Thicker than Water, by Vera Caspary. New York: Liveright, Inc., Publishers, [1932.] 426p.

The Piera family, a proud, intellectual Portuguese-Jewish family living in Chicago in the 1880s, are portrayed over a period of nearly half a century--until the depression of the l930s--in this outstanding Chicago chronicle. Centering on Rosalie, who is first seen as an unhappy spinster, the story tells of her marriage to the German Jew Reisinger--considered a compromise in status by the socially haughty Pieras--and their married life, children and grandchildren and of the other families who relate to them in various ways. In effect, this is a novel about all families who feel that their valued honor and traditions are undermined by inappropriate marriages of their offspring. Episodes of love and greed, loyalty and infidelity, life and death combine to make this an impressive story about believable people.

Book Review Digest, 1932, p. 174.

Lucy Gayheart, by Willa Cather. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1935. 231p.

Lucy Gayheart is a poignant story by one of the best writers of the period, and although it moves more slowly and heavily than her more popular novels, it still reveals convincingly the depth of Miss Cather's concern for the sensitive and artistic spirit in a mercenary world. In the early 1900s Lucy Gayheart goes to Chicago to study piano, and becomes the accompanist for Clement Sebastian, a famous singer. Her admiration for him quickly turns to love, which touches off a tender and unselfish response from the older, unhappily married man. But their warm relationship is not meant to last. When Sebastian leaves on a trip to Europe, foreshadows of tragedy warn Lucy that he'll not return. Months after his accidental death by drowning, when Lucy is just beginning to master her deep depression, the final irony occurs--her own accidental death by drowning. Set in Chicago and Haverford, Nebraska, the novel portrays well both the biggest metropolis in the midwest and the small community where Lucy's life begins and ends.

Book Review Digest, 1935, p. 169-70.

My Mortal Enemy, [by] Willa Cather. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. 122p.

One of Cather's lesser-known works, this bitter-sad story of the early 1900s begins in Parthia, in southern Illinois. Charming and domineering Myra Driscoll elopes from the home of her wealthy guardian-uncle with Oswald Henshawe, who works in New York making a modest living. In later years, Oswald loses his job and they move to San Francisco, where they live in near poverty until Myra's death. The story is narrated by the niece of a friend, who happens to be present to witness three periods in Myra's life, and thus can tell of her transformation from a spirited, outgoing young woman to a bitter and broken recluse.

Book Review Digest, 1926, p. 127-8.

The Song of the Lark, by Willa Sibert Cather... Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company; The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1915. 490p.

The Song of the Lark concerns the developing musical career of Thea Kronberg as she proceeds from her small hometown in Colorado to Chicago for years of voice training; to Europe for continued study and experience; and finally to New York as a member of the Metropolitan Opera Company. The story is subdued, but Chicago is adequately pictured and the characters are convincingly drawn. The character of Thea Kronberg is understood to be largely patterned after Cather's friend, operatic star Olive Fremstad. For a 1932 reissue of The Song of the Lark, Miss Cather severely edited the novel and wrote an apologetic preface indicating her continuing dissatisfaction with its length and with the conventionality of its design. Chicago in the late 1800s is the setting for a large portion of the novel, and its title came from a painting Miss Cather saw at the Chicago Art Institute.

Book Review Digest, 1915, p. 81-2.

The Dogberry Bunch, by Mary Hartwell Catherwood. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop and Company; Franklin and Hawley Streets, [1879.] 86p.

The Dogberry Bunch, consisting of the seven Dogberry children ranging in age from three to eighteen, manages through determination and hard work to remain together as a family after the deaths of their parents. With a gift for turning misfortune to their advantage, one of the children manages to change an unintended trip to Cincinnati into a paying venture, another discovers wealthy relatives while wandering lost several miles from home, and two others discover a box of valuable documents while being held captive by a mentally deficient ragpicker. The entire bunch benefits from the fire which destroys their home, by availing themselves of the opportunity to move to Chicago where each can pursue the life that he desires. The Dogberry Bunch is too sweet, too pat, and too prosaic to be read and enjoyed today. However, the story, which appeared first in serialized form and is reprinted here directly from the original plates (complete with such extraneous material as the original magazine pages happened to contain), is representative of the type of periodical literature read by millions of Americans during the nineteeth century, and typical of the inadequate view of Illinois presented by many early Illinois novelists.

Lower Illinois Valley Local Sketches of Long Ago of Mrs. Mary Hartwell Catherwood. Compiled and Edited by Eileen Smith Cunningham. Kane, Illinois: Umphress Printing Company, 1975. 55p.

See Nos. 14 and 104.

The Queen of the Swamp and Other Plain Americans, by Mary Hartwell Catherwood. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company; The Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1899. 331p.

The thirteen short stories in this volume are grouped under the names of states, with five--"Beetrus," "The Bride of Arne Sandstrom," "The Babe Jerome," "The Calhoun Fiddler," and "A Man from the Spanish War"--under the heading Illinois. These are essentially rural stories of romance with a regional flavor. Three of the five Illinois stories first appeared inHarper's Bazaar.

CONTENTS. The Queen of the Swamp.--The Stirring-Off.--Sweetness.--Serena.--Rose Day.--A Kentucky Princess.--The Fairfield Poet.--T'Fergore.--Beetrus.--The Bride of Arne Sandstrom.--The Babe Jerome.--The Calhoun Fiddler.--A Man from the Spanish War.

Chautauquan, 7/1899, p. 389. Critic, 9/1899, p. 845-6. Independent, 8/10/1899, p. 2163. Literary World, 7/22/1899, p. 237. Outlook, 6/3/1899, p. 314.

The Secrets at Roseladies, by Mary Hartwell Catherwood. Author of Dogherry Bunch, Rocky Fork, Old Caravan Days, and others. Illustrations by W. A. Rogers. Boston: D. Lothrop Company, Franklin and Hawley Streets, [1888.] 187p.

While their parents tour Europe, the Bidgood children visit their uncle at Roseladies, a large estate bordering on the Wabash River in southern Indiana. Sister Mariana and Cousin Sarah amuse themselves contentedly with girl-things during the long summer days, but the boys, with a local youth as their guide, roam the countryside and explore the river with reckless abandon. A Shawnee burial mound on the Illinois side of the river especially fascinates them, and tales of Indian treasure buried with the dead intensify their curiosity to the point of action. They decide to dig for the treasure in defiance of warnings from their elders not to disturb the mound. A contrived ending detracts somewhat from the story, but suspense carries the reader through to a logical conclusion. The Secrets at Roseladies contains good descriptions of various modes of life in the lower Wabash River country during the nineteenth century, as well as information on Shawnee Indian life and burial customs.

Caught in Chicago; or Bob Brooks Among the World's Fair Crooks. New York: Lou H. Ostendorf Jr., Publisher; 14 Ann Street, Post Office Box 1476, March 1st, 1893. 15p. (Bob Brooks Chief of Detectives Library, No. 3)

Bob Brooks, Chief of New York Detectives, is called to Chicago during the World's Fair of 1893, to help crack the McGrath-Mortell ring, a gang of robbers and cutthroats who are terrorizing visitors and the local citizenry of the busy city. Facing tremendous odds since the gang has the support of the city's politicians, the police force, the major families of influence, and a select group of clergy, Brooks and his two assistants, Kit and Mum, set to work. By a quirk of fate, Kit and Mum are accepted as members of the McGrath-Mortell gang and work from within to ensnare the twenty-two-man ring, along with Jim McGrath, the wily and influential leader. Caught in Chicago is a fantastic story of daring-do, the major value of which is the precise description of the city, inhabitants, and bustling activities around Grant Park in 1893.

The Chamber of Horrors; or, Old Cap. Collier Unearthing the Great Insurance Frauds, by the Author of Old Cap. Collier. New York: Munro's Publishing House; 24 & 26 Vandewater Street, November 9, 1895. 30p. (Old Cap. Collier Library No. 622)

The disappearance of several people during the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the subsequent paying of large settlements by various insurance companies, lead Old Cap. Collier into a thorough investigation of the entire affair. What Collier unearths is a diabolical scheme by an insurance agent, Felix Hartman, and a mad doctor, Martin Besant, to murder and destroy the bodies of World's Fair visitors, then defraud insurance companies by collecting on bogus policies. Based on an actual case in Chicago police files, The Chamber of Horrors is an early fictionalized version of the Mudgett case which Robert Bloch uses as the basis for his novel, American Gothic, published in 1974.

The Bride and the Pennant; The Greatest Story in the History of America's National Game, True to Life--Intensely Interesting, by Frank L. Chance, Manager of the Chicago "Cubs." With a Preface by Charles A. Comiskey, President of the White Sox. Chicago: Laird & Lee, Publishers. [1910.] 182p.

Harry Sherman, star pitcher for the University of Chicago baseball team, flunks out of school in his senior year and is no longer eligible to play varsity baseball. On the rebound, Sherman joins the New Orleans Bears and begins the rigorous training and grueling round of travel and performance required of professional baseball players. Although the plot concerns a New Orleans team, the deciding games for the pennant are played in Chicago, making that city the site for much of the action of the novel. Professional baseball has seen sweeping changes since 1910, and the baseball buff will find considerable entertainment in comparing the game as it is described in this novel with the game as it is played today.

N. Y. Times Book Review, 6/11/1910, p. 336.

A Human Note, by St. Lawrence Chandler, Marquis of Eckersley. Illustrated by Jay LaBrun Jenkins. Kansas City, [Missouri:] Hudson Press, [1908.] 208p.

Fred Hoxley, son of a Chicago butterine manufacturer, suggests that his father send him on a trip to Europe in order to explore the possibilities of merchandising their product abroad when his actual errand is to travel to the Russian city of St. Petersburg in search of information for the Socialist Party in Chicago. Hoxley bungles the entire mission, and in St. Petersburg falls into the hands of Count Polo and Prince Nicholas Polisky who, in a moment of frivolity, have a negotiable bank note for 100,000 rubles tattooed onto Hoxley's back. Hoxley's escape and return to Chicago triggers an international manhunt which centers on Chicago and leads hunter and hunted down numerous major thoroughfares and little known byways of the great city. Yet,A Human Note has few characteristics of the novel of mystery and suspense, but more accurately resembles a comedy of manners, with the major characters generally relegating their search for Hoxley to secondary priority in deference to their rounds of parties, social events, ocean voyages, and love affairs.

Bill and Brocky, A Story of Boy Life in Chicago Especially Adapted to the Understanding of Old Boys, by Fred A. Chappell. Illustrated by Frank R. Anderson. Chicago: Harrison, Chappell & Davis, 1892. 99p.

Bill and Brocky is an attempt to describe the city boy's life, a subject that the author feels has been neglected in literature. Bill comes from a typical middle-class home; his friend Brocky lives alone in a packing crate and has no recollection of any other kind of life, but the boys have the same friends and are seemingly unaware of differences in their status. The feeling of camaraderie is exemplified by the activities of their gang as together they build tunnels into a sawdust pile, thereby constructing a clubhouse of sawdust in a mill yard, and as they get into serious trouble for frightening Reginald the local goody-goody, in retaliation for snitching to the teacher about Bill's part in some cloak-room mischief. Apprehensive about their punishment, Bill and Brocky run away, but eventually the episode leads them to a suitable benefactor for Brocky, and all is well. This lightly nostalgic and very unrealistic treatment of a sentimental theme results in a caricature of all boys' stories.

An American Peeress, by H. C. Chatfield-Taylor. Author of "With Edge Tools." Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company 1894. 293p.

Hugh Vincent, an Englishman with an American wife, is living and working in Chicago when he unexpectedly inherits a title and an estate which necessitates his return to his homeland. His wife's adjustment to English society and her struggles to hold Hugh when he returns to the sphere of a former love occupy the major portion of this light romance of the 1880s. The first few chapters are set in Chicago and on an estate near the city, and are revealing of the customs in the upper social strata of the era.

Dial, 1/1/1894, p. 19-20. Saturday Review, 6/16/1894, p. 641.

Two Women & a Fool, by H. C. Chatfield-Taylor. With Pictures by C. D. Gibson. Chicago: Stone & Kimball, MDCCCXCV. 232p.

Guy must decide between Moira, a beautiful entertainer who enchants him but will never give up her career to marry and Dorothy, a sweet and conscientious girl who loves him but wants the assurance that he no longer loves Moira. Guy's dilemma is well stated as his mind turns first to one and then the other. Scenes of Chicago and the manners of the times are perceptively written, giving an intriguing view into the lives of an artist, an entertainer, and a volunteer social worker in the 1890s. The book is illustrated by the famous artist Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the Gibson Girl image.

Critic, 6/22/1895, p. 454-5. Dial, 5/1/1895, p. 271. Saturday Review, 7/27/1895, p. 118-9.

The Vice of Fools, by H. C. Chatfield-Taylor. Illustrations by Raymond M. Crosby. Chicago & New York: Herbert S. Stone & Co., 1897. 310p.

The Vice of Fools is a story of romance, love, and honor with dialogue and action that speak of the genteel days of the late 1800s. Most of the story takes place in Washington, D. C., in government circles, as the main character is the beautiful and admired daughter of the Secretary of War, formerly from Illinois. One short but particularly interesting chapter is set in Chicago and presents an unsympathetic view of labor at a time when the militia has been called in to quell rioting strikers.

Critic, 3/5/1898, p. 164. Dial, 11/16/1897, p. 286. Literary World, 1/22/1898, p. 28.

With Edge Tools, by Hobart Chatfield Taylor. Chicago: A. C. McClurg and Company, 1891. 315p.

Marian, wife of a young Chicago business man, finds herself frighteningly attracted to the suave opportunist, Duncan, a stranger from the east. She discovers his true nature and some of her husband's previously overlooked virtues, in time to avoid a terrible mistake. The story concerns upperclass society of the late 1800s and provides revealing comparisons between attitudes of Chicagoans and easterners towards social, business, and cultural affairs of the day. Activities of the upper social set, at The Club, at the Derby races, and at the opera, are described.

Critic, 3/12/1892, p. 154-5.

Chicago's Greatest Crime; or, The Most Mysterious Case on Record, by Old Cap. Collier. New York: Munro's Publishing House; 24 & 26 Vandewater Street, February 5, 1898. 30p. (Old Cap. Collier Library, No. 739)

When Rose Lanzon, fourth wife of Chicago sausage packer Robert Lanzon, disappears under rather unusual circumstances, her niece Juliet Muller hires Dick Darling to investigate. Darling first suspects Juliet of being unduly alarmed, but is quickly convinced of foul play when Lanzon employs an unscrupulous detective to run Darling out of town. In the unique position of being both hunter and hunted, Darling works deftly to break a strange case in which a set of false teeth, some metal buttons, a wedding ring, and a few odd bones are the only evidence. Chicago's Greatest Crime conveys little of Chicago history, society, or geography, although it indicates a refinement in writing style when compared with earlier novels in the Old Cap. Collier series.

Bodbank, by Richard Washburn Child. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1916. 437p.

Bodbank is a prosperous little city overlooking the Mississippi River from the bluffs on the Illinois shore; the Phoenix is a picturesque hostelry occupying a prominent position in the heart and history of Bodbank; and the Back Room Club is a select group of eleven elder statesmen who congregate regularly at the Phoenix for conversation, relaxation and camaraderie. The eleven members of the Back Room Club are the parties responsible for the eleven amusing stories which constitute this volume, as each member takes his turn in narrating a story from Bodbank's colorful past. Considered individually the stories are enchanting and nostalgic segments of early twentieth century Americana. Collectively they form a perceptive view of the composition and character of a Midwestern town, often reminiscent of the works of O. Henry in mood, insight, atmosphere, and expression.

CONTENTS: To Reveal.--One Feels It.--He Looked Like a Fighter.--Her Dark Past.--"My Boy".--That's Good.--Made of Steel.--No Man Knows.--Back to Bodbank.--Her Negatives.--Very Truly Yours.--The Dead Canary.

Book Review Digest, 1916, p. 110.

Shadowgraphs, A Novel by Judson Chubbuck. Proctor, Ill[inois:] Published by the author; Chicago, Ill[inois:] Alwell & Goodall, Printers, [1896.] 183p.

In 1890, Harold Fleetwood, an idealistic young man fresh from college, settles in G_, a town of considerable size located on the Illinois prairie near the school where he is to teach. Immediately upon his arrival in town, Harold incurs the wrath of the political machine by stating a political view in opposition to the organization's staunchest supporter. Threats, violence, law suits, and finally an invitation to join the group fail to silence Harold or change his opinions. Thriving on adversity, he battles for what he thinks is right by starting a study group for the working man, establishing his own newspaper, and supporting honest candidates for state and local offices. Shadowgraphs is a story with an obvious message, which the author belabors with little subtlety. Long passages in essay form present his views on politics, honesty, the working classes, and many other topics of interest to his contemporaries. Unfortunately, his views are neither new nor novel, and his story is much too saccharine for most readers.

"Dear Julia--" Letters from Martha Freeman Esmond to her friend Julia Boyd of New York in the days--"When Chicago Was Young," by Herma Clark. Chicago: The W. D. Bauman Company, Publishers: Chicago Daily News Building, 1933. 64p.

See No. 107.

When Mother Wore a Bell Skirt and Father, a Derby Hat, A romance of Henrici's from 1868 to 1943, recounted by Herma Clark on the Occasion of our Seventy-Fifth Anniversary. Chicago: Henrici's; Printed for the Entertainrnent of Our Guests, October, 1943. Unpaged.

In the same style employed in "Dear Julia--" and The Elegant Eighties, Herma Clark relates, through letters from Lucy Moreland to Eleanor Brandon Van Norman, interesting tidbits in the history of one of Chicago's most famous restaurants. The small pamphlet is profusely illustrated with pictures of the restaurant, the founder, the cook, famous entertainers who have appeared there and many more.

Always on Deck; or, Making a Start in Life, by Archie Van, [pseud.] New York: Albert Sibley & Co.; 18 Rose Street, 1887. 64p. (Golden Library of Choice Reading for Boys and Girls. No. 29)

Orphan Tom Kane returns home from boarding school to find that he and his sister have been swindled out of their inheritance, the family home has been sold, and he has been apprenticed to a shoemaker to learn the cobbler's trade. Protests prove futile, so Tom bides his time, takes full advantage of a chance to escape, obtains legal help, and through proper friends and influential contacts, is able to regain his birthright. In a standard plot, the author pits good against evil in a contest which is heavily weighted in favor of the hero. The outcome is easily predictable, the style is average, the theme is tired, and the social and historic background--Chicago and the surrounding area during the 1880s--is weakly drawn. Still, the book has value as an example of the scarce and fast disappearing dime novel of yesteryear.

The Victim of a Crime, by Weldon J. Cobb. Chicago: E. A. Weeks & Company, [1893.] 369p.

This same novel was published in 1892 under the title A World's Fair Mystery.

A World's Fair Mystery, by Weldon J. Cobb. Author of "Hidden Gold," "The Love of Her Life," "At Her Mercy," "Hearts of Gold," "Recalled to Life," "Cruel as the Grave," Etc. Illustrated... Chicago: Melbourne Publishing Company, 1892. 369p.

Two Chicago men, a lawyer and a broker, swindle an orphan girl out of her legal inheritance, then cause the only other man who knows of the deed to be imprisoned on a false murder charge. Several years later, the escape of the prisoner, who finds anonymity among the crowds attending the World's Columbian Exposition, precipitates a crisis for the two culprits, the police, the prisoner himself, and the orphan now grown to budding womanhood.

Sweepings, by Lester Cohen. New York: Boni & Liveright, MCMXXVI. 447p.

Vigorous social criticism predominates in this story of Dan Parkway, the business he builds in Chicago and the ruthless way he builds it, and his disappointing family and the ways they disappoint him. This popular novel extends well into the twentieth century and parallels to some extent The Great Bear, which is about Dan's brother Thane.

Book Review Digest, 1926, p. 148 9.

The Compact of Death; or, Nick Carter's Singed Hair Clew, by the Author of "Nick Carter." Edited by Chickering Carter, [pseud.] New York: Street & Smith; 79-89 Seventh Avenue, September 23, 1905. 28p. (New Nick Carter Weekly No. 456)

Rupert Allanson, a young man marked by the Mafia for execution, is introduced to Nick Carter by fate. But neither fate nor Nick Carter is able to help avert Allanson's gruesome murder, which takes place shortly thereafter. Racing against time to save Ralph Allanson, Rupert's younger brother, from a similar untimely end, Nick braves the wrath of the Mafia to track down the murderer before he is again able to strike. Realistic in every detail The Compact of Death presents an authentic view of Chicago around 1905, vivid descriptions of the city and its landmarks, rivaled only by equally explicit descriptions of blood and gore.

The Grapple, A Story of the Illinois Coal Region; Being the History of a Man Who, Having Himself Come up from the Miner's Pick, Having the Profoundest Sympathy for the Men, the Union, and All It Stands For, and Has Done for Labour, yet Single-handed and Alone, Successfully Withstood the Encroachments of the Mine Workers' Union, and the Unjust Demands of its Leaders, by Grace MacGowan Cooke. Author of "The Last Word," "Return," etc. With a frontispiece in colour from a drawing by Arthur W. Brown. Boston: L. C. Page & Company, MDCCCCV. 415p.

Mark Strong, an Illinois coal mine owner who has worked in the mines himself, who is thoroughly familiar with mining operations and miners' problems, and who is basically in sympathy with the theory behind unionism, finds himself cast on the side of management when his employees attempt to unionize. Unwilling to relinquish any small measure of control over his business, Strong hires non-union labor to replace miners who walk off the job, seriously compounding the already tense situation. Strong wins his fight with the Mine Workers' Union, but not without a long hard struggle and some serious soul-searching. The Grapple parallels closely the early history of labor unionization in the mines of Illinois, and presents logical arguments for and against the movement.

Book Review Digest, 1905, p. 77.

The Girl Who Lived in the Woods, by Marjorie Benton Cooke. With Five Illustrations in Colors by The Kinneys. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1910. 430p.

Anne and Richard Barretts' marriage of convenience seems destined for failure when both of their fortunes are lost in a crash of the stock market. But the two sell what is left of their belongings, move to a country lodge near Lake Forest, and begin constructing a new life for themselves based on different principles. It is here that they encounter Cecilia Carne, the recluse daughter of a criminal, and cultivate the friendship of Judge Carteret, an old friend of their families, and through interaction with them and with each other, eventually find the happiness that eluded them during the early years of their marriage. The Girl Who Lived in the Woods is a light romance which requires little effort to read, and yields little in history and social perspective in return.

Book Review Digest, 1910, p. 84.

Charley Manning, by Elizabeth Corbett. New York [and] London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated, 1939. 371p.

Divided into three books dated 1885, 1895, and 1905, the novel describes roughly two decades in the bachelorhood of Charley Manning, and includes something of the culture of the times among small-town elite. Charley is wealthy, good-hearted, and extremely generous; and he gives his hometown Mount Royal, Illinois, plenty to talk about. The story moves slowly, describing how Charley quietly manages his manor, his zinc mine, his hotel, his street car business, and his many other interests, including two or three mistresses, but an occasional diversion adds enough interest to keep the reader's attention.

Book Review Digest, 1939, p. 208.

Early Summer, by Elizabeth Corbett. New York [and] London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated, 1942. 321p.

Sheba Faye of Faye's Folly is the heroine in this novel of West Syracuse, in northwestern Illinois. As Mrs. James Warren, she sees farm and family through some trying episodes, including financial problems, illnesses, recalcitrant stepchildren, and the return of the first Mrs. Warren. There is little of historical value here except a glimpse of the customs and mores of a small prairie town a decade after the Civil War, but readers who enjoyed the spirited personality of young Sheba in Faye's Folly will enjoy the mature strength of an older Sheba in this sequel.

Book Review Digest, 1942, p. 165.

The Far Down, by Elizabeth Corbett. New York [and] London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated, 1939. 453p.

There are eight children in the Malone family, and in the small community of Mount Royal, Illinois, they are considered to be at the lower end of the social scale. The eldest, kind-hearted Madge, and her sharp-tongued sister Tessie, assume the burden of responsibility for the family after their father dies; and through the vicissitudes of the years they portray a gentle picture of small-town life near the end of the nineteenth century.

Book Review Digest, 1939, p. 208-9.

Golden Grain, by Elizabeth Corbett. New York [and] London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated, 1943. 334p.

Sheba, heroine of two other Corbett novels, is a beautiful thirty-eight-year-old widow in this story. Capable but emotional, she indulges in a love affair with a business acquaintance and is hurt deeply. This rather superficial tale of romance takes place in West Sycamore and Mount Royal, Illinois, in the 1880s.

Book Review Digest, 1943, p. 176.

The Head of Apollo, by Elizabeth Corbett. Philadelphia [and] New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, [1956.] 251p.

Ruth Hastings teaches piano in Mount Royal, Illinois, in the 1890s. When her mother dies and she is left alone, her friend and mentor, Lawrence King, and his wife invite Ruth to live with them. The warm, but not intimate, relationship which develops between King and Ruth leads to his wife's suicide. Shocked, Ruth hastily moves out and locates in a shabby boarding house, without revealing her new address to King. But scandal reaches her anyway, and soon she has lost all her students. Eventually King finds her and attempts to persuade her to marry him, compounding still further the trauma of the previous events. Another story with a Mount Royal setting, The Head of Apollo adheres to the original fictional background created by the author some twenty years before and employed in several of her novels during the 1930s and 1940s.

Book Review Digest, 1956, p. 214.

The Langworthy Family; A Novel of Mount Royal, by Elizabeth Corbett. New York [and] London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated, 1937. 439p.

There are seven people in Colonel Langworthy's household, and each is the center of interest in one section of this novel. Despite the shifting focal point, the book is about the Colonel, gallant and generous owner of Langworthy Carriages and Wagons, and what happens to him when the family members are almost all gone, his horseless carriages don't sell, and his seemingly abundant fortune is depleted. Not the happy story Ms. Corbett sometimes writes, The Langworthy Family is still a well wrought character study depicting small-town life in the fictional community of Mount Royal, Illinois.

Book Review Digest, 1937, p. 222.

Light of Other Days; A Novel of Mount Royal, by Elizabeth Corbett... New York [and] London: D. Appleton-Century Company, Incorporated, 1938. 361p.

See No. 110.

Mount Royal; Chronicles of an American Town, [by] Elizabeth Corbett. New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, [1936.] 268p.

Four separate stories about people in Mount Royal, Illinois, a small town near Chicago, explore melodramatic romances of the late 1800s.

CONTENTS: Scarlet Sage.--The Legacy.--Chicken Charley.--Mrs. Boyce and Mrs. Taylor.

Book Review Digest, 1936, p. 214.

The Old Callahan Place; A Novel by Elizabeth Corbett. New York: Appleton-Century, [1966.] 311p.

This popular novel concerns the life of Molly Callahan, the plucky eldest daughter in an Irish-American family living in Helios, a Chicago suburb in the early twentieth century. When faced with a family crisis Molly assumes more than her share of responsibility, turns personal tragedy into professional success, and, after a long spinsterhood, finds romance and happiness.

Kirkus, 8/15/1966, p. 860.

The President's Wife, [by] Elizabeth Corbett. Philadelphia & New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, [1958.] 247p.

Matthew Warner is a professor of history at Holcombe College. where his ambition is to become president. But Rita his wife is bored with husband, children, faculty teas, and small-town gossip. In this state of mind she is extremely susceptible to the sophisticated charm of Frank Gray. William Crane and Sheba Warner of Faye's Folly see Rita through this trying period in her life, and help her strike a workable compromise between routine and rebellion. The setting is Linwood, Illinois, in 1906.

The Richer Harvest, [by] Elizabeth Corbett. Philadelphia [and] New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, [1952.] 254p.

The Richer Harvest is a warm and touching story about Charley Hinkley, a self-sacrificing man who devotes his life to helping others, and finally in his middle years, achieves a measure of happiness for himself. Certainly one of Ms. Corbett's best novels, this story includes nostalgic descriptions of life and times in a small town west of Chicago around the turn of the century.

Book Review Digest, 1952, p. 202.

The Black Cat Club, Negro humor & folklore, by James D. Corrothers. Illustrated by J. K. Bryans. New York [and] London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1902. 264p.

The life and character of the Negro in the late nineteenth century is drawn with vividness and humor in a volume which encompasses Negro folklore, superstition, poetry, essays, and legends, linked together by a slender but effective story line. The story relates the activities of the Black Cat Club, a group of nine Negro men and a cat named Mesmerizer, who congregate for banter, booze, gossip, and camaraderie in the ramshackle haunts of Chicago's levee area. The image projected by the book is one that today's black Americans choose to ignore. However, it is a valuable record of a culture that is changing rapidly and a lore that is fast disappearing.

A Tramp in Society, by Robert H. Cowdrey. Chicago: Francis J. Schulte & Company, 1891. 290p.

Edgar Bartlett, the tramp of this story, has at one time been a prosperous businessman, but a series of misfortunes has separated him from his family and his fortune and driven him to the depths of despair. When he is discovered begging in the streets by a former friend and is given a second chance, Bartlett again becomes prosperous. Remembering his unhappy past, he attempts to share his good fortune by aiding striking miners in the Illinois coal fields, and later by purchasing a large farm in DuPage County and founding a community where all people live and work in a socialist-oriented Utopia. Although considered fiction, much of the novel is devoted to a statement of the author's economic and social philosophy. Several pages near the end of the volume are devoted to newspaper clippings describing the devastating effects of poverty, the plight of the striking miners in Coal City, Illinois, during the summer of 1889, and statements backing up the philosophy presented throughout the text of the book.

Picayune, 5/31/1891, p. 12.

The Two Circuits; A Story of Illinois life, by J. L. Crane. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg & Co., 1877. 502p.

Philip Force, a newly ordained Methodist minister fresh from the cloistered life of the seminary, tackles his first circuit as a true Christian warrior. With a debt of $150 and a borrowed horse, he ventures into the southeastern region of Illinois, near Palestine, to preach the word of God. Inclement weather, hostile settlers, unforeseen illness, and general indifference greet him, making him seriously question his previous decision to become a minister. Yet, he perseveres, adjusts to the primitive way of life, and when transferred to another charge the following year, can enumerate the lives he has influenced for the good. The Two Circuits is a delightful tale filled with humor, understanding and love. In a light and carefree manner, the hardships and dangers of pioneer life are mingled with the pleasures and pride of accomplishment to give a many-faceted view of life in early Illinois.

Atlantic, 3/1878, p. 404. Literary World, 3/1/1878, p. 180-1.

Maroon Tales; University of Chicago Stories, by Will J. Cuppy. Chicago: Forbes & Company, 1910. 337p.

Eight short stories by a critic and humorist quite familiar with the Chicago scene capture the spirit of the University of Chicago during the early years.

CONTENTS: The Extra Major.--The Wisdom of Hawkins.--Some Odes and Some Episodes.--The Indiscretions of Yvonne de la Plaisance.--Big Boys and Little Boys.--Including the Doctorate.--The Great Paste-pot Handicap.--Honors in Diplomacy.

Book Review Digest, 19l0, p. 93.

The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton, by Wardon Allan Curtis. Chicago: Herbert S. Stone & Company, MCMIII. 311p.

Mr. Edward Middleton, a simple law clerk much influenced by his rural background, his extreme admiration of material wealth and those who have it, and his devout Methodism, one evening encounters Achmed Ben Daoud, Emir of Al-Yam, while strolling on Chicago's South Clark Street, and under the Emir's influence, begins a series of adventures that shakes to the core his twenty-five years of Middleton banality and lackluster conventionalism. The Emir, having come to Chicago in search of new material with which to amuse his royal master, the Shahriyar of Al-Yam, has accumulated a fascinating collection of stories which he wishes to test for quality before telling them to his master. The stories--how an aging spinster finds a man under her bed; how a doctor outwits a band of murderers and thieves; how a chicken farmer grows elephant-sized guinea pigs and lives to regret it; and other tales just as imaginative--are told with a flair reminiscent of the Thousand and One Nights. Following each tale, Mr. Middleton is presented with a gift which leads him into an adventure as imaginative as any the Emir tells. The tales are as strange as the storyteller, and range from ironic to gruesome; but one thing is sure--they cannot fail to hold the reader enthralled.

CONTENTS: The Manner in Which Mr. Edward Middleton Encounters the Emir Achmed Ben Daoud.--The Adventure of the Virtuous Spinster.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Second Gift of the Emir.--The Adventure of William Hicks.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Third Gift of the Emir.--The Adventure of Norah Sullivan and the Student of Heredity.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Fourth Gift of the Emir.--The Pleasant Adventures of Dr. McDill.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Fifth Gift of the Emir.--The Adventure of Miss Clarissa Dawson.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Sixth Gift of the Emir.--The Unpleasant Adventure of the Faithless Woman.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Seventh Gift of the Emir.--The Adventure of Achmed Ben Daoud.--What Befell Mr. Middleton Because of the Eighth and Last Gift of the Emir.

Dial, 1/1/1904, p. 18-9. N. Y. Times Book Review, 10/24/1903, p. 758.