“This is to be a story of a battle, at least one murder, and several sudden deaths. For that reason it begins with a pink tea and among the mingled odors of many delicate perfumes and the hale, frank smell of Caroline Testout roses.”

Frank Norris1

• 1. Frank Norris, Moran of the Lady Letty: a story of adventure off the California coast (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1920), 1.