Project Gutenberg 2009-07-22 Public domain in the USA. 141 Sousa, John Philip 1854 1932 Sousa, J. P. (John Philip) The Fifth String E-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) "The Fifth String" by John Philip Sousa is a novel written in the early 20th century, likely during the first couple of decades of that century. The story revolves around a talented Italian violinist, Angelo Diotti, who finds himself wrestling with the concepts of love, art, and the sacrifices that come with pursuing both. The book combines elements of romance, drama, and a touch of philosophical musings about the nature of happiness and artistry. The narrative follows Diotti as he arrives in America, where he becomes infatuated with the beautiful Mildred Wallace. Despite achieving notoriety and acclaim for his performances, he feels a deep emotional inadequacy due to Mildred's cold indifference towards him. In an act of desperation to win her love, he encounters an eerie character representing Satan, who offers him a violin with a fateful fifth string—a string of death. As Diotti struggles with his desire for Mildred, he learns that the power of love and the risks associated with his art can lead to destruction. The plot crescendoes to a dramatic conclusion where Diotti plays on the fifth string, resulting in a haunting climax that raises questions about the cost of genius and the essence of true love. Ultimately, the story explores themes of desire, loss, and the interplay between love and the sacrifices made in the name of art. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 72.2 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Love stories Violinists -- Fiction PS Text Category: Romance Category: Novels Category: American Literature 141302 2025-08-12T07:59:52.310877 text/html 134096 2009-07-21T22:44:54 text/html 3713366 2025-08-12T07:59:59.755916 application/epub+zip 3708662 2025-08-12T07:59:54.671870 application/epub+zip 130095 2025-08-12T07:59:53.193895 application/epub+zip 3805155 2025-08-12T08:00:03.451884 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 3781464 2025-08-12T07:59:58.386910 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 184603 2022-09-13T15:35:42.764965 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 111230 2025-08-12T07:59:51.632889 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 111023 2009-07-21T22:27:14 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 111030 2009-07-21T22:27:14 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20708 2025-08-12T08:00:03.604819 application/rdf+xml 11936 2025-08-12T07:59:53.722876 image/jpeg 3216 2025-08-12T07:59:53.435875 image/jpeg 43655 2009-07-21T22:27:14 application/octet-stream application/zip 3945165 2009-07-21T22:46:58 application/octet-stream application/zip 43652 2009-07-21T22:27:14 application/octet-stream application/zip 3552667 2025-08-12T07:59:52.379871 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia