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Alice Adams
by Tarkington, Booth
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good+
- Seller
-
Neenah, Wisconsin, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
434 pages. Solid and clean, a little age-darkening, a little foxing and a few light stains on a few early pages; binding slightly cocked, front hinge just starting.This is the second state of the first printing, because the word transposition on pg. 419, line 14 has been corrected, and the copyright date of 1921 is on the copyright page only; no other printing stated. This book was part of a variety-store lending library back when such things existed, and bears the store's bookplate on the flyleaf.
Tarkington won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, once for The Magnificent Ambersons (1919) and once for Alice Adams (1922). Although mostly forgotten today, he was considered America's greatest novelist during his lifetime, on a par with Mark Twain, led best-seller lists and had many of his novels made into movies, such as Alice Adams by George Stevens in 1935 and The Magnificent Ambersons by Orson Welles in 1942,
Tarkington won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, once for The Magnificent Ambersons (1919) and once for Alice Adams (1922). Although mostly forgotten today, he was considered America's greatest novelist during his lifetime, on a par with Mark Twain, led best-seller lists and had many of his novels made into movies, such as Alice Adams by George Stevens in 1935 and The Magnificent Ambersons by Orson Welles in 1942,
Synopsis
This compelling satire details irresistible characteristics of social status in a small Midwestern town. Mr. and Mrs. Adams and their two children are members of the lower middle-class. Their daughter, Alice, wrestles with this economic classification and attempts to make the society folk of the town appreciate her. Because Alice has no social influence nor wealth and her presence is held in disregard by prospective suitors, Mrs. Adams tries to improve the situation by persuading her husband to leave a job he's held all his life and to establish a new career. After much apprehension and in possession of a glue formula stolen from his previous employer, he resigns his mediocre but satisfying employment which puts him in a predicament that leads to his professional downfall. Tarkington's understanding of class rivalries, social condescension, and financial avarice is evident in this tale where his main point indicates that in every joyless moment hope, though unexpected, is attainable. He illustrates how the Adams' laborious efforts are ultimately unsuccessful. Any intrusion by Alice and her mother on the upper class is unlikely and Tarkington's depiction of such is secretly amusing.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Setton Book Collection
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 151
- Title
- Alice Adams
- Author
- Tarkington, Booth
- Illustrator
- Arthur William Brown
- Format/Binding
- Red cloth binding, black stamped titles, spine a little tanned and wrinkled, front hinge starting
- Book Condition
- Used - Good+
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First (second printing)
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Doubleday, Page and Company
- Place of Publication
- Garden City
- Date Published
- 1921
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Social climbing in America, American Midwest, American class structure, post-WWl America
- Bookseller catalogs
- Eclectic Americana;
- Size
- 5" x 7 5/8"
Terms of Sale
Setton Book Collection
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Setton Book Collection
Biblio member since 2019
Neenah, Wisconsin
About Setton Book Collection
European history, with a loose focus on the late medieval/early Renaissance period, including the Crusades; some first or contemporary editions from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries; some scholarly works in English, French, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Catalan, Russian.Some works from the libraries of Reeve Shley at Ripplebrook; John L. La Monte; Kenneth M. Setton; Howard Ellison Whitney; Wilhelmina, Duchess of Cleveland; Washington Shirley, 9th Earl Ferrers, Joseph Harrison Brazier; Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.Also some exotic Americana and other eclectic gems that have serendipitously popped up over the years."I just wanted to say that the service and quality of the book received from 'Setton Book Collection' was exceptional. I am very pleased with the book: A Narrative of the Conversion and Death of Count Struensee. 5 star service all the way.Best Regards,Pete,London, England13 October 2020
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Second State
- used in book collecting to refer to a first edition, but after some change has been made in the printing, such as a correction,...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- Cocked
- Refers to a state where the spine of a book is lightly "twisted" in such a way that the front and rear boards of a book do not...
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