Classicly

The Street Called Straight is a fiction written by Canadian Clergyman William Benjamin Basil King, whose other works include The Conquest of Fear, The Dust Flower, The Letter of the Contract, etc..

Excerpts:

As a matter of fact, Davenant was under no illusions concerning the quality of the welcome his hostess was according him, though he found a certain pleasure in being once more in her company. It was not a keen pleasure, but neither was it an embarrassing one; it was exactly what he supposed it would be in case they ever met again—a blending on his part of curiosity, admiration, and reminiscent suffering out of which time and experience had taken the sting.