Project Gutenberg 2019-12-22 Public domain in the USA. 85 Banta, Frank The Connoisseur Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1961 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Connoisseur" by Frank Banta is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative explores themes of desire, value, and the complex interplay of human relationships within a speculative setting. The story presents an unconventional and thought-provoking view on the idea of marriage and the value assigned to individuals. The storyline follows a protagonist who enters into a negotiation to "purchase" a young girl named Lisa from her father, using various valuable items as currency. As the father and daughter barter, Lisa’s innocence and growing awareness of her own value come into play. While Lisa appears to be merely a prize in this transaction, she ultimately asserts her individuality by refusing the initial offers, leading to a surprising conclusion that raises questions about agency and respect in relationships. The story combines dark humor with a critique of social norms, all set against a backdrop of a fantastical spaceship and its crew, making for a compelling reflection on human nature and the concept of worth. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Space ships -- Fiction Bride price -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 35181 2025-06-24T09:03:32.045841 text/html 11301 2024-10-17T15:23:19 text/html 89189 2025-06-24T09:03:33.814870 application/epub+zip 88036 2025-06-24T09:03:32.460878 application/epub+zip 72485 2025-06-24T09:03:32.222842 application/epub+zip 121767 2025-06-24T09:03:35.050808 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 114369 2025-06-24T09:03:33.593813 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 98996 2022-09-27T14:52:00.524745 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 28919 2023-09-26T07:32:16.389542 text/plain 9118 2024-10-17T15:23:19 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 15777 2025-06-24T09:03:35.189823 application/rdf+xml 27131 2025-06-24T09:03:32.315828 image/jpeg 4840 2025-06-24T09:03:32.267870 image/jpeg 291647 2025-06-24T09:03:32.055847 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