A Six-Cylinder Courtship.

from the Bohnhelm library. 

William Snowden Esquire, "sole heir of the late Commodore Snowden" and automobile enthusiast, falls in love at first sight of Miss Marian Standish, who mistakes him for a cabbie. William plays along in the hopes of a shot at wooing her, giving his telephone number as that of a cab service. When Marian rings up for a ride while William is away entertaining relatives, his butler Collins attempts to maintain the ruse by sending out William's car with Charlie, a mechanic, at the wheel. Before he can be filled in, William takes Charlie for a thief. After stealing back his own car and almost getting himself, his mechanic, and his love arrested for it, William discovers that he and Marian belong to the same country club. After Marian agrees to let William drive her to Primrose Court, a rock nicks a hole in the gas tank, causing the car to slowly catch fire. From a safe distance, William and Marian watch the "eleven thousand dollar" automobile slowly turn into a "blazing furnace." William admits loving Marian more than his car and convinces her to address him by his first name as they walk to the country club. 

When I struggled to find an interest in reading, I sought out subject matter that I thought I would enjoy. This turned out to do the trick. (Yes, sadly, E. S. Field 1, J. D. Salinger 0). Courtship's vision of New York in 1907 is as exciting as it is quaint ("Times Square! The old name was good enough for me. What were we coming to, anyway? It used to be Longacre Square."). It's got old-tyme hijinx (the speed limit in New York is ten miles per hour), ridiculous millionaire behavior (at one point William must find his way in the world penniless because his butler forgot to put his wallet in his pants) and hilariously dated dialogue ("Ain't he the goods, though? Ain't he the candy kid?"). I enjoyed this book, but I've never read any of its sort before, so I wouldn't know if it was an inept, cookie-cutter offering for its time and within its genre. 

I bought my copy of A Six-Cylinder Courtship at a college book sale last year. Well-preserved copies of this book appear for sale online at new-release prices and lower with surprising frequency. If you If you are at all interested, getting  copy of your own seems a fairly simple feat.