Agnes of Sorrows

By William C Seward

Some hearts beat. Others tick. The Gunther Gazette is freezing to death, and its world-weary editor, Harold Atwater, is running out of ways to keep the ink flowing. Desperate to heat his failing newspaper, Harold purchases a defunct, brass-and-steam chess automaton to regulate the building's broken boiler. It's a mechanical gamble that cures the cold-but it also awakens something extraordinary in the basement. The automaton doesn't just manage steam pressure. It learns. When Harold feeds the machine a stack of discarded letters addressed to the paper's advice columnist, the brass marvel writes back. Its answers are profound, translating the cold physics of friction and vacuums into startlingly empathetic advice for the brokenhearted city. Overnight, the new "Aunt Agnes" becomes a sensation, and the Gazette is saved. But Harold is now trapped in a delicate, dangerous lie. He is hiding a sentient marvel in the dark while the city pours its deepest sorrows down the pneumatic tubes. And as the volume of human grief grows, the physical strain on the automaton's intricate gears begins to show. The boiler's pressure is climbing toward the red, and Harold must decide what he is willing to sacrifice to protect the greatest mind he has ever known. A beautifully crafted tale of gaslamp fantasy and historical magical realism, this is a story about obsolescence, the architecture of grief, and the unexpected places we find our humanity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GW39VVTS
• ISBN13: 9798254512448
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"