TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946.
Of all writers Booth Tarkington most nearly interpreted the
American scene from the beginning of this century through the Twenties as the
average American saw it.
Tarkington's interest lay in the people whom he and most other Americans knew well.
He was at his best on North Meridian Street (his "National
Avenue") in Indianapolis, or with the people who had prospered to a chill eminence above that
thoroughfare, or, as in the case of the family of Alice Adams,
had slipped below it. He did well, too, on the streets neighboring to Meridian and
progressively less impressive, and he knew what went on in the residential streets
which fed the ebony glitter of the colored folks' main-stem, Indiana
Avenue.
Mostly, though, he knew the Indiana middle class and he put them down, in his notably
careful and beautiful script, for future generations and for the world at large to
meet. They were by no means all nice people; there was always the leavening of
Alice Adams' bootlegging brother, the nastiness of
some of the Magnificent Ambersons, but the proportion of good, near-good,
wishfully-good and pure bad was about right. There was neither the high romance of
George Barr McCutcheon nor the grimy realism of Theodore
Dreiser: Tarkington's people lived.
Every town in American had its Magnificent Ambersons, and a doting
Adams mother and a frustrated Adams
daughter kept up a pretense of gentility in most American towns and cities. Penrod
was easily recognizable to any citizen who was a boy in Penrod's day, and
to most parents of any age, there were half a dozen prototypes of The Gentleman from Indiana. There have been Willie
Baxters ever since boys began to reach the shaving age, and Willies will
always be with us as long as civilization maintains.
Tarkington, to average citizens, was not only a great Indiana author, but to many he will always be the great Indiana author, regardless of the manifestos which critics may issue on the
literary virtues of Dreiser and the others.
Newton Booth Tarkington was born in Indianapolis on July 29, 1869, into the very sort of
background he wrote of best–comfortably prosperous middle class. His
father was Judge John Stevenson Tarkington and his mother was
Elizabeth Booth Tarkington. They named the baby for a
distinguished uncle, Newton Booth, early governor of California.
Tarkington was sent to Phillips Exeter Academy for his college
preparation and, upon graduation, he entered Purdue University.
In spite of the genial companionship of George Ade and
John T. McCutcheon, he transferred to Princeton after two years but left without a degree. He was active in Princeton literary and dramatic affairs. He also stood well in his classes,
although he later said, "No doubt I imbibed some education there, though it
seems to me that I tried to avoid that as much as possible." It was no
matter–he was to receive academic honors enough in later life.
His first ambition was to become an illustrator: he made the old LIFE with a drawing in 1895 and then received
thirty-one consecutive rejections. Thereafter he stuck to writing but with little
more immediate encouragement. Finally a publishing house bought Cherry–and put it away among its other presumed errors in
judgment–but the purchase price was paid. It was $2.50, and
that sum, according to Tarkington, was the gross return from
five years of writing. Publishing it after the establishment of
Tarkington's fame, the buyer realized a handsome
profit, even including storage charges.
Success was coming, however, and it was not far away. Having had no luck with short
stories (even Monsieur Beaucaire had made the rounds and
collected its share of rejection slips), he decided to try a novel. He laid it in Indiana, he peopled it with Indianians whom he knew, and The
Gentleman from Indiana resulted. It was an immediate best-seller, and it
remained near the top of the list for an amazing length of time.
Monsieur Beaucaire and other previously rejected manuscripts
came out of Tarkington's desk drawer and were viewed
in a different light by publishers. The young man leaped from a $1000 or
so annual income (received from the rentals he had bought with his Uncle
Newton Booth's bequest) to a total of
$27,000 in 1900. In 1919 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature for The Magnificent Ambersons; he won it again with Alice
Adams in 1922, and later the American
Institute of Arts and Letters awarded him its medal for distinguished
fiction.
Tarkington was always one to enjoy his living–at Purdue and at Princeton and, after he became a notable literary figure, in the spots in North
America and Europe most likely to furnish entertainment. Between times, though, he
returned to Indianapolis, even from the beloved summer home of his later years in Kennebunkport,
Me. In his gaudy younger days, in his mellow and intelligently socially-conscious
middle life and in his contented old age he was a Hoosier.
Tarkington did not always write great books, but he always wrote good ones.
Writing, for him, was a very serious business–fifteen and sixteen hour
stretches in his study with his meals sent in. Probably, as time goes on, it will be
realized increasingly that the best of his efforts are important social documents,
that the lightest of them have a Mark Twain quality of
surviving freshness and that they are all good entertainment.
Tarkington was happy in his choice of male associates throughout his life. The
friendship of Ade, the McCutcheons, Harry Leon
Wilson, Julian Street, and all the others could make any life an
enjoyable one. With women, however, he was less at home. He had the reputation at Princeton of being something of a wallflower in mixed company; perhaps those
occasions furnished documentary material for the agonies of Willie
Baxter and Ramsey Milholland.
His first wife was Laurel Louisa Fletcher, daughter of a highly
successful Indianapolis banking family of whom recognizable portraits appear in
Tarkington's writing. Their divorce was followed shortly and tragically by
the death of their one daughter of pneumonia. His second wife, Susannah
Robinson of Dayton,
O., whom he married on
Nov. 6, 1912, survived him. She was always
interested in his writing and aided him in its continuance and development.
Tarkington's later years were plagued by ill health: by a heart ailment which brought
orders to slow down and by an eye trouble which brought about almost complete
blindness (although he made every effort to conceal the fact). In spite of the
suffering from these disabilities, and even more from the inactivity they enforced,
he kept up his interest in the affairs of the world. He maintained until the last an
urbane and only slightly detached attitude toward the life to which he had
contributed so much.
Booth Tarkington died at his Indianapolis home, 4270 North Meridian Street, on May 19,
1946.
Information from friends of Tarkington; newspapers and
miscellaneous sources.
- The Gentleman from Indiana. Garden City. N. Y., 1899.
Search "The Gentleman from Indiana" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Monsieur Beaucaire. Garden City, N. Y., 1900.
Search "Monsieur Beaucaire" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Two Vanrevels. Garden City, N.
Y., 1902.
Search "The Two Vanrevels" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Cherry. New York, 1903.
Search "Cherry" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - In the Arena: Stories of Political Life. Garden City, N. Y., 1905.
Search "In the Arena: Stories of Political Life" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Conquest o{ Canaan. New
York, 1905.
Search "The Conquest o{ Canaan" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Beauti{ul Lady. Garden City, N.
Y., 1905.
Search "The Beauti{ul Lady" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Guardian (withHarry Leon Wilson). New York, 1907.
Search "The Guardian" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - His Own People. Garden City. N.
Y., 1907.
Search "His Own People" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Man from Home (withHarry Leon Wilson). New York, 1908.
Search "The Man from Home" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Guest o{ Quesnay. Garden City, N.
Y., 1908.
Search "The Guest o{ Quesnay" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Beasley's Christmas Party. New
York, 1909.
Search "Beasley's Christmas Party" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Beauty and the Jacobin: an Interlude o{ the French
Revolution. New York, 1912.
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Revolution" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Flirt. Garden City, N. Y.,
1913.
Search "The Flirt" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Penrod. Garden City, N. Y., 1914.
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Close X - Harlequin and Columbine. New
York, 1914.
Search "Harlequin and Columbine" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Turmoil; a Novel. New York,
1915.
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Close X - Penrod and Sam. Garden City, N. Y., 1916.
Search "Penrod and Sam" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Seventeen; a Tale oi: Youth and Summer Time and the Baxter
Family, Especially William. New York, 1916.
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Family, Especially William" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Country Cousin. A Comedy (withJulian Street). New York, 1916.
Search "The Country Cousin. A Comedy" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Magnificent Ambersons. Garden City, N. Y., 1918.
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Close X - Ramsey Milholland. Garden City, N.
Y., 1919.
Search "Ramsey Milholland" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Gibson Upright (withHarry Leon Wilson). New York, 1919.
Search "The Gibson Upright" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Intimate Strangers; a Comedy in 3 Acts. New
York, 1921.
Search "Intimate Strangers; a Comedy in 3 Acts" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Clarence; a Comedy in 4 Acts. New
York, 1921.
Search "Clarence; a Comedy in 4 Acts" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Alice Adams. Garden City, N. Y.,
1921.
Search "Alice Adams" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Wren; a Comedy in Three Acts. New
York, 1922.
Search "The Wren; a Comedy in Three Acts" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Gentle Julia. New York, 1922.
Search "Gentle Julia" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories.
New York, 1922.
Search "The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Ghost Story; a One Act Play.
Cincinnati, 1922.
Search "Ghost Story; a One Act Play" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Trysting Place; a Farce in One Act.
Cincinnati, 1923.
Search "The Trysting Place; a Farce in One Act" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Collector's Whatnot (withK. L. Roberts and H. M. Kahler). Boston, 1923.
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Close X - Tweedles; a Comedy (withHarry Leon Wilson). New York, 1924.
Search "Tweedles; a Comedy" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Midlander. Garden City, N.
Y., 1924.
Search "The Midlander" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Women. Garden City, N. Y., 1925.
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Close X - Looking Forward, and Others. Garden City,
N. Y., 1926.
Search "Looking Forward, and Others" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Bimbo, the Pirate; a Comedy. New
York, 1926.
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Close X - Selections from [His] Stories, Arranged by Lilian Holmes
Strack. Boston, 1926.
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Strack" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Station YYYY. New York, 1927.
Search "Station YYYY" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Travelers. New York, 1927.
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Close X - Dolling, a Story from Women. Garden City,
N. Y., 1927.
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Close X - The Plutocrat; a Novel. Garden Uity, N.
Y., 1927.
Search "The Plutocrat; a Novel" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Growth. Garden City, N. Y.,
1927. (A combination of The Magnificent
Ambersons, The Turmoil, and The Midlander.)
Search "Growth" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The World Does Move. Garden City, N.
Y., 1928.
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Close X - Claire Ambler. Garden City, N.
Y., 1928.
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Close X - Young Mrs. Greeley. Garden City, N.
Y., 1929.
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Close X - Penrod Jashber. Garden City, N.
Y., 1929.
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Close X - Mirth{ul Haven. Garden City, N.
Y., 1930.
Search "Mirth{ul Haven" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - How's Your Health? A Comedy in Three Acts (withHarry Leon Wilson). New York, 1930.
Search "How's Your Health? A Comedy in Three Acts" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Complete Penrod. Garden City, N.
Y., 1931. (Combining the three Penrod
books.)
Search "The Complete Penrod" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Wanton Mally. Garden City, N.
Y., 1932.
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Close X - Mary's Neck. Garden City, N.
Y., 1932.
Search "Mary's Neck" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Works o{ Booth Tarkington. Garden City,
N. Y., 1922-32.
27 vols.
Search "The Works o{ Booth Tarkington" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Presenting Lily Mars. Garden City, N.
Y., 1933.
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Close X - Little Orvie. Garden City, N.
Y., 1934.
Search "Little Orvie" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Help Each Other Club. New York,
1934.
Search "Help Each Other Club" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Mr. White, the Red Barn, Hell and Bridewater.
Garden City, N. Y., 1935.
Search "Mr. White, the Red Barn, Hell and Bridewater" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Mr. Antonio: a Play in Four Acts. New
York, 1935.
Search "Mr. Antonio: a Play in Four Acts" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Lorenzo Bunch. Garden City, N.
Y., 1936.
Search "The Lorenzo Bunch" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Rumbin Galleries. Garden City, N.
Y., 1937.
Search "Rumbin Galleries" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Some Old Portraits; a Book About Art and Human
Beings. Garden City, N. Y., 1939.
Search "Some Old Portraits; a Book About Art and Human
Beings" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Heritage of Hatcher Ide. Garden City,
N. Y., 1941.
Search "The Heritage of Hatcher Ide" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Fighting Littles. Garden City, N.
Y., 1941.
Search "The Fighting Littles" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Kate Fennigate. Garden City, N.
Y., 1943.
Search "Kate Fennigate" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - Image o{ Josephine. Garden City, N.
Y., 1945.
Search "Image o{ Josephine" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X - The Show Piece: with an Introduction by Susannah
Tarkington. Garden City, N. Y., 1947.
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Tarkington" by TARKINGTON, NEWTON BOOTH: 1869-1946. in:
Close X
