After counsel for both prosecution and defense conclude jury selection, the Trail of the Century begins - at least in Bridgeburg - District Attorney Orville B. Mason takes to the well to begin his opening argument. (I don't know if the area in front of the bench is called "the well" but it seems to me it ought to be.) Electric. Dynamic. So Dreiser described the speaking style of the District Attorney. It's an episode of nearly pure monologue!

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Your host is snowbound following a winter blizzard, with nothing to do at all but read a classic work of literature out loud and comment on it as he goes. Dudley Sheerline makes an appearance. Who's Dudley Sheerline - who cares? Some Dickensian humor pops its head up and blows us all a delicious raspberry.

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Your host recounts his week of travel to and from distant points on the continent. Las Vegas, San Francisco, and back to the East Coast for a new season of "Have I Got News For You." Flying to Bridgeburg, NY, are various reporters and correspondents and townsfolk hoping to get a view of the murderer, Clyde Griffiths. Some thoughts on winter and holiday and death follow.

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A sultry beginning to this week's episode of "Obscure," as your host describes his new locale, the primary bedroom of his midcentury masterpiece in the wilds of Connecticut. In Denver, the Asa Griffiths family has now been appraised of their eldest boy's troubles. Will they abscond to Bridgeburg, as your host absconded to his master boudoir? Or will they remain, per instructions, where they are?

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The news finally reaches the poor Asa Griffiths family, arriving as it does in the various circulars and broadsheets from far away lands. And nary a word from the Samuel Griffiths family regarding the plight of their Clyde. Meanwhile, squalor of the heart precedes squalor of the Jill Schwartz Memorial Library, which remains chaotic.

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As Clyde rots in a Bridgeburg jail cell concocting, with attorneys Bellknap & Jephson, some potential defense which a jury will believe, your host goes on a brief philosophical amble regarding Truth! Yes, Truth, that misty island just offshore. PLUS, the question is asked: "What relationship did Dreiser have, if any, with Mark Twain?" The answer will SHOCK you!!!

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A library amuck! The nature of tragedy contemplated! A legal strategy formulated! Rubble and debris of both the construction and personal types. Plus, brain storms from Clyde's legal team and, potentially, from Clyde himself. The stakes could not be higher as our hero's new counsel lays the foundation for a defense.

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And now, the introduction of a, perhaps, pivotal character - the brown Mr. Jephson, partner of Belknap and counsel to one Clyde Griffiths. Will it fall to Jephson to concoct a plausible defense for our erstwhile hero? Your host, unfortunately, is incapable of speculation as he's chilled to the core up in the wilds.

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A first Thanksgiving in the midcentury masterpiece has come and gone and, with it, a cozy familial gathering. Some brief fireplace talk leads to a quick discussion of your host's imminent demise (imminent in geologic time, that is). Meanwhile, over in Bridgeburg, a sad and lonely Clyde sits alone in a jail cell. Will his new counsel provide some hope?

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While Clyde awaits his fate, Michael is taking a little time off. But we'll resume the book in the new year. Happy Holidays!

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