The Law of Hotel Life; or, the Wrongs and Rights of Host and Guest

This late-Victorian satire follows a newlywed couple as they navigate the treacherous waters of hotel and inn accommodation, discovering that the relationship between host and guest is far more fraught with unspoken dangers than they ever imagined. R. Vashon Rogers turns his keen eye on the absurdities of hospitality, exposing the hidden war of wills that unfolds every time a traveler hands over their money and expects a room in return. Through a series of comical encounters with innkeepers of varying temperaments and fellow guests who range from the maddening to the utterly baffling, the book reveals the peculiar anxieties and small humiliations that attend the business of being away from home. Rogers writes with the precision of a man who has studied hotel life closely and found it wanting, skewering the pretensions of establishments that promise luxury while delivering disappointment. The result is a sharper piece of social commentary than its whimsical title might suggest, one that speaks to anyone who has ever argued about a bill, waited endlessly for service, or wondered exactly what rights they possess as paying customers in someone else's domain.