Alice Adams

by Booth Tarkington

Overview

Booth Tarkington's "Alice Adams" is a poignant exploration of social class and family dynamics in 1920s America. Set against the backdrop of small-town life, the novel delves into the complexities of social ambition and the pursuit of the American Dream. Through the lens of a middle-class family, Tarkington masterfully examines the nuances of societal expectations and the challenges of upward mobility. This literary classic, meticulously prepared for print republication, offers a timeless portrayal of coming-of-age and the enduring struggles inherent in navigating family life and social hierarchies. "Alice Adams" resonates with readers through its insightful commentary on human aspirations and the universal desire for belonging.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781022963382
Publisher:	Anson Street Press
Publication date:	03/28/2025
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Booth Tarkington (1869-1946), who achieved overnight success with his first novel, The Gentleman from Indiana (1899), is perhaps best remembered as the author of the popular Penrod adventures and Seventeen. He was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for Literature and in 1933 received the Gold Medal for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Gary MacFadden is a voice talent based in western Montana, USA. He works in commercial, e-learning, explainer videos, and audiobooks. Gary has narrated and produced over forty audiobooks, and has produced another dozen books for other narrators.

Editorial Reviews

In Alice Adams Booth Tarkington momentarily ceased his detached contemplation of the foibles of youth and wrote a highly subjective story of an American family. Without abandoning his great gift for exposing the comic details of adolescent behavior, he was able to regard Alice’s difficulties with interior sympathy and understanding.”

New York Times

Tarkington’s story of ambition and delusion…still packs a punch.”

AudioFile

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 Publisher