Nathaniel Hawthorne & Niccolo Machiavelli 
Devil Knows Best – A Short Story Collection 

Ok, so here’s the deal. You would like untold riches, power, fame and flesh. I can give you that for the rest of your earthly life. But I would like a little something in return. Of course, nothing so coarse as to hamper your rampant greed for the rest of your life. No, merely your soul for eternity. Is it a bargain we both agree? Splendid. Let us begin. Greed and desire are all things in small measure that we sometimes pursue but in the hands of authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anatole France and others the appetite for both is somewhat more ambitious.