The Works of Booth Tarkington: Harlequin and Columbine and other stories

The Conquest of Canaan

A Novel

Booth Tarkington

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Alice Adams

Booth Tarkington

"Alice Adams" is a compelling novel written by Booth Tarkington, a renowned American author and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. This story revolves around the life of Alice Adams, a young and aslo ambitious woman from a lower-middle-class family living in the fictional town of Zenith. Despite her humble background, Alice dreams of social advancement and strives to fit into the upper echelons of society. She yearns to escape the limitations of her family's financial constraints and gain acceptance among the town's elite. As the narrative unfolds, Alice's aspirations lead her to various social events and gatherings. However, her efforts to impress others often result in awkward situations and also disappointment. Despite her genuine charm and good intentions and also Alice struggles to navigate the complexities of social etiquette and the expectations of her new acquaintances. Throughout the novel, Tarkington skillfully explores themes of class distinctions, societal expectations, and the pursuit of personal happiness. As Alice grapples with her desire to belong and be loved for who she is, readers witness her growth and maturation as a character. "Alice Adams" is a poignant and also honest portrayal of the human desire for acceptance and the challenges faced by those seeking to transcend their circumstances.

Penrod

Booth Tarkington

A timeless novel in the spirited tradition of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn" One of the most popular American authors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Pulitzer Prize winner Booth Tarkington was acclaimed for his novels set in small Midwestern towns. "Penrod" tells of a boy growing up in Indianapolis at the turn of the twentieth century. His friends and his dog accompany him on his many jaunts, from the stage as the Child Sir Lancelot, to the playground, to school. They make names for themselves as bad boys who always have the most fun. Nearly a century after it was first published to incredible popularity and acclaim, "Penrod" remains wildly funny and entertaining to adults and children alike.

The Magnificent Ambersons

Booth Tarkington

"The Magnificent Ambersons" is the 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize. It is the second novel in "The Growth Trilogy," which includes "The Turmoil"(1915) and "The Midlander" (1923). In 1942, Orson Welles directed a film version of it, also titled "The Magnificent Ambersons" and starring Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, and Anne Baxter. The novel and trilogy traces the growth of the United States through the declining fortunes of three generations of the aristocratic Amberson family. It is set in a fictional Mid-Western town, between the end of the Civil War and the early part of the 20th century, a period of rapid industrialisation and socio-economic change. The decline of the Ambersons is contrasted with the rising fortunes of industrial tycoons and other new-money, self-made families. Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) was an American novelist and dramatist. Originally from Indianapolis, he attended both Purdue University and Princeton, as well as getting an honorary doctorate from Columbia. His family was well-off, though they lost some of their wealth in the Panic of 1873 (the Great Depression). He won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1918) and "Alice Adams" (1921), making him one of only three to win it more than once, putting him alongside William Faulkner and John Updike. Whilst he is less known today, he was considered to be America's greatest living author during the early 20th century.

The Conquest of Canaan

Booth Tarkington

A dry snow had fallen steadily throughout the still night, so that when a cold, upper wind cleared the sky gloriously in the morning the incongruous Indiana town shone in a white harmony-roof, ledge, and earth as evenly covered as by moonlight. There was

Penrod

Booth Tarkington

Newton Booth Tarkington (1869–1946) was an American dramatist and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. Among only three other novelists to have won the Pulitzer Prize more than once, Tarkington was one of the greatest authors of the 1910s and 1920s who helped usher in Indiana's Golden Age of literature. In his 1914 work “Penrod”, Tarkington presents a series of sketches that depict the adventures of an eleven-year-old boy called Penrod Schofield living in the American Midwest shortly before World War I. A charming tale of youth reminiscent of Mark Twain's “Huckleberry Finn”, “Penrod” created the characters and set the foundation for two other novels: “Penrod and Sam” (1916) and “Penrod Jashber” (1929). It has also been adapted for the stage and screen numerous times, most famously in George Stevens' 1935 rendition. Other notable works by this author include: “Monsieur Beaucaire” (1900), “The Turmoil” (1915), and “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1918). Read & Co. Classics are proudly republishing this novel now in a new edition complete with a biography of the author from “Encyclopædia Britannica” (1922).