The Daughter of a Republican, [by] Bernie Babcock. Campaign Edition. Chicago: The New Voice Press, 1900. 113p.

The evils of liquor are amply illustrated through the example of the Crowley family, of which the father is a drunkard. Their abject poverty, deep humiliation, and shameful degeneration into sin and crime as a result of Damon Crowley's excesses at the tavern lead Jean Thorn, daughter of wealthy, influential jurist Judge Thorn, to take up the prohibitionist banner. Despite Jean's protests, Judge Thorn, an avid Republican, supports the non-committal position on liquor assumed by the Republican Party which is then in power. He changes his mind and his politics only after laws, which are passed prohibiting the sale of liquor in army canteens and exchanges, are blatantly disregarded by Republican government officials from Secretary of War Russell Alger to President William McKinley. The Daughter of a Republican is a passionate plea for prohibition, and will attract few readers other than those interested in the subject. This novel of Chicago during the years 1898 to 1900 offers some interesting minor details on city and national politics during those years. and on the movement which eventually led to the eighteenth amendment to the United States Constitution.

With Claw and Fang; A Fact Story in a Chicago Setting, by Bernie Babcock. Author of "The Daughter of a Republican," "At the Mercy of the State," "An Uncrowned Queen," "The Devil and Tom Walker," "Justice to the Woman," etc.... Indianapolis, Indiana: Clean Politics Publishing Co., [1911.] 112p.

An impassioned diatribe against liquor, With Claw and Fang blames the vile brew for most of the world's problems. Set in "That Sodom of America--Chicago," the novel is concerned with a Russian immigrant who becomes involved with the anarchist movement during the 1880s. Ulig Golzosch dies during the Haymarket Riot after cursing the church, spitting on the crucifix, and pledging his young son Nikola to the cause. Fortunately, Nikola, the victim of a fate similar to his father's, discovers the way to salvation shortly before death. The author of the sentimental novel, The Soul of Ann Rutledge, displays real sinew in this one.

The City of Purple Dreams. Frontispiece by M. Wilson Craig. Chicago: F. G. Browne & Co., 1913. 411p.

Daniel Randolph Fitzhugh, a tramp of the lowest order, has an accidental encounter with Kathleen Otis, kind and beautiful daughter of a Chicago wheat baron, and decides by virtue of the meeting to reform. Under Kathleen's influence, he accomplishes his mission, becomes fabulously wealthy, runs for mayor of Chicago, and eventually becomes Kathleen's husband. But not without adversity. In the course of his struggles, Daniel is arrested on numerous occasions, is confined to a mental hospital for a time, escapes, becomes involved with anarchists who are inciting the working men to riot, and spends some time washing dishes in a rundown eatery before availing himself of the opportunity to earn his fortune. Although somewhat old-fashioned in style, The City of Purple Dreams provides good views of Chicago at many social levels.

The Achievements of Luther Trant, by Edward Balmer [and] William MacHarg. Illustrated by William Oberhardt. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, Publishers, [1910.] 365p.

Luther Trant, a young experimental psychologist, applies energy and knowledge to scientific criminology in these nine clever detective stories set in Chicago around 1910.

CONTENTS: The Man in the Room.--The Fast Watch.--The Red Dress.--The Private Bank Puzzle.--The Man Higher Up.--The Chalchihuitl Stone.--The Empty Cartridges.--The Axton Letters.--The Eleventh Hour.

Book Review Digest, 1910, p. 20.

Years of Grace, by Margaret Ayer Barnes. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company; The Riverside Press Cambridge, [1930.] 581p.

Years of Grace is the story of forty years and the changes wrought in two generations. Set in Chicago, the novel focuses on Jane Ward, daughter of a socially prominent family, who grows up in the repressed, pseudo-genteel society of the 1880s and 1890s. In her youth, indeed, throughout her life, Jane is a model of decorum. She refuses to marry a young artist whom she loves, because her parents disapprove. She accepts a family-approved husband because it is expected of her. She avoids an affair later in life because it might disgrace husband and family. Twenty years later, Jane's daughter Cicily encounters the identical decisions, but being a product of the war years, when marriage is fast and divorce easy, Cicily cares little for reputation, and lives her life accordingly. Through it all. Mrs. Barnes maintains a scrupulous neutrality, presenting each life as a reflection of the times, never presuming to judge or moralize. If a change in attitude is apparent between generations, it represents only a portion of the total evolvement of society during the forty year period; and Mrs. Barnes reflects in minute detail, changes in fashion, architecture, and interior decor as well as history and social conditions. The author's first novel, Years of Grace won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1931.

Book Review Digest, 1930, p. 53-4.

Shacklett; The Evolution of a Statesman, by Walter Barr. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1901. 392p.

Noel Shacklett begins life in the bottom lands of southern Illinois as the son of Davis County sheriff Samuel Shacklett; but setting his goals high, he climbs steadily until he is elected to a position in the state legislature. Shacklett views life as an endless series of campaigns demanding determination, split-second decision making, and quick action. Even his courtship and marriage to Mary Stoddard he considers a campaign--the most carefully planned of his career. Considering no sacrifice too great if it will further his ends, he becomes expert at the business of politics and statesmanship, ever willing to barter his soul to the faction with the largest number of unclaimed votes. Shacklett is a true picture of political life at every level from county clerk to state senator. The story is told with many amusing twists of fate and tricks of the politician's trade, but excessive detail and verbosity prolong it to the point of boredom.

Independent, 12/26/1901, p. 3090.

The Speculations of John Steele, by Robert Barr. Author of "In the Midst of Alarms," "Tekla," "The Victors," "Over the Border," Etc. Illustrated by F. R. Gruger. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, Publishers, [1905.] 308p.

John Steele, station master at the all-but-forgotten prairie hamlet known as Hitchens Siding, is the means by which a costly railroad disaster is avoided, and he is promoted within the company as a reward for meritorious service. From this small beginning, Steele moves to a more prestigious job with another line, proves his value to his employer, and eventually works his way to ownership of his own railroad. Not content to stop there, Steele becomes fascinated with the grain market and begins dealing in wheat. He makes a fortune, loses it, and makes another, displaying the same aplomb in his stock market dealings as in his phenomenal rise to power with the railroad. John Steele is an amazing character, possessing the self-assurance to move headlong into new ventures and the resiliency to bounce back when down and out. Surrounded by a booming business world with opportunity at every hand, Steel reacts as any average empire builder would, but he does it with a flair that endears him to the hearts of all he meets.

Book Review Digest, 1905, p. 21.

A Story from Pullmantown, by Nico Bech-Meyer. Illustrated with sketches by Capel Rowley. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Company; 175 Monroe Street, 1894. 110p.

A harsh indictment of management in industry during pre-union days, A Story from Pullmantown is a thinly disguised narrative of the unionization of the Pullman Palace Car Company, which led to the Pullman Strike of 1894. When Mr. and Mrs. Wright arrive in Pullmantown in late 1893 after a visit to the World's Columbian Exposition in nearby Chicago, they are impressed by the town and decide to settle there. It is then that Mrs. Wright begins to discover the difficulties of living in a company town, banking at the company bank, shopping at the company store, living in a company house, and working in the company factory. Appalled by her discoveries, she becomes a union organizer striving to improve working and living conditions in the town. Although the style is stilted and old-fashioned, the author gives a realistic, firsthand account of the situation and events, from the laborers' point of view, which led to one of the most significant strikes in American history.

Overland, 8/1895, p. 223.

Golden Tales of the Prairie States, Selected With an Introduction by May Lamberton Becker. Decorations by Lois Lenski. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1932. 355p.

A collection of nineteen stories by major Midwestern writers, published between 1900 and 1932, Golden Tales of the Prairie States contains four stories representative of Illinois. "Going to the Fourth," "When Greek Meets Grouch," "A Wedding in the Jungle," and "Said Mr. Dooley--," are by Illinois authors writing of their home state.

CONTENTS: The Old Gray Eagle, by Booth Tarkington.--The Strange Boy, by William Allen White.--Going to the Fourth, by Dora Aydelotte.--I'm a Fool, by Sherwood Anderson.--When Greek Meets Grouch, by George Fitch.--The Golden Wedding, by Ruth Suckow.--Hands, by Mary Katharine Reely.--A Wedding in the Jungle, by Upton Sinclair.--"Said Mr. Dooley--," by Finley Peter Dunne.--The Boat-load of Knowledge, by Caroline Dale Snedeker.--News Fresh From Heaven, by Merle Colby.--Lone Wolf's Old Guard, by Hamlin Garland.--The Wind Fighters, by Keene Abbott.--The Face of Failure, by Alice French (Octave Thanet).--Murnane and the "Illinois", by Willis Gibson.--A Struggle for the Mastery, by Edward Eggleston.--The White Elephant Sale, by Bess Streeter Aldrich.--General Practitioner, by Sinclair Lewis.--Just As Grandma Thorndyke Expected, by Herbert Quick.

Book Review Digest, 1932, p. 64.

The Beginning; A Romance of Chicago As It Might Be. With Introductory Letters by Hon. Hempstead Washburne, Dr. H. W. Thomas, Judge Tuthill, Judge Tuley, Judge Kohlsaat, and Professor Swing. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Company, 1893. 126p.

Frank Wentworth, a shipping clerk for a Chicago wholesale house, has fallen into bad company and is spending his time drinking and gambling. Edith Gray, who loves him dearly, gives him one year to mend his ways or lose her forever. In desperation, Frank drops his wanton associates, attends an inspirational sermon by Dr. Plaintruth, and begins dreaming of a Utopian Chicago built on socialist doctrine. A pointed discourse on the advantages of socialism, The Beginning might have been more effective as non-fiction.

Lakeville; or, Substance and Shadow, by Mary Healy, [pseud.] Author of "A Summer's Romance," Etc. With Illustrations. New York: D. Appleton and Company; 549 & 551 Broadway, 1873. 238p.

Reared an orphan in St. Mary's Convent School, Valerie Turner faces a major adjustment in her life when she is withdrawn from the school at age eighteen and taken to live in a socially prominent family with an abundance of teenaged daughters. Inexperience in the social graces, differences in attitude concerning what is and is not seemly, and a desire to adapt to her new environment confuse the girl and leaves her ready prey for the attentions of any roue and second son in search of a marriageable fortune. Fortunately, she is rescued by a kindly older lady who takes on the responsibility for her guidance and up-bringing, then subtly prepares Valerie for marriage to her only Son. Although the novel takes place during the 1860s, the Civil War is mentioned only as it influences society through such devious ways as fluctuating fortunes and a slight shortage of eligible young men. However, the novel depicts in vivid detail woman's position in society during the 1860s. The setting is about equally divided between Lakeville (which can be no place other than Chicago), and various tourist sites throughout Europe. Despite the author's attempts at disguising the locale, Chicago is easily recognizable, although descriptions of European scenes are far more explicit.

The Fire of Spring, by Margaret Potter. Author of "Un-canonized," "The House of DeMailly," "Istar of Babylon," "The Castle of Twilight," "The Flame-Gatherers," Etc. Illustrated by Sydney Adamson. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1905. 357p.

Virginia Merrill, more beautiful at eighteen than any other debutante in Chicago, is betrothed to aging balding millionaire, Charles Van Studdiford. Considering naught beyond the wedding ceremony, Virginia delights in the elaborate preparations, relishes the constant attention, and accepts complacently the displays of affection by the bridegroom. Only after the wedding does she see him in reality, and pronounce him disgusting. The passing years bring little happiness to the tormented pair, for the death of a child born early in the rnarriage adds despair to loathing, and an illicit love compounds the agony of the couple still further. The death of the lover, planned if not executed by Van Studdiford, at last brings the couple to terms with life and draws them together in mutual need and understanding, if not love. Set in a suburb of Chicago during the 1890s, The Fire of Spring draws sharp contrasts between the ordinary manners of the suburbanites as compared to the cultivated refinements of Chicago's nouveaux riches, while casting pointed barbs at the mother who instigates a loveless marriage for wealth and position alone.

Book Review Digest, 1905, p. 280.

The Golden Ladder, A Novel by Margaret Potter. Author of "The Princess," "The Genius," "The House of DeMailly," Etc. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, MCMVIII. 434p.

A dull and tedious tirade against the evils of greed and dissipation, The Golden Ladder focuses on John Kildare and the influence that the city has on his life. John Kildare is as fine a young man as the farm ever released to the wicked, dirty city of Chicago, until he comes under the influence of the business world and one Kitty Clephane. Kitty's purposes, always vain and selfish, may include sleeping with Kildare, but she never considers marriage to a struggling young clerk such as he. After years of hard work Kildare becomes a New York millionaire; and Kitty, lonely, distraught, and no longer attractive, has been put aside by her New York society boyfriend. Under these circumstances, Kildare realizes that in spite of Kitty's entreaties, he cannot consider marriage to a woman of her reputation and lack of refinement.

Book Review Digest, 1908, p. 292.

American Gothic, by Robert Bloch. New York: Simon and Schuster, [1974.] 222p. (A Simon and Schuster Novel of Suspense)

Chicago and the World's Colombian Exposition of 1893 provide a suitably bizarre setting for Robert Bloch's gothic novel of torture, mental torment, and murder. To the fair's world of fantasy, which successfully recreates the glories of past civilizations while heralding the promises of the future, Bloch has added the diabolical acts of a psychopathic killer. G. Gordon Gregg, a Chicago pharmacist of considerable renown, builds a pharmacy and guest hotel near the fairgrounds just prior to the opening of the Exposition. The structure, a castle-like maze of hidden stairways and passages leading to secret rooms, horror chambers, burial places, and a crematorium, permits Gregg to indulge his murderous whims for many months while maintaining an aura of innocence. Basing his novel on the life of an actual person, Herman W. Mudgett, Bloch has exercised his writer's prerogative in deciding what events of the man's story to include, which to delete, and which to improve upon. But he has adhered to the basic facts in writing this chilling novel which cannot fail to both fascinate and horrify any reader.

Booklist, 6/1/1974, p. 1080. Kirkus, 3/1/1974, p. 269. Library Journal, 2/1/1974, p. 386. N. Y. Times Book Review, 6/30/1974, p. 32. Publishers Weekly, 1/21/1974, p. 81.

A Wilful Heiress, by Emma Scarr Booth. Buffalo: Charles Wells Moulton, 1892. 230p.

Mercie Freeman, a Chicago heiress of considerable wealth and social stature, is duped into marriage to a scoundrel. Adolphus Pericles Montague, aided by his sister Angelina Victoria Muggs, deceives Mercie concerning his fortune and breeding until after the marriage, when Adolphus' true nature is exposed. Having signed her entire fortune into her husband's care, Mercie is in his power until the money is gone and Adolphus is killed in a brawl. Free at last, Mercie returns to her home to marry Sebastian Burness, a poor but honorable gardener whom she really loves. Told through excerpts from Mercie's diary and through letters written by her, her family, and her friends, this novel provides a good view of the stringent legal, social, and moral code by which women were bound in the latter half of the nineteenth century.

The Romantic Woman, by Mary Borden. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1920. 347p.

Were it not for a brilliant retrospective picture of turn of the century Chicago (called Iroquois by the author for the sake of anonymity), this novel would not be included in an Illinois bibliography. Concerned with a Chicago heiress who marries into the British aristocracy, The Romantic Woman is a story of conflict and adjustment told by an impetuous, naive American girl living in the rigidly structured society of her adopted country. As she tells of her youth, she presents a detailed view of the rough, uninhibited city where she lived and grew into womanhood.

Book Review Digest, 1920, p. 56-7.

A Christmas Mystery, by Charles O. Boring. Chicago: The Forward Movement Publishing Co., 1896. 32p.

Delayed on his way from work on Christmas Eve, 1892, the narrator is miraculously transported fifty-seven years into the future, to Christmas Eve, 1949. There he discovers that Chicago has become a utopian state where poverty is non-existent, jails are unnecessary, and all social activity revolves around The Church of the Redeemer. The miracle which occasions the writing of the story definitely takes second place to the description of the perfect society envisioned by the author in this typical example of the socialist literature of the late 1800s.

Old Chicago; Debt of Honor, by Mary Hastings Bradley. Decorations by Edward C. Caswell. New York [and] London: D. Appleton and Company, MCMXXXIII. 99p. (When Chicago Was a City, V. 3)

See Nos. 10 and 94.

Old Chicago; Metropolis, by Mary Hastings Bradley. Decorations by Edward C. Caswell. New York [and] London: D. Appleton and Company, MCMXXXIII. 79p. (Chicago in the Eyes of the World, V. 4)

See Nos. 10, 94, and 317.

The Wine of Astonishment, by Mary Hastings Bradley. Author of "The Splendid Chance," "The Palace of Darkened Windows," "The Favor of Kings," Etc. New York [and] London: D. Appleton and Company, 1919. 313p.

A slight, moralistic tale in which fate metes out justice for past indiscretions, The Wine of Astonishment relies too heavily on circumstance for the plot to ring true. Jim Clarke and Evelyn Day might have been married but for a persistent bit of gossip concerning his one trip to a brothel several years earlier. Instead, Evelyn marries Christopher Stanley, but becomes his wife in name only. After six years, she realizes her mistake and decides to consummate the marriage. But too late. Christopher dies before it can be accomplished. Free at last, an attempt to make amends to Jim proves abortive, and the lovers are again separated until they meet, quite by chance, while serving their country in France during World War I. Set in Chicago prior to the war, the novel tells of the gradual deterioration of a neighborhood, the migration to the suburbs of those who can afford to move, and the social changes wrought by these conditions.

Book Review Digest, 1919, p. 63.

My Invincible Aunt, [by] Dorothea Brande. New York [and] Toronto: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., [1938.] 376p.

Kit Willow, aunt and guardian of teenaged Stella, has lived for several years as a virtual recluse in her fifth floor Chicago flat, so Stella is thoroughly amazed when Kit proceeds to change her entire mode of life. Seeking the assistance of a local chemist, she develops a complexion cream which she calls the Kit Willow Facial Secret, and begins to market the product. Using her own baby-soft, pink and white complexion as her major advertising gimmick, Kit travels widely on promotional tours during which she advocates smiles, love, and routine use of her creams. In due time, she amasses a fortune and becomes spiritual leader of a Smile-and-Love Cult built around her own promotional speeches and advertising. Dorothea Brande tells a simple, entertaining, and thoughtful story based on the gullibility of the lonely, plain, and uninteresting millions inhabiting this earth. Since her approach seems forthright, one hopes that she intends the subtle irony which is often apparent.

Book Review Digest, 1938, p. 116.

The Redemption of Arthur True; A Rural School Story, by Arno Bratten. With an Introduction by E. G. Lentz. Marion, Illinois: The Stafford Publishing Company, 1909. 130p.

The Sycamore Dell School, near Creal Springs, Illinois, is the victim of dissension and turmoil in 1883. Unruly students, uncooperative parents, inexperienced teachers, and shortsighted board members wreak havoc with education in the small community, until Mr. Strong, a dedicated and knowledgeable teacher, provides a means of salvation for the school and its students. The author's grammar is sometimes incorrect, and the moral to the story is obvious from the beginning, but in spite of flaws, The Redemption of Arthur True is a fascinating period piece, written and published in the often forgotten southern Illinois area.

The Brief Year, [by] Grace Jamison Breckling. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, [1951.] 281p.

Derek Wyngate's arrival in Middle Grove, Illinois, to assume the duties of principal at Middle Grove High School, marks the beginning of a year of conflict and turmoil for the man and the village. Youth and idealism endear him to his students, but conservative adults attack his new methods and revolutionary ideas, demanding that he be fired. Sixteen-year-old Sharon McGregor reports the incidents with all the fervor and drama of youth, giving an accurate account of Midwestern provincialism in 1913.

Saturday Review, 6/2/1951, p. 32.

May Flavin, by Myron Brinig. New York [and] Toronto Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., [1938.] 406p.

Reared in Chicago by a policeman father who is gunned down while investigating an armed robbery, May Hogan grows into a capable, tough, and indomitable woman willing to fight for her own and her loved ones' survival. After marrying Mike Flavin, her older sister's castoff suitor, May and Mike move from Chicago to New York with great hopes and plans for the future. Extreme poverty, Mike's infidelity and desertion, the death of her eldest son protecting his gangster boss, and the pregnancy of an unmarried daughter, seem more than any woman should have to endure, but nothing breaks May's courageous spirit. Spanning from the 1880s to the years following World War I, this long, sometimes tedious novel contains detailed accounts of life in Chicago's Irish settlement and New York's Bowery.

Book Review Digest, 1938, p. 122.

Dick Aston, The Railway Detective; or, Hunting Down the Train Robbers, by F. Lusk Broughton. New York: Munro's Publishing House; 24 & 26 Vandewater Street, July 14, 1894. 32p. (Old Cap. Collier Library, No. 552)

Warned of a possible attempt to rob the C. O. & L. mail train, the agent at Robbinsville, Illinois, sends Joe Tyler to walk the tracks in search of trouble areas. Joe discovers the robbers tampering with a switch, but is quickly overpowered, tied to the tracks, and left to die under the wheels of the very locomotive he is trying to protect. Joe is dragged from the tracks only moments before the train passes, but is powerless to avert the wreckage and plunder which occurs immediately after. It is left to Dick Aston, the railroad detective to discover Joe's rescuer and to bring to justice the gang of villains responsible for the crime. Typical of the serialized novels of the late nineteenth century, the story contains action but is unimaginative and has no factual basis.

Jack Breeze, The Chicago Sleuth; or The Langdale Case, by F. Lusk Broughton. New York: Munro's Publishing House; 24 & 26 Vandewater Street, September 5, 1887. 42p. (Old Cap. Collier Library, No. 264)

A murder in the village of Langdale, ten miles from Chicago, disturbs the tranquillity of the neighborhood and prompts an anonymous letter inviting the famous Chicago detective Jack Breeze to investigate. Probing methodically into the past of some of Langdale's leading citizens, Breeze soon ferrets out the murderer along with some additional action to keep the story moving. Broughton's writing is journalistic to an extreme, consisting of short sentences and paragraphs containing an abundance of fact, with few of the wordy embellishments to which many of his contemporaries subscribe. Still the story has little to offer either in literary appeal or social commentary.

A Quarter-Million Burglary; or, V-Spot and the Cracksmen, by F. Lusk Broughton. New York: Munro's Publishing House, 24 & 26 Vandewater Street, February 15, 1896. 31p. (Old Cap. Collier Library No. 636)

The perpetrators of villainy and violence are quickly apprehended as a result of clever sleuthing by Chicago detective, V-Spot, who is hired to investigate the theft of $2, 000 in bonds, but discovers that the stakes are much larger. Ordinary writing makes this just one more title in a long list of average and below average mystery stories which have interest and value today only because they are scarce.

The Thugs of Chicago; or, Old Pinch on the Trail, by F. Lusk Broughton. Author of "Gypsy, the Girl Ferret," "Dave Heath, the New York Detective," etc., etc. New York: Munro's Publishing House; 24 & 26 Vandewater Street, July 21, 1890. 32p. (Old Cap. Collier Library No. 378)

James Lognon, better known as Old Pinch the Chicago Detective, volunteers to help a friend, Mr. Matthewson determine the fate of his missing wife. As he delves into the case, Lognon discovers Mrs. Matthewson's rather unsavory background, a healthy endowment left to her by a former husband, and an involved plot by a neighbor to obtain the wealth through Mrs. Matthewson's daughter Paula. A rousing ending discloses Mrs. Matthewson's fate, sees the villain killed by his own gun, the girl rescued by Lognon and her lover, and peace restored to the lives of all concerned.

The Hallowell Partnership, by Katharine Holland Brown. Author of "Philippe at Halcyon," Etc. Illustrated. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1912. 241p.

Roderick Hallowell and Marian, his sister, live a quiet, impoverished life in Boston, where he works as a civil engineer while she convalesces from a serious illness. When Roderick accepts a job with an Illinois firm building a drainage canal and levee on the Illinois River, Marian unwillingly accompanies him to the site. As mishap follows mishap and the project appears doomed to failure, Roderick exhausts himself by working long and strenuous hours to save the canal from total destruction. At this point, Marian begins to help, first by such simple tasks as entertaining curious visitors at the work site, then by taking over Roderick's bookkeeping duties, finally becoming a full partner with him in his next engineering venture. This novel, which was serialized previously in The Youth's Companion, is sentimental and old-fashioned by today's standards. Yet, the vivid descriptions of canal construction, swamp drainage, and river life around 1910 could not be surpassed by most modern writers.

Book Review Digest, 1913, p. 78.

The Wages of Honor, and Other Stories by Katharine Holland Brown. Illustrated. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1917. 309p.

Of the ten short stories comprising this collection, three, "The Ragged Edge of Forty," "Raw Prose," and "Briarley's Real Woman," present episodes representative of life in rural Illinois shortly after the turn of the century.

CONTENTS: The Wages of Honor.--The Master Strategist.--"Crabbed Age and Youth".--Brewster Blood.--The Ragged Edge of Forty.--Raw Prose.--Briarley's Real Woman.--Billy Foster and the Snow Queen.--Millicent, Maker of History.--On a Brief Text from Isaiah.

Book Review Digest, 1917, p. 70.

April Harvest, [by] Lillian Budd. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, [1959.] 309p.

The third volume of a trilogy which includes April Snow and Land of Strangers, this novel tells the story of Sigrid Christianson, daughter of Carl and Ellen around whom Lillian Budd's previous works revolve. Reared in Calico Row, an area on Chicago's west side, Sigrid is orphaned at seventeen and forced to fend for herself at an age when she should be in school. A less courageous person might have given up in despair, but Sigrid attacks poverty, illness, and hard times with such spirit and resourcefulness that she soon turns her misfortunes into assets. April Harvest is a happy sentimental novel of a first generation Swedish-American imbued with the same optimism and love of life that draws her immigrant parents and thousands like them to America during the nineteenth century.

Book Review Digest, 1959, p. 152.

Land of Strangers, [by] Lillian Budd. Philadelphia & New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, [1953.] 369p.

The second in a trilogy which includes April Snow and April Harvest this sad novel with its bitter ironies tells of Karl Christianson and Elin Eklund--how they meet first in Sweden, how each happens to immigrate to the United States, how they meet again, marry, and settle in Chicago. Their daughter Sigrid makes them proud, but it is their son Tony whose short life brings them their happiest moments. The author appears to understand well the mixed feelings of the Swedish immigrant during the troubled years around the turn of the century when jobs were hard to find in the land of opportunity.

Book Review Digest, 1953, p. 131.

Everything by Heart, [by] Nora Null Bunney. New York: Exposition Press, [1972.] 140p.

The fictionalized memoir of a girl growing up in McDonough County, Illinois, around 1915, recalls home life and youth of an earlier day. Based on the life of Nora Null Bunney, Everything by Heart draws a nostalgic but accurate picture of growing up in a small town. A school Christmas program, selling magazine subscriptions, the joys of reading Gene Stratton-Porter and Zane Grey novels, going away to college, and the effects of World War I on McDonough County are the things of which this volume is made.

Noah, a novel by J. F. Burke. Los Angeles: Sherbourne Press, Inc., [1968.] 286p.

The son of loving but radical parents, Noah Greene tries to live the staid life expected of him as a college professor in Lincolnsburg, Illinois, in 1910, but he does not fit the mold. When Noah is forced to resign his position at Lincoln College on grounds of moral turpitude (Noah is convinced that the real reason is his earlier attempt to unionize his fellow faculty members) he leaves Lincolnsburg for New York where he becomes an active member of the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World. Noah gives the reader some background information on I. W. W. work and activities, a few glimpses into small-town life, and an abundance of bedroom scenes with street corner language.

Kirkus, 2/15/1968, p. 200. Publishers Weekly, 2/19/1968, p. 94.

Instead of the Thorn, A Novel by Clara Louise Burnham. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company; The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1916. 390p.

Linda Barry, pampered daughter of a Chicago banker, is loved by Bertram King, her father's young business associate, but finds it impossible to return his ardor. Finally leaving Chicago to escape his advances, Linda is in Maine when her father dies suddenly following extreme financial reverses. Blaming Bertram for her father's death, Linda becomes more adamant in her hatred until Bertram explains the events surrounding the tragedy, then love begins to blossom between them. A romantic novel filled with frivolous dialogue and clever turns of events, Instead of the Thorn is a good portrayal of Chicago's carefree and mobile rich during the early twentieth century.

Book Review Digest, 1916, p. 86-7.

The Windbreak, [by] Garreta Busey. New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1938. 350p.

On the prairies of Illinois in the 1860s, a farm is a cruel mistress demanding every ounce of energy that a man can muster to keep body and soul together. But Gideon Brundage, tough and ambitious, is a man willing to devote himself to such a life and to drive his family to do the same. Although the Civil War is raging somewhere to the south, the Brundage family is aware of it only when an occasional troop train passes, for plowing, fencing, hog killing, and a thousand other farm duties leave little time to think of other things. The Windbreak is the story of Hugh Brundage, Gideon's eldest son, who grows into manhood fearing and hating his father, pitying his mother, and rebelling against fate. Secretly harboring dreams of a better life, Hugh finally breaks from his father's stern hold and leaves the farm, but returns later to marry and settle down on the Illinois prairie as his father had done before him. Although the theme and plot are not original, readers will be captured by the sincere warmth of Garreta Busey's writing, her thorough comprehension of the intricate workings of the adolescent mind, and her abiding love for farm life.

Book Review Digest, 1938, p. 146.

Persimmons, A Story for Boys and Girls and Men and Women who have not forgotten their school days, by A. C. Butler, A. M., Superintendent of Schools, Kewanee, Illinois. Illustrated. Taylorville, Illinois: C. M. Parker, Educational Publisher, [1895.] 112p.

A novel with a message, Persimmons contrasts the lives of two men, Ben D_ and Carl Brown, through their school days and after. Ben, the son of a poor widow, is teased and tormented by his school mates; he is made to work the farm to support the family when other children his age are in school; he is accused of the misdemeanors of other boys. Carl, the pampered son of a wealthy church deacon, is the accepted leader of Ben's tormentors; he has the advantage of a business school education; and he has the backing of a prestigious family. Ben, through hard work and determination, attends the university, earns a Ph. D., and becomes president of a college; Carl, after several false starts, inherits a 300 acre farm, rents it out, and settles comfortably into being the town loafer. The setting is central Illinois in the 1880s and 1890s.

Zigzag Journeys in the White City; With Visits to the Neighboring Metropolis, by Hezekiah Butterworth. Fully illustrated. Boston: Estes and Lauriat, Publishers, [1894.] 320p.

History and folklore are incorporated into this fictionalized travelogue of Chicago and the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Manton Marlowe, President of the local Folklore Society of his New England village, is sent to Chicago to see the fair and to attend the Folk-Lore Congress held at the Palace of Art. Ephriam Marlowe, Manton's father, longs to attend the Peace Conference to be held in conjunction with the fair, and decides to accompany his son. Zigzag Journeys in the White City relates their experiences at the fair and in the city of Chicago, along with descriptions of the major sights to be seen in both. As might be expected, emphasis is placed on the Peace Conference and on the Folk-Lore Congress. Several folk tales are included.

Zigzag Journeys on the Mississippi from Chicago to the Islands of the Discovery, by Hezekiah Butterworth. Fully Illustrated. Boston: Estes and Lauriat, Publishers, [1892.] 31p.

Intended as an introduction to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, this volume in the Zigzag Series emphasizes three separate but related topics. Stories and articles concerning the discovery of America, the city of Chicago, and the Mississippi River Valley make up this loosely constructed travel book which is given continuity by the description of a hypothetical trip taken by an advanced Spanish class. The stories and articles are generally well written and informative. Although originally published as separates in various periodicals, the collected stories and articles represent an accurate statement of the theme, history, and planning of the 1893 World's Fair.