Revenge!

"Revenge!" by Robert Barr is a collection of short stories from the late 1800s that examines a central idea of payback. Through tales filled with strong feelings of love, hate, and desperation, the book looks at what revenge does to a person's mind and morals. From a husband full of anger who thinks about killing his wife, to a wife who is eager for reprisal after her husband is shot, the characters show how far people will go when they feel wronged. The book kicks off with the intense story of "An Alpine Divorce," where a man named John Bodman, filled with anger for his argumentative wife, plans to kill her while on a trip to Switzerland which sets the tone.. His hate grows as they travel, and he finds himself considering doing something terrible at a peaceful mountain spot. Not only does the story look at his troubled mind, but it also hints at a surprise when his wife shares that she also has plans to get even. Next up is “Which Was the Murderer?”, a story about a political assassination attempt, showing that the need for revenge can spread beyond personal relationships and into society's problems. Overall, the start of Barr’s book grabs readers with its look into dark reasons and the complicated paths people take when they are out for revenge.