster Thomas Bunting plays an elaborate April Fools' trick on Doctor Grimes by sending him on a false errand to a prominent merchant. While this cruel prank inadvertently leads to Grimes securing a well-paid hospital position, Bunting later dismisses a real inheritance letter as a hoax and loses his rightful fortune.

The retired tradesman Parker abandons his hat-making shop to live a life of leisurely retirement, only to find himself deeply bored, restless, and constantly at odds with his plain-spoken wife. After a failed grocery venture drains his savings, he returns cheerfully to his workbench, rediscovering his lost contentment in honest labor.

The People

Thomas Claire wants his daily pipe and ale, but his poverty and deep-seated addiction stand in the way of providing for his sick daughter, Lizzy. Through love for his child, he conquers his habits, ending up healthier, more prosperous, and devoted to his family.

James Abercrombie wants professional success and status at any cost, hindered only by his own selfish ambition and willingness to champion unjust causes. He becomes a brilliant but disliked advocate, defined by legal trickery rather than equity. In contrast, Harvey seeks to practice law through unselfish love and a genuine regard for justice, standing against deceit to protect the vulnerable, such as a grieving widow.

Emily Geiger wants to serve her country during the Revolution, facing the obstacle of a perilous journey through enemy-held territory. Displaying immense courage, she successfully delivers General Greene's message.

Thomas Bunting wants amusement through cruel practical jokes, but his cynicism and lack of charity stand in the way of his own good fortune. He ends up deeply chagrined and financially ruined after dismissing a real inheritance letter as an April Fools' prank, while his target, Doctor Grimes, overcomes awkwardness and poverty to secure a comfortable hospital post through the kindness of Mr. L----.

Parker wants the ease of early retirement, but his ignorance of leisure and the friction with his outspoken wife block his peace. He ends up cured of retirement, happily returning to his trade.

In Its Own Voice

Reflecting on his temptation at the threshold of the ale-house, the struggling cobbler weighs his own desires against the needs of his child:

"The penny was between his fingers, and he took a single step toward the ale-house door; but so vividly came back the image of little Lizzy, that he stopped suddenly."

Describing his preference for legal integrity over deceptive trickery, the principled lawyer explains his professional boundaries to an angry client:

"No, sir, it was the fault of your cause. It was a bad one."

Expressed with striking resolve when volunteering for a perilous military mission, the young revolutionary heroine declares her readiness to General Greene:

"I am not a brave man. I am only a woman. But I will go."

What It's Really About

The stories collectively argue that true happiness and moral elevation spring from self-denial, unselfish love, and diligent labor rather than sensual indulgence or selfish ambition. Arthur investigates the spiritual mechanics of human choice, showing how small acts of everyday virtue—like sacrificing a single penny or choosing an honest cause—lay the groundwork for lasting character development. The narrative questions the true nature of success, contrasting worldly cunning and idle comfort with the quiet dignity of service to others. Ultimately, the book posits that true morality requires an internal religious or unselfish principle, and that work itself is a necessary, perennial blessing for the human soul.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate classic nineteenth-century moral literature, historical anecdotes of the American Revolution, and character-driven domestic realism will find much to admire here. Reading these tales feels like sitting beside a warm hearth while an earnest moralist recounts cautionary lessons from a bygone era, complete with clear-cut binaries between right and wrong. However, modern readers must navigate the distinctly didactic tone, heavy-handed moralizing, and rigid mid-nineteenth-century domestic and religious attitudes that permeate the prose. Characters can occasionally feel more like personified virtues or vices than fully rounded psychological portraits, and the stark prose style lacks modern narrative ambiguity. Yet, the emotional resonance of small human struggles—such as a father fighting his addiction for his sick child or a retired worker yearning for the simple dignity of his workbench—remains surprisingly potent. What stays with you long after closing the book is the quiet reminder that our daily habits and minor choices shape our character far more profoundly than grand ambitions ever could.