Masset, Benjamin

Not much is known about the details of Benjamin Masset's life. However, according to A. L. Rawson, Masset was "a true friend" of Ada Clare, who held a significant role in the Pfaffian circle as the "queen" to Clapp, considered the "king." It is also from Rawson that we learn that Masset advised Ada Clare about the two novels she wrote. He allegedly told her to print one of them and to destroy her other work (Rawson 100). Rawson also alludes to a story about a time when Masset tried to intervene into Ada Clare's love life when she became obsessed with a pianist named Gottschalk (Rawson 102). Masset's connect to Ada Clare suggests that he most likely met other bohemians who congregated at her 42nd Street home, but his presence at Pfaff’s cannot be confirmed.