The Flirt

The Flirt (1913) by Booth Tarkington is a thoroughly entertaining portrait of a dysfunctional but ultimately loving family. "Valentine Corliss walked up Corliss Street the hottest afternoon of that hot August, a year ago, wearing a suit of white serge which attracted a little attention from those observers who were able to observe anything except the heat. The coat was shaped delicately; it outlined the wearer, and, fitting him as women's clothes fit women, suggested an effeminacy not an at...