Chintana, a seamstress in East Texas, finds herself responsible for five orphans who are not only captivated by a storyteller’s tale of vengeance but by the long black box he sets before them.

In 2012, Pantheon released a trade edition of The Fifty Year Sword including newly stitched illustrations.

[5] In 2010, Danielewski announced that he would do a stage performance of The Fifty Year Sword, the first of which was on October 31, 2010 at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles.

[6] The production featured five people (including actress Betsy Brandt) reading the words of the five speakers in the novella, and shadow casting by Christine Marie.

[9] In 2012, the production of The Fifty Year Sword went to five cities around the United States in conjunction with the book release tour for the Pantheon trade edition.