Unspeakable dignity isolates the diminutive nobleman. Dominating the shelf, his regnant nature ignores the bric-a-brac obstructing his view. With arms folded and head imperially lifted he waits cross-legged for the next petitioner. God help that supplicant.
So begins The Connoisseur, Evan S. Connell, Jr.’s 1974 novel about a middle-aged insurance execu…