1910s: Hope & Ideals

 

Riders Of The Purple Sage [1912]
Zane Grey (1872-1939)
This was the first western to hit the bestseller lists, a classic tale of good and evil: wealthy rancher Jane Withersteen versus the might of the elders of the Mormon Church. This is a book full of action and excitement, with majestic landscape to the fore.

You Know Me Al [1916]
Ring Lardner (1885-1933)
A talented baseball pitcher, boastful and stupid, moves into the major baseball league, but is unwittingly naïve. Ring Lardner struck gold with not so much talent.

The Magnificent Ambersons [1916]
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946)
Set in the late 1800s in a midwestern pastoral town which, with industrial growth, evolves into a decayed and dirty place, forced to adapt in order to survive. But wait for the happy ending…

Winesburg, Ohio [1919]
Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941)
Powerful short tales about people with simple and unfulfilled dreams in a small midwestern town, told through the eyes of a reporter. Sadly the rest of Anderson’s work is now forgotten, but is well worth exploring.