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Alice Adams
by Booth Tarkington
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
Clarence, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1921. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Good. Alice Adams" by Booth Tarkington. First edition, first printing, first state with the following issue points: First edition has 1921 on both the title page and the copyright page with no other printing stated. There is a first state of the first printing where the words "you" and "why" are transposed on page 419, line 14. It reads "I can't see you why don't wear more colour,". Published by Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N.Y., 1921. Winner of the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Novel (Fiction). The book measures 5" x 7.75", 434 pages. The book is in very good minus to good plus condition. The boards are well preserved with gently bumped corners. Sunning and soiling to the spine. The front board is slightly cocked. Foxing to the fore-edges, endsheets, and throughout the textblock. Pencil notation on front endpaper. The hinges are cracked with the binding starting. Moisture stains to the top corner of the text on pages 427-34. The textblock is unmarked and complete. Please view the many other rare titles available for purchase at our store. We are always interested in purchasing individual or collections of fine books. Inventory #(Pul-17).
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
- Ernestoic Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 002505
- Title
- Alice Adams
- Author
- Booth Tarkington
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Publisher
- Doubleday, Page and Company
- Place of Publication
- Garden City, NY
- Date Published
- 1921
Terms of Sale
Ernestoic Books
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
Ernestoic Books
Biblio member since 2023
Clarence, New York
About Ernestoic Books
Ernestoic Books, where you can find the most sought after Modern First Editions. As our name suggests, Ernest Hemingway is our specialty and our passion. We guarantee the condition of every book we sell. Returns may be made within 14 days of receipt for any reason. We are always interested in purchasing individual or collections of fine books.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- 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...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- First State
- used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...
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