The Cords of Vanity
Meet Robert Etheridge Townsend, a scion of wealth and privilege, whose grandiosity is matched only by his profound self-absorption. From his adolescent infatuation with Stella through a dizzying succession of romantic conquests, Townsend navigates the world with a charming indifference to the hearts he collects and discards. He is a man perpetually in pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of any discomfort, a journey that sees him mature (grudgingly) but never truly shed the silken cords of his own vanity. This is a satirical romp through the social customs of early 20th-century America, seen through the eyes of its most delightfully insufferable son.
