Cocktail Talk: House Party
I suppose I should in the below attribution attribute this quote to Patrick Dennis, as he wrote the book House Party under the nom de plume Virginia Rowans. And Dennis was an interesting chap, the author of the fabulously successful novel (and then film) Auntie Mame and the only author to have three books on the New York Times bestseller list at once. And then his books stopped selling and he ended up being a butler (partially by choice, as I guess he liked to buttle) for Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds. Really–as I said, interesting chap. And as his real name was actually Edward Everett Tanner III and as he decided to write the effervescently fun House Party as Mrs. Rowans, I’m sticking with her as the attributed author. He’d probably appreciate it.
Darling, would you run out and buy a bottle of Champagne? I can’t entertain as shabbily as this and I’ve spent everything I have buying vulgar things like Scotch and gin. I daren’t even cash another check.
–Virginia Rowans, House Party
