[dps582]

No, I did not validate the file after I copied it to the phone. (I emailed it to myself and then picked it up on the phone.)

The only image in the file is the cover image.

Here's something odd, though ... I tried uploading the file to my Google Play Books account using the web interface on my Desktop computer. Surprisingly, it uploaded and after several minutes I was able to view the book in Google Play on my phone. However, opening the file directly on the phone failed every time. I thought that was strange. I did notice that in my library the cover image was a different size than the other books from Project Gutenberg and other places, so maybe you're onto something with the image.

Maybe I'd get better results if I targeted "generic e-ink device" rather than "tablet"? I have no idea what's actually going on underneath when you select different targets.