The Man From Home A Novel Classic Reprint Harry Leon Wilson 9781330165294 Books
Download As PDF : The Man From Home A Novel Classic Reprint Harry Leon Wilson 9781330165294 Books
Excerpt from The Man From Home A Novel
To Miss Ethel Granger Simpson, alone for the moment in the green garden of the Regina mearghemta - she leaned on its seaward balus trade to face the enchanting distance - life it self had become a mere series Of sparkles; life compacted sheerly of beauty and exaltation, a delectable mystery to be faced with joy-wid ened eyes and welcomed with open arms; arms yearning, fearless, certain. As she held her young gaze to the sparkle of her own future, her eyes of the flesh artlessly symbolized this with islands far out in that painted sea, dim of shape but misty-glorious in promise.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The Man From Home A Novel Classic Reprint Harry Leon Wilson 9781330165294 Books
With Tarkington hitting a kind of rut with his novels, it isn't too surprising that he decided to try a different way of telling a story. He worked with Harry Leon Wilson, the writer of "Ruggles of Red Gap", to create "The Man From Home", a play which debuted in 1907 in Chicago and was published in 1908. The two would pair up several more times with such plays as "The Gibson Upright", "Tweedles", and "How's Your Health?", but this was their first venture.The story is pure Tarkington, or so it seems to me. To begin with, you have people from a small town in Indiana, though the scene is the Hotel Regina Margherita in Sorento, Italy. One of Tarkington's common themes of judging people by how they act, rather than by their family history or the money they have, is well in force. And there is some of the identity surprises as well.
In the story, there are two Americans from Indiana (Horace Granger-Simpson and his sister Ethel Granger-Simpson) trying to rise above their humble origins by having Ethel marry the Honorable Almeric St. Aubyn, who is the son of Lord Hawcastle. Horace is taken with the Comtesse de Champigny, and all this has been put together by Lady Creech, the sister-in-law of Lord Hawcastle. However, in order for the marriage to happen, Ethel needs to pay a rather large settlement, and for that she needs the approval of Daniel Voorhees Pike, her guardian, whom she fears will be too American and embarrass her. Another subplot is a Russian man travelling under an assumed name and pretending to be German, and who happens to have become friends with Mr. Pike. Another is about a Russian criminal who is being chased by the police.
In the first act, we meet the interested parties, and learn at least something about their characters. Tarkington and Wilson set the stage well as they introduce all the major threads, even though one of the characters has not yet arrived. The second act advances the story well, and introduces the last character as well as fills in the back-story a bit. We learn a lot more about Hawcastle's character, or lack thereof. The third act is the meat of the play, as the all three of the plots become joined together. The Hawcastle's are exposed, we learn who Vasili is, and Ethel learns about the shame of the family she was about to marry into, but her own honor does not allow her to back out of the deal. Act four deals with this new development. Ethel refuses to break her promise, and Pike somewhat surprisingly stands with her, and even agrees to the settlement, though it is by doing so that he ultimately frees her from her obligation.
There are a couple of subplots, which really aren't needed for the story, but they don't hurt it either. A much bigger weakness is that there are too many amazing coincidences which tie these characters all together. Certainly one can accept Pike being Ethel's guardian, as we know that the guardian was on the way. Vasili's secret identity was also well established and one can accept it, and in fact it Vasili is an important character because he helps establish that it is possible for titled and rich people can still also be good human beings as opposed to the Hawcastles. The relationship between the Russian criminal (Professor Ivanoff) though is problematic. Though certainly an important character to expose the Hawcastles, his presence at this place at this point in time just when Pike can make use of it, is a bit too much to accept.
Overall "The Man from Home" is a decent play, but not as humorous as one might expect from Tarkington and Wilson. The plot is just a bit too far out there to be believable. As a first effort it is interesting. Tarkington's theme of small town common sense and morals being more important than a title and riches is one we have read before, but being put into a play, and having Indiana meet European aristocracy is a different twist than what he has given us before. It is of some interest, but at the same time there is a reason why you don't see this play being performed very often. There were two films based on this play, the first being directed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1914, though the storyline is quite a bit different, and then another film in 1922, with Alfred Hitchcock given credit for title designer, but the film has been lost.
Product details
|
Tags : The Man From Home: A Novel (Classic Reprint) [Harry Leon Wilson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Excerpt from The Man From Home: A Novel To Miss Ethel Granger Simpson, alone for the moment in the green garden of the Regina mearghemta - she leaned on its seaward balus trade to face the enchanting distance - life it self had become a mere series Of sparkles; life compacted sheerly of beauty and exaltation,Harry Leon Wilson,The Man From Home: A Novel (Classic Reprint),Forgotten Books,1330165292,General,Juvenile Fiction General,Plays Drama
People also read other books :
- Spice Lilah Suzanne 9781941530252 Books
- FROM CREATION TO CHAOS! bill martin vivatson 9781612155043 Books
- A Honeymoon in Space 9781511832632 Books
- The Beasts' Breeding Dungeon The Overlord Depraved Tales edition by Bree Bellucci Literature Fiction eBooks
- Rule of Evidence JAG in Space Book 3 (Audible Audio Edition) Jack Campbell Nick Sullivan Audible Studios Books
The Man From Home A Novel Classic Reprint Harry Leon Wilson 9781330165294 Books Reviews
When "The Man from Home" opened on Broadway in August 1908 at the Astor Theatre, playwright Booth Tarkington and his co-writer Harry Leon Wilson envisioned it as a satire on the coarseness of American manners. Little did they expect American audiences to cheer at the simple homespun common sense wisdom of Daniel Pike. William Hodge played Pike, a lawyer put in charge of a wealthy estate. He makes the trip to Sorrento, Italy because, although not too distant in age, he is the guardian of Ethel Granger-Simpson. Ethel has been hobnobbing with the wealthy European aristocracy, many of whom are unfortunately now broke. They seek "alliances" with wealthy Americans to replenish the family bank accounts. Ethel plans to marry playboy Almeric. The obstacle to the alliance is the consent of her guardian who must approve the "settlement" of $750,000. (This is still a lot of money today. In dollars from a hundred years ago, it must have been a whopping fortune!) Ethel petulantly explains that it is not a dowry, but is what she brings to the alliance. When Pike wants to know what Almeric brings to the marriage, Ethel spouts about his ancestors who fought in ancient battles. Pike isn't too anxious to liquidate what is the bulk of Ethel's fortune to her husband-to-be. The plot thickens as an Italian fugitive Georgeopolis, from Greece, shows up on the lamb. Sympathetic to his story, Pike befriends the fugitive and hides him. When Pike won't approve the settlement, Almeric's father, the Earl of Hawcastle who has been watching, uses the threat of aiding and abetting to throw Pike in an Italian jail if he doesn't approve the money transfer. Through a series of devices, Ethel overhears the real greed in the Europeans and gets in touch with her American self, which says you should work for what you earn. The play concludes as Pike approves the settlement just as Ethel breaks off the engagement. The final moments lead us to believe that the future holds something special for Ethel and Daniel Pike. This is a well-made play. It is delightful in its homespun roots and would play well to modern-day American audiences who reflect many of the same values 100 years later. The show ran for 496 performances, an incredibly long run in 1908-09 that attests to the tremendous popularity of the play. This is a little jewel that would play well in modern revival. Bravo!
With Tarkington hitting a kind of rut with his novels, it isn't too surprising that he decided to try a different way of telling a story. He worked with Harry Leon Wilson, the writer of "Ruggles of Red Gap", to create "The Man From Home", a play which debuted in 1907 in Chicago and was published in 1908. The two would pair up several more times with such plays as "The Gibson Upright", "Tweedles", and "How's Your Health?", but this was their first venture.
The story is pure Tarkington, or so it seems to me. To begin with, you have people from a small town in Indiana, though the scene is the Hotel Regina Margherita in Sorento, Italy. One of Tarkington's common themes of judging people by how they act, rather than by their family history or the money they have, is well in force. And there is some of the identity surprises as well.
In the story, there are two Americans from Indiana (Horace Granger-Simpson and his sister Ethel Granger-Simpson) trying to rise above their humble origins by having Ethel marry the Honorable Almeric St. Aubyn, who is the son of Lord Hawcastle. Horace is taken with the Comtesse de Champigny, and all this has been put together by Lady Creech, the sister-in-law of Lord Hawcastle. However, in order for the marriage to happen, Ethel needs to pay a rather large settlement, and for that she needs the approval of Daniel Voorhees Pike, her guardian, whom she fears will be too American and embarrass her. Another subplot is a Russian man travelling under an assumed name and pretending to be German, and who happens to have become friends with Mr. Pike. Another is about a Russian criminal who is being chased by the police.
In the first act, we meet the interested parties, and learn at least something about their characters. Tarkington and Wilson set the stage well as they introduce all the major threads, even though one of the characters has not yet arrived. The second act advances the story well, and introduces the last character as well as fills in the back-story a bit. We learn a lot more about Hawcastle's character, or lack thereof. The third act is the meat of the play, as the all three of the plots become joined together. The Hawcastle's are exposed, we learn who Vasili is, and Ethel learns about the shame of the family she was about to marry into, but her own honor does not allow her to back out of the deal. Act four deals with this new development. Ethel refuses to break her promise, and Pike somewhat surprisingly stands with her, and even agrees to the settlement, though it is by doing so that he ultimately frees her from her obligation.
There are a couple of subplots, which really aren't needed for the story, but they don't hurt it either. A much bigger weakness is that there are too many amazing coincidences which tie these characters all together. Certainly one can accept Pike being Ethel's guardian, as we know that the guardian was on the way. Vasili's secret identity was also well established and one can accept it, and in fact it Vasili is an important character because he helps establish that it is possible for titled and rich people can still also be good human beings as opposed to the Hawcastles. The relationship between the Russian criminal (Professor Ivanoff) though is problematic. Though certainly an important character to expose the Hawcastles, his presence at this place at this point in time just when Pike can make use of it, is a bit too much to accept.
Overall "The Man from Home" is a decent play, but not as humorous as one might expect from Tarkington and Wilson. The plot is just a bit too far out there to be believable. As a first effort it is interesting. Tarkington's theme of small town common sense and morals being more important than a title and riches is one we have read before, but being put into a play, and having Indiana meet European aristocracy is a different twist than what he has given us before. It is of some interest, but at the same time there is a reason why you don't see this play being performed very often. There were two films based on this play, the first being directed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1914, though the storyline is quite a bit different, and then another film in 1922, with Alfred Hitchcock given credit for title designer, but the film has been lost.
0 Response to "≡ PDF Gratis The Man From Home A Novel Classic Reprint Harry Leon Wilson 9781330165294 Books"
Post a Comment