Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930.

'The Legend' is the story of a mysterious stranger who has been brought into hospital after being found collapsed in a park. As the man is destitute and in need of recuperation, Dr. Bob Wade takes an interest in the man and offers to take him home until he is well again.

Dr. Wade's brother, Howland Wade, is the acknowledged world expert on the great Pellerin - the elusive philosopher who disappeared mysteriously 25 years earlier and was subsequently reported dead.

The stranger makes quite an impression on Dr. Wade and his good friend, Bernald...but Howland Wade is extraordinarily reluctant to engage with the tramp, especially when he starts to write....