Booth Tarkington

Thomas Mallon and Library of America invite readers to rediscover the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels of a classic American writer on the 150th anniversary of his birth Much in need of rediscovery today, Booth Tarkington was among the most beloved and widely read writers of his era. In such classic novels as The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams, both winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Tarkington displayed a mastery of realism and an astute, strikingly modern feel for psychology, capturing crucial transformations in our national life as they were manifested in changing social customs and in the very landscape itself, altered irrevocably by industrialization and environmental degradation. Out of Tarkington's prolific writings novelist and critic Thomas Mallon has selected three works that show Tarkington at his best. The Magnificent Ambersons, inspiration for Orsen Welles's classic film, is a tour-de-force study in egoism, depicting the fall from grace of George Minafer, wayward scion of the once-unassailable Amberson family. The titular protagonist of Alice Adams, portrayed unforgettably by Katharine Hepburn in what many consider her finest performance, is one of the great heroines of American literature: like Henry James's Isabel Archer and the young women of Edith Wharton's novels, she is a spirited, complicated young woman confronting the limits of her time and place with her own headlong desires. These novels are joined here by the story collection In the Arena: Tales from Political Life, first published in 1905 and then in an expanded edition in 1920. These stories--which exerted influence on Theodore Roosevelt, inspiring perhaps his most famous speech--draw from Tarkington's political career as a state legislator in Indiana, which lasted briefly but had a profound impact on him. Published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Tarkington's birth, Novels and Stories contains the most enduring works of a Hoosier luminary and an estimable chronicler of the American Midwest.

Lords of the Housetops is a carefully chosen collection of thirteen tales about the beloved, clever and charismatic cat. We see the cat through the eyes of thirteen authors, including such famous writers as Mark Twain, Booth Tarkington and Edgar Allen Poe. Carl Van Vechten assembled and edited this collection, along with translating de Balzac's offering from French to English. Here are the cat tales your will enjoy in this work: The Cat by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman Zut by Guy Wetmore Carryl A Psychical Invasion by Algernon Blackwood The Afflictions of an English cat by Honore de Balzac Gipsy by Booth Tarkington The Blue Dryad by George Herbert Powell Dick Baker's Cat by Mark Twain The Black Cat by Edgar A. Poe Madame Jolicoeur's Cat by Thomas Allibone Janvier A Friendly Rat by William Henry Hudson Monty's Friend by William Livingston Alden The Queen's Cat by Peggy Bacon Calvin by Charles Dudley Warner

The patient, an old-fashioned man, thought the nurse made a mistake in keeping both of the windows open, and her sprightly disregard of his protests added something to his hatred of her. Every evening he told her that anybody with ordinary gumption ought to realize that night air was bad for the human frame. "The human frame won't stand everything, Miss Perry," he warned her, resentfully. "Even a child, if it had just ordinary gumption, ought to know enough not to let the night air blow on sick people yes, nor well people, either 'Keep out of the night air, no matter how well you feel.' That's what my mother used to tell me when I was a boy. 'Keep out of the night air, Virgil, ' she'd say. 'Keep out of the night air.'

The basis for George Stevens's major motion picture starring Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar-nominated leading role.In a small Midwestern town in the wake of World War I, Alice Adams delightedly finds herself being pursued by Arthur Russell, a gentleman of a higher social class in life. Desperate to keep her family's lower-middle-class status a secret, she and her parents concoct various schemes to keep their family afloat. Though the realities of her situation eventually reveal themselves and her relationship with Arthur fizzles, Alice's acceptance of this leads her to seek out work to support her family with an admirable resiliency. An enchanting and authentic tale of a family's aspirations to seek more out of life, Alice Adams reveals the strength of the human spirit and its incredible ability to evolve. Originally published in 1921, this bestselling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was adapted into film twice, and its heroine, the sparkling Alice Adams, still resonates with readers today. With a new foreword by Anne Edwards. Vintage Movie Classics spotlights classic films that have stood the test of time, now rediscovered through the publication of the novels on which they were based.

The Collected Stories by Booth Tarkington offers a captivating selection of his best short fiction. Known for his sharp wit, keen social observations, and vivid portrayal of American life, Tarkington's stories delve into themes of family, society, and human folly. This collection showcases his storytelling versatility, from humorous tales to more poignant reflections on the complexities of life, making it an essential read for fans of classic American literature.

The Collected Stories by Booth Tarkington offers a captivating selection of his best short fiction. Known for his sharp wit, keen social observations, and vivid portrayal of American life, Tarkington's stories delve into themes of family, society, and human folly. This collection showcases his storytelling versatility, from humorous tales to more poignant reflections on the complexities of life, making it an essential read for fans of classic American literature.