ALICE ADAMS (WARBLER CLASSICS ANNOTATED EDITION)

In post-World War I America, Alice Adams, a small-town girl with big ambitions, welcomes the attention of Arthur Russell, a handsome, eligible bachelor from the upper echelons of society. Alice and her family embark on a delicate game of pretense to conceal their desperate financial position and lower social standing. As she oscillates between fantasy and reality, Tarkington reveals Alice’s inner turmoil and the shame, longing, and desperation that drive her decisions. Alice finds herself increasingly at odds with both her origins and the life she covets. With sharp psychological insight, Alice Adams tells a story of self-discovery, resilience, and, ultimately, a young woman’s graceful embrace of her autonomy within the bounds of a socially constricted Midwestern community. Alice Adams, Tarkington’s 1922 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, was twice adapted for film; the 1935 film featured Katharine Hepburn in an Oscar-nominated performance as the indomitable Alice Adams. This Warbler Classics edition includes a detailed biographical timeline.