Booth Tarkington Books In Order

The Growth Trilogy Books In Publication Order

  1. The Turmoil (1915)
  2. The Magnificent Ambersons (1918)
  3. Midlander (2020)

Penrod Books In Publication Order

  1. Penrod (1914)
  2. Penrod and Sam (1916)
  3. Penrod Jashber (1929)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. The Gentleman from Indiana (1899)
  2. Monsieur Beaucaire (1900)
  3. Old Gray Eagle (1901)
  4. The Two Vanrevels (1902)
  5. Cherry (1903)
  6. The Flirt (1913)
  7. The rich man’s war (1917)
  8. Seventeen (1917)
  9. Beasley’s Christmas Party (1919)
  10. The Beautiful Lady (1919)
  11. Beauty and the Jacobin (1919)
  12. The Conquest of Canaan (1919)
  13. The Gibson Upright (1919)
  14. The Guest of Quesnay (1919)
  15. His Own People (1919)
  16. Neither Dead nor Sleeping (1920)
  17. Alice Adams (1921)
  18. Gentle Julia (1922)
  19. Women (1925)
  20. About Fred C. Kelly, author of Kellygrams (1926)
  21. The Plutocrat (1927)
  22. CLAIRE AMBLER (1928)
  23. Young Mrs. Greeley (1929)
  24. Ramsey Milholland (1929)
  25. Mary’s Neck (1932)
  26. Wanton Mally (1932)
  27. Presenting Lily Mars (1933)
  28. Little Orvie (1934)
  29. The Fighting Littles (1941)
  30. To the girls and boys of Indianapolis (1942)
  31. Lady Hamilton and Her Nelson (1945)
  32. THE SHOWPIECE (1947)
  33. Image of Josephine (1948)
  34. Mrs. Protheroe (2004)

Short Story Collections In Publication Order

  1. Harlequin and Columbine (1918)
  2. The Works of Booth Tarkington … (1922)
  3. The Fascinating Stranger and Other Stories (1923)
  4. Strack selections from Booth Tarkington’s stories, (1926)
  5. Mr. White, The red barn, Hell, and Bridewater, (1935)
  6. Stories (1984)

Standalone Plays In Publication Order

  1. The Man from Home (1915)
  2. The Trysting Place (2020)
  3. Bimbo, the pirate ; (2020)
  4. How’s your health? (2020)
  5. Mister Antonio; (2020)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. In the Arena (1905)
  2. The collector’s whatnot (1923)
  3. Just Princeton (1924)
  4. The World Does Move (1928)
  5. Some Old Portraits (1939)
  6. BOOTH TARKINGTON ON DOGS. (1944)
  7. An open letter from Booth Tarkington (1945)
  8. Your Amiable Uncle (1949)
  9. On Plays, Playwrights, And Playgoers (1959)
  10. LOOKING FORWARD And Others. (1969)

The Growth Trilogy Book Covers

Penrod Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Short Story Collections Book Covers

Standalone Plays Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

Booth Tarkington Books Overview

The Turmoil

A familiar midwestern novel in the tradition of Sherwood Anderson and Sinclair Lewis, The Turmoil was the best selling novel of 1915. It is set in a small, quiet city never named but closely resembling the author’s hometown of Indianapolis that is quickly being transformed into a bustling, money making nest of competitors more or less overrun by ‘the worshippers of Bigness.’

‘There is a midland city in the heart of fair, open country, a dirty and wonderful city nesting dingily in the fog of its own smoke,’ begins The Turmoil, the first volume of Pulitzer Prize winner Booth Tarkington’s ‘Growth’ trilogy. A narrative of loss and change, a love story, and a warning about the potential evils of materialism, the book chronicles two midwestern families trying to cope with the onset of industrialization. Tarkington believed that culture could flourish even as the country was increasingly fueled by material progress. The Turmoil, the first great success of his career, tells the intertwined stories of two families: the Sheridans, whose integrity wanes as their wealth increases, and the Vertrees, who remain noble but impoverished. Linked by the romance between a Sheridan son and a Vertrees daughter, the story of the two families provides a dramatic view of what America was like on the verge of a new order. An introduction by Lawrence R. Rodgers places the novel squarely in the social and cultural context of the Progressive Era. The book also features illustrations by C. E. Chambers.

The Magnificent Ambersons

The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. Largely overshadowed by Orson Welles’s famous 1941 screen version, Booth Tarkington s novel The Magnificent Ambersons was not only a best seller when it first appeared in 1918 it also won the Pulitzer Prize. Set in the Midwest in the early twentieth century the dawn of the automobile age the novel begins by introducing the richest family in town, the Ambersons. Exemplifying aristocratic excess, the Ambersons have everything money can buy and more. But George Amberson Minafer the spoiled grandson of the family patriarch is unable to see that great societal changes are taking place, and that business tycoons, industrialists, and real estate developers will soon surpass him in wealth and prestige. Rather than join the new mechanical age, George prefers to remain a gentleman, believing that being things is superior to doing things. But as his town becomes a city, and the family palace is enveloped in a cloud of soot, George s protectors disappear one by one, and the elegant, cloistered lifestyle of the Ambersons fades from view, and finally vanishes altogether.A brilliant portrayal of the changing landscape of the American dream, The Magnificent Ambersons is a timeless classic that deserves a wider modern audience. Nahma Sandrow has written extensively about theater and cultural history, including the books Vagabond Stars: A World History of Yiddish Theater and Surrealism: Theater, Arts, Ideas. For many years a professor at Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, she has lectured at Oxford University, Harvard University, the Smithsonian, and elsewhere.

Penrod

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

Penrod and Sam

In Penrod and Sam, the imaginative adventures of Tarkington’s 10 year old Penrod Schofield continue. Penrod’s sidekick is Samuel Williams, and together they improvise, causing general mischief and disorder wherever they go. In picaresque fashion, a fencing battle takes them all through the neighborhood; they narrowly escape serious injury while making boastful demonstrations with a loaded gun; they indulge in dubious ”nishiation’ practices for their secret society; they steal food for the starving horse concealed in the Schofields’ empty stable; they attempt to fish a cat out of a cistern using a pair of trousers; and they cause general chaos at Miss Amy Rennsdale’s dance. Familiar characters from the earlier Penrod volume Maurice Levy, Georgie Basset, Roddy Bitts, Herman and Verman, and Marjorie Jones make their appearance in Penrod and Sam. This is a delightfully nostalgic look at Tarkington’s turn of the century Indiana.

Penrod Jashber

A children’s book involving a boy detective who solves various mysteries and more than often gets himself into trouble as a result.

The Gentleman from Indiana

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

Monsieur Beaucaire

1900, On returning to thc screen after an absence of two years Rudolph Yalentino chose for his vehicle thir famous rtory of sonlance and chiralry, Monsieur Bcaucaire. He war impelled to thir choice by two reasons Monsieur Bcaucaire is the best beloved story from Americas forexost novlist, and in the r6k of the barber duke, Bcaucaire, he would portray a character that would gizte full slay to his own genius. In this Paramount picture Mr. Yalentino ir supported by a notable cast including such well known artists as Bebe Daniels, Lois Wilron, Lowell Sherman, Doris Kenyotz, and John Davidson and cvery eort haz been made to give the picture a pro duction commensurate with the importance of the occasion and the mcrirr of the story. It is Mr. Yalentinor hope that the readers of thir souvenir edition will obtain from the printed romancc as much pleasure as he enjoyed in trans ferring to the screen thc spirited events of its pages. HE young Frenchman did very well what he had planned to do. His guess that the Duke would cheat proved good. As the unshod half dozen figures that had been standing noiselessly in the entryway stole softly into the shadows of the chamber, he leaned across the table and smilingly plucked a card out of the big Eng lishmans sleeve. Merci, M. le Duc he laughed, rising and stepping back from the table. The Englishman cried out, It means the dirty work of silencing you with my bare hands and came at him. DO not move, said M. Beau caire, so sharply that the other paused. Observe behind you. The Englishman turned, and saw what trap he had blundered into then stood transfixed, impotent, alter nately scarlet with rage and white with the vital shame of discovery. M. Beaucaire remarked, indicating the silent figures by a polite wave of the hand, Is it not a compliment to monsieur that I procure six large men to subdue him They are quite de 2

The Two Vanrevels

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

Cherry

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MR. SUDGEBERRY’S RECKLESS HUMOR ETHOUGHT I was unable to stir from the point of contact between two great regiments of horse, charging down on each other, while they thundered this chorus: ‘ For her dear sake, The laws to break! We’ll sing to him, and yet we sayt Lord save the King and the King’s highway!’ but at the crucial moment I saved myself by waking with a jump so sudden that it seemed to stop my heart. Fear was still upon me; I found my back a creep with cold and all my being alert to unknown horrors closing in on me through the darkness. Everything was silent silent! I sat up in bed and listened. ‘Bold Boy he’s out till the break o’ day.’ There came faintly to my hearkening ear the murmur, like a failing echo, of that satanic chorus, as if it came from far down the road: ‘ Good luck to him with the grand Hoorool’ The suspicions I had entertained of O’Don nefl sprang up full armed in my mind, bearing with them thoughts so wild that a fit of sinking, deep in my inwards, was their accompaniment. When I had mastered my emotions somewhat, I had a vivid, painful apprehension that there was a strange presence in the room, the which conception finally growing so intolerable that I crept out of the covers strategically, went to the door, and felt to see if it could be still bolted. All was secure. Returning cautiously toward the bed, I overturned a chair. It fell like a church. The noise of it in the hush ran through the house in a ghastly resonance, seeming to rattle the doors of a hundred empty rooms for admission. I stood stock still, and the renewed silence was as startling as the noise had been. Then again, as I stood there, I heard the murmur of the highwayman’s chorus, farther away, fainter: ‘ Me song celebrates him; The judge el…

The Flirt

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: you how it sagged? And I was only sitting on the edge of it! The slats have all been moved out of place, and as for the mattress, it’s just a mess of springs and that stuffing stuff. He must have thought the silver was hidden there.’ ‘Oh, oh, oh!’ moaned Laura. ‘He wriggled ugh!’ Cora picked up the lamp. ‘Well, we’ve got to go over the house ‘ ‘No, no!’ ‘Hush! I’ll go alone then.’ ‘You can’t.’ ‘I will, though!’ The two girls had changed places in this emergency. In her fright Laura was dependent, clinging: actual contact with the intruder had unnerved her. It took all her will to accompany her sister upon the tour of inspection, and throughout she cowered behind the dauntless Cora. It was the first time in their lives that their positions had been reversed. From the days of Cora’s babyhood, Laura had formed the habit of petting and shielding the little sister, but now that the possibility became imminent of confronting an unknown and dangerous man, Laura was so shaken that, overcome by fear, she let Cora go’We’ve got to go over the house! first. Cora had not boasted in vain of her bravery; in truth, she was not afraid of any man. They found the fastenings of the doors secure and likewise those of all the windows, until they came to the kitchen. There, the cook had left a window up, which plausibly explained the marauder’s mode of ingress. Then, at Cora’s insistence, and to Laura’s shivering horror, they searched both cellar and garret, and concluded that he had escaped by the same means. Except Laura’s bed, nothing in the house had been disturbed; but this eccentricity on the part of a burglar, though it indeed struck the two girls as peculiar, was not so pointedly mysterious to them as it might have been had they possessed a somewhat greater familiari…

Seventeen

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV GENESIS AND CLEMATIS GENESIS and his dog were waiting just outside the kitchen door, and of all the world these two creatures were probably the last in whose company William Sylvanus Baxter desired to make a public appearance. Genesis was an out of doors man and seldom made much of a toilet; his overalls in particular betraying at important points a lack of the anxiety he should have felt, since only Genesis himself, instead of a supplementary fabric, was directly underneath them. And the aged, grayish, sleeveless, and neckless garment which sheltered him from waist to collar bone could not have been mistaken for a jersey, even though what there was of it was dimly of a jerseyesque character. Upon the feet of Genesis were things which careful study would have revealed to be patent leather dancing pumps, long dead and several times buried; and upon his head, pressing down his markedly criminal ears, was a once derby hat of a brown not far fromGenesis’s own colour, though decidedly without his gloss. A large ring of strange metal, with the stone missing, adorned a finger of his right hand, and from a corner of his mouth projected an unlighted and spreading cigar stub which had the appearance of belonging to its present owner merely by right of salvage. And Genesis’s dog, scratching himself at his master’s feet, was the true complement of Genesis, for although he was a youngish dog, and had not long been the property of Genesis, he was a dog that would have been recognized anywhere in the world as a coloured person’s dog. He was not a special breed of dog though there was something rather houndlike about him he was just a dog. His expression was grateful but anxious, and he was unusually bald upon the bosom, but otherwise whitish and brownish, with a gaunt, haunt…

Beasley’s Christmas Party

2m, 1f w/doubling or 10m, 2f w/o doubling Based on a story by Booth Tarkington. A journalist new to a Midwestern state capitol circa 1900 notices there is something funny going on at the charming house next door. Turns out gubernatorial candidate David Beasley lives there with his young ward, an orphan who has a menagerie of imaginary friends. Beasley’s nemesis Simeon Peck plans to ruin Beasley’s chances at the statehouse, but everyone learns something at Beasley’s Christmas Party including the pretty Miss Applethwaite, who Mr. Beasley spurned years before. Conceived for three actors to play multiple roles but playable in many configurations, this 75 minute holiday play is a heartwarming fable of imagination and celebration. ‘There’s a goodhearted intelligence to these characters…
with utter devotion to craftsmanship, they’re distracting us from the play’s age until we, without realizing, have been enchanted by it…
Impressive as any number of rabbit filled top hats…
Enchanting.’ Variety ‘In the holiday chests of many households, nestled in jumbles of ornaments and lights, there is one special heirloom, to be given pride of place on the Christmas tree: an old painted angel, perhaps, with history in its chipped wooden wings, or a faded star that outshines any flashy electric bulb. Beasley’s Christmas Party is a bit like such small treasures.’ Time Out New York

The Beautiful Lady

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: from the box of which the waiter made offering. ‘Do not remain!’ I whispered, and I saw his sad perplexity. ‘I know her answer has not been given. Will you present him his chance to receive it just when her sympathy must be stronger for him, since she will think he has had to bear rudeness?’ He went out of the door quick I did not smoke. I pretended to, while the waiters made the arrangements of the table and took themselves off. I sat there a long, long time waiting for Antonio to do what I hoped I had betrayed him to do. It befell at last. Poor Jr. came to the door and spoke in his steady voice. ‘Ansolini, will you come out here a moment?’ Then I knew that I had succeeded, had made Antonio afraid that I would do the thing he himself, in a panic, had already done speak evil of another privately. As I reached the door I heard him call out foolishly, ‘But, Mr. Poor, I beg you ‘ Poor Jr. put his hand on my shoulder, and we walked out into the dark of the terrace. Antonio was leaning against the railing, The Beautiful Lady standing near. Mrs. Landry had sunk into a chair beside her daughter. No other people were upon the terrace. ‘Prince Caravacioli has been speaking of you,’ said Poor Jr., very quietly. ‘Ah? ‘said I. ‘I listened to what he said; then I told him that you were my friend, and that I considered it fair that you should hear what he had to say. I will repeat what he said, Ansolini. If I mistake anything, he can interrupt me.’ Antonio laughed, and in such a way, so sincerely, so gaily, that I was frightened. ‘Very good!’ he cried. ‘I am content. Repeat all.’ ‘ He began,’ Poor Jr. went on, quietly, though his hand gripped my shoulder to almost painfulness, ‘ he began by saying to these ladies, in my presence, that we should be…

Beauty and the Jacobin

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

The Conquest of Canaan

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

The Gibson Upright

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ACTH The yard beside Gibson’s house. Upon our left is seen the porch or sun room icing of a good ‘colonial’ house of the present type. A hedge runs across at the back, about five feet high, with a gateway and rustic gate. Beyond is seen a residential suburban quarter, well wooded and with ample shrubberies. A gravelled path leads from the gate to the porch, or sun room, where are broad steps. Upon the lawn are a white garden bench, a table, and a great green and white striped sun umbrella, with several white garden chairs. Autumn has come, and the foliage is beginning to turn; but the scene is warm and sunlit. After a moment a young housemaid brings out a tray with a chocolate pot, wafers, and one cup and saucer and a lace edged napkin. She places the tray on the table, moves a chair to it, looks at the tray thoughtfully, turns, starts toward the house when Gibson comes out. Hejcears a travelling suit and is bareheaded. Ella: The cook thought you might like a cup of chocolate after a long trip like that just getting off the train and all, Mr. Gibson. Gibson: Thank you, Ella, I should. Ella: I’ll bring your mail right out. She goes into the house and returns with a packet of letters. Gibson: Thanks, Ella! Ella: Everything is there that’s come since you sent the telegram not to forward any more. Gibson : It’s pleasant to find the house and everything just as I left it. Ella: My, Mr. Gibson, we pretty near thought you wasn’t never coming back. Those June roses in that bed round yonder lasted pretty near up into August this year, Mr. Gibson. For that matter it’s such mild weather even yet some say we won’t have any fall till Thanksgiving. Gibson: Yes, it’s extraordinary. Ella: Shall I leave the tray? Gibson: No; you can take it. She moves…

The Guest of Quesnay

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

His Own People

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG The glass domed ‘palm room’ of the Grand Conti nental Hotel Magnifique in Rome is of vasty heights and distances, filled with a mellow green light which filters down languidly through the upper foliage of tall palms, so that the two hundred people who may be refreshing or displaying themselves there at the tea hour have something the look of under water creatures playing upon the sea bed. They appear, however, to be unaware of their condition; even the ladies, most like anemones of that gay assembly, do not seem to know it; and when the Hungarian band crustacean like in costume, and therefore well within the picture has sheathed its flying tentacles and withdrawn by dim processes, the tea drinkers all float out through the doors, instead of bubbling up and away through the filmy roof. In truth, some such exit as that was imagined for them by a young man who remained in the aquarium after they had all gone, late one afternoon of last winter. They had been marvelous enough, and to him could have seemed little more so had they made such a departure. He could almost have gone that way himself, so charged was he with the uplift of his belief that, in spite of the brilliant strangeness of the hour just past, he had been no fish out of water.

Alice Adams

Over the pictures, the vases, the old brown plush rocking chairs and the stool, over the three gilt chairs, over the new chintz covered easy chair and the gray velure sofa over everything everywhere, was the familiar coating of smoke and grime…
. Yet here was not fault of housewifery; the curse could not be lifted, as the ingrained smudges permanent on the once white woodwork proved. The grime was perpetually renewed; scrubbing only ground it in. from the novel

This is the story of a middle class family living in the industrialized ‘midland country’ at the turn of the 20th century. It is against this dingy backdrop that Alice Adams seeks to distinguish herself. She goes to a dance in a used dress, which her mother attempts to renew by changing the lining and adding some lace. She adorns herself not with orchids sent by the florist but with a bouquet of violets she has picked herself. Because her family cannot afford to equip her with the social props or ‘background’ so needed to shine in society, Alice is forced to make do. Ultimately, her ambitions for making a successful marriage must be tempered by the realities of her situation. Alice Adams‘s resiliency of spirit makes her one of Tarkington’s most compelling female characters.

Gentle Julia

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

The Plutocrat

1927. Although his first book was about English romance, Newton Booth Tarkington, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, for The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams, came to be known for his comical and almost cynical style of the Lost Generation that characterized the 1920’s. The book begins: Out of the north Atlantic a January storm came down in the night, sweeping the American coast with wind and snow and sleet upon a great oblique front from Nova Scotia to the Delaware capes. The land was storm bound and the sea possessed with such confusion that nothing seemed less plausible than that human beings should be out among the running hill ranges, and not only alive but still voyaging crazily on their way. Tow ropes parted off the Maine and Massachusetts coasts; barges were swamped and bargemen drowned; schooners drove ashore in half frozen harbours; and all night on the Georgian Banks fishermen fought dark monstrosities of water. But in the whole area of the storm nowhere was the northeaster more outrageous than upon that ocean path where flopped and shuttled the great Duumvir, five hours outward bound from New York. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Ramsey Milholland

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man From Home 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

Mrs. Protheroe

A few minutes later, without knowing how he bad got his hat and coat from the cloak room, Alonzo Rawson found himself walking slowly through the marble vistas of the State house to the great outer doors with the lady and Truslow. They were talking inconsequently of the weather, and of various legislators, but Alonzo did not know it. He vaguely formed replies to her questions, and he hardly realized what the questions were; he was too stirringly conscious of the rich quiet of her voice and of the caress of the gray fur of her cloak when the back of his hand touched it rather accidentally now and then, as they moved on together.

Harlequin and Columbine

The night before, Canby was as eagerly happy as a boy at Christmas Eve. He tossed away his old employment because of his new career opening so gloriously, with Talbot Potter’s having accepted the play! But now came the letter from that actor with the famous smile: ‘Come up to my apartments at the Pantheon after dinner and let me see what changes you have been able to make in the play. I should like to look at them before deciding to put on another play I have been considering.’ Madison Avenue, after dark, shows little to reassure a new playwright who carries in his pocket a note ending with the words, ‘before deciding to put on another play I have been considering.’ It was Bleak Street, that night, for young Stewart Canby, and a bleak, bleak walk he took therein. Booth Tarkington 1869 1946, two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wrote such keenly observed novels of American life as Gentle Julia and In the Arena.

The Man from Home

Newton Booth Tarkington 1869 1946 was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis. He first attended Purdue University but graduated from Princeton University in 1893. While at Princeton he was the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and formed the Princeton Triangle Club. He was also voted the most popular man in his class. He was one of the most popular American novelists of his time, with The Two Vanrevels and Mary’s Neck appearing on the annual best seller lists nine times. Tarkington’s best known work today is The Magnificent Ambersons, which traced the growth of the United States through the decline of the oncepowerful and aristocratic Amberson family dynasty, contrasted against the rise of industrial tycoons and ‘new money’ families in the economic boom years after the Civil War leading up to World War I. Amongst his other works are The Man from Home with Harry Leon Wilson 1908, The Flirt 1913, Penrod 1914, Harlequin and Columbine 1918, The Gibson Upright 1919, In the Arena 1920 and Gentle Julia 1922.

In the Arena

CONTENTS PART I PAGE, Boss Gorgett…



I TheNeed 01 Bloney…


X Hector…



. . rrl PART 11 Mrs. Protheroe…


. . f oa Great Mens Sons…


. 059 IN THE FIRST PLACE The old timer, a lean, retired pantaloon, sitting with loosely slippered feet close to the fire, thus gave of his wisdom to tlze questioning student Looking back upon it all, what we most need in politics is more good men. Thousands of good men ARE in and they need the others who are not in. More would come if they knew how MUCH they are needed. The dilettantes of the clubs who have so easily abused m, for instance, all nty life, for being a ward worker, these and those other reformers who write papers about national co ruption w hen t l q dont know haw their own wards are swung, probably arent so useful as they might be. The exquisite who says that politics is too dirty a business for a gentleman to meddle with is like tlte woman who lived in the pu lour and complained that the rest of her family kept the other moms so dirty that she never went into them. There are many thousands of young m, en belonging to what is for some reason called the best class, who would like to be in politics if they could begin high enough up as ambassadors, for instance. That is, they would like the country to do something for them, though they wouldnt put it that way. A young man of tlzis sort doesnt know how much hed miss if his wishes were gratified. For my part, Id hate not to have begun at the beginning of the game. I speak of it as a game, the old gentleman went on, and in some ways it W. Thats where the fun of it comes in. Yet, there are times when it looks to nze more like a series of combats, hand tohand fights for life, and fierce struggles between men and strange powers. You buy your news paper and thats your ticket to the amphitheatre. But the distance is hazy and far there are clouds of dust and you cant see clearly. To make out just what is going on you ought to get down In the Arena yourself. Once youre in it, the view you’ll have and the figlzting tlzat will come your way will more than repay you. StiU, I dont thi we ought to go in with the idea of being repaid. It seems an odd thing to me that so many men feel they havent any time for politics cant put in even a little, trying to see how their cities let alone their states and the county are run. WIwn we have a war, look at the millions of volunteem that lay down everything and answer the call of the county. Well, in politics, the county needs ALL the men who have any patriotism NOT to be seeking ofice, but to watch and to understand whart is going on. It doesnt take a great deal of time you can attend to your business and do that much, too. When wrolzg things are going on and all the good men understand them, that is all that is needed. The wrong tlzings stop going on. BOSS GORGETT I GUESS Ive been what you might call kind of an assistant boss pretty much all my life at lemt, eversince I oould vote and I was some thing of a ward heeler even before that. I dont suppose theres any way tt man of my disposition could have put in his time to less advantage and greater cost to himself. Ive never got a thing by it, all these years, not a job, not a penny noth ing but injury to my business and trouble with my wife. She begins going for me, first of every campaign. Yet I just cant seem to keep out of it. It takes a hold on’s man that I never could get away from and when I reach my second childhood and the boys have turned me out, I reckon Ill potter along trying to look knowing and secretive, like the rest of the has beens, letting on . as if I still had a place inside…

Your Amiable Uncle

These letters were written by Booth Tarkington in 1903 1904 during his first trip abroad with he parents and his wife. They were addressed to his three nephews, John, Donald and Booth Jameson. Many years later Penrod was dedicated ‘by a grateful uncle’ to the same three boys, the gratitude being due to the fact that individually and collectively they had furnished so much copy to the avuncular pen.

Related Authors

Leave a Comment