The golden straw
(Large Type)

It all began with a straw hat. A large broad-brimmed hat, dyed in an elusive mixture of colors to produce a distinctive shade of pale gold, it was presented to Emily Pearson by her longtime friend and employer, Mabel Arkwright, a milliner with a little store in the West End of London. And Emily owed Mrs. Arkwright more than just The Golden Straw - eventually the business itself, because her friend had come to rely on Emily more and more as time went by. After Mrs. Arkwright's death, Emily, exhausted by the extra work that had fallen upon her shoulders, took herself off to the South of France to stay at a hotel that had been warmly recommended by Mrs. Arkwright. It was now 1880, and many fashionable guests were staying at the hotel in Nice, among them Paul Anderson Steerman. It was from the balcony of his room that he first noticed The Golden Straw.