Summary

Mr Peter Pett lived in an eyesore of a property on Riverside Drive in New York, after his wife had convinced him to buy said property. His wife, Nesta Ford Pett, had been drawn to the “almost equal proportions” of “cathedral, a suburban villa, a hotel and a Chinese pagoda” (1) complete with two lions guarding the porch, as she enjoyed being noticed. Mr Pett had spent his morning looking for a quiet place to read his paper but was having difficulty due to the “six young and unrecognized geniuses” (1) now residing in his home thanks to his wife. Mrs Pett was a passionate fiction writer and wanted to encourage the young novelists. Along with the writers, Mrs Pett’s “singularly unloveable” (1) 14-year-old son from her first marriage, Ogden, also lived with them. Mr Pett disliked his overfed, candy eating step son and avoided...