Messalina of the suburbs

Messalina of the Suburbs : : : : By E. M. DELAFIELD : :
Author of “Tension,” “The Optimist,” “A Reversion to Type,” etc.
LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO. PATERNOSTER ROW
DEDICATED TO M. P. P.
My Dear Margaret,
We have so often agreed that causes are more interesting than the most dramatic results, that I feel you are the right person to receive the dedication of my story about Elsie Palmer, in which I have tried to reconstruct the psychological developments that led, by inexorable degrees, to the catastrophe of murder. These things are never “bolts from the blue” in reality, but merely sensational accessories to the real issue, which lies on that more subtle plane of thought where only personalities are deserving of dissection.
For what it is worth, I offer you an impression of Elsie Palmer’s personality.
E. M. D.
August, 1923.
MESSALINA OF THE SUBURBS
“Elsie, I’ve told you before, I won’t have you going with boys.”
“I don’t, mother.”