The Midlander

by Booth Tarkington

"The Midlander" is set in the Midwest and continues Tarkington's exploration of life in middle America, a recurring theme in his works. The novel focuses on the lives of ordinary people in a Midwestern town, particularly the dynamics within a family and the romantic entanglements of a young woman named Julia Atwater.

Julia is a charming and beautiful young woman who attracts the attention of many suitors in her small town. The novel humorously and insightfully chronicles the romantic adventures and social interactions that revolve around Julia, showcasing Tarkington's keen eye for character development and social observation. The story captures the manners, customs, and aspirations of the middle-class Midwestern community, emphasizing the contrast between appearances and reality in social relationships.

247 pages, Paperback

Published September 24, 2024

About the author

Newton Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction/Novel more than once, along with William Faulkner, John Updike and Colson Whitehead. Although he is little read now, in the 1910s and 1920s he was considered America's greatest living author.