Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Booth Tarkington was born on July 29, 1868, in Richmond, Indiana, to Harriet O'Hara and Newton Ashbel Tarkington. He went by the name Joseph Edward Booth until he adopted his mother's maiden name in 1884.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: July 29, 1868
Died: May 19, 1946
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Tarkington was an American novelist and playwright. He is best known for his novels of manners, which often explored the lives of the American aristocracy.
Early Life and Background
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Booth Tarkington grew up in a wealthy family in Indianapolis. His father was a politician and businessman who served as the mayor of Richmond and later as a U.S. Senator from Indiana. The young Booth was educated at home, where he developed a passion for literature and writing.
As a teenager, Tarkington began writing his own stories and plays, which were performed by local theater groups. He eventually attended Purdue University, but dropped out to pursue a career in writing full-time.
Major Accomplishments
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Tarkington's novels are known for their witty dialogue, intricate plots, and nuanced characterizations. Some of his most notable works include:
The Magnificent Ambersons (1918): A sweeping family saga that follows the decline of the wealthy Amberson family.
Penrod (1914-1920): A series of novels about a young boy's adventures in Indianapolis, which was later adapted into a film by Orson Welles.
Notable Works or Actions
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Tarkington's writing often explored themes of class, social status, and the American Dream. He was also known for his satirical style, which poked fun at the pretensions of the wealthy elite.
In addition to his novels, Tarkington wrote several plays, including The Turmoil (1915), which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1926. He was also awarded a second Pulitzer Prize in 1919 for The Magnificent Ambersons.
Impact and Legacy
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Tarkington's writing had a significant impact on American literature in the early 20th century. His novels of manners helped shape the genre, influencing writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Edith Wharton.
Today, Tarkington is remembered for his insightful portrayals of middle-class life and his biting social commentary. His works continue to be widely read and studied, offering a glimpse into the lives and values of America's upper class during the early 20th century.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Tarkington's writing is remembered for its wit, nuance, and social commentary. He was a masterful storyteller who captured the essence of American life in the early 20th century. His novels continue to be widely read and studied today, offering insights into the lives and values of America's upper class during this period.
Tarkington's legacy extends beyond his writing as well. He was a prominent figure in Indianapolis society, known for his philanthropic efforts and his support of local artists and writers. Today, he is remembered as one of the most important American novelists of his generation.
Quotes by Booth Tarkington
It is the liveliest time in life, the happiest of the irresponsible times in life. Mothers echo its happiness – nothing is like a mother who has a son home from college, except another mother with a son home from college. Bloom does actually come upon these mothers; it is a visible thing; and they run like girls, walk like athletes, laugh like sycophants. Yet they give up their sons to the daughters of other mothers, and find it proud rapture enough to be allowed to sit and watch.
Youth cannot imagine romance apart from youth. That is why the roles of the heroes and heroines of plays are given by the managers to the most youthful actors they can find among the competent.
Magnificence, like the size of a fortune, is always comparative, as even Magnificent Lorenzo may now perceive, if he has happened to haunt New York in 1916; and the Ambersons were magnificent in their day and place. Their.
The Major’s wife and the daughter’s been to Europe, and my wife tells me since they got back they make tea there every afternoon about five o’clock, and drink it. Seems to me it would go against a person’s stomach, just before supper like that, and anyway tea isn’t fit for much – not unless you’re sick or something.
I always thought that explained it: the romance is a reaction from the algebra. I never knew a person connected with mathematics or astronomy or statistics, or any of those exact things, who didn’t have a crazy streak in ’em SOMEwhere.
This is a boy’s lot: anything he does, anything whatever, may afterward turn out to have been a crime – he never knows. And punishment and clemency are alike inexplicable.
It was annoying how her voice, though never loud, pursued him. No matter how vociferous were other voices, all about, he seemed unable to prevent himself from constantly recognizing hers.
In the days before deathly contrivances hustled them through their lives, and when they had no telephones – another ancient vacancy profoundly responsible for leisure – they had time for everything: time to think, to talk, time to read, time to wait for a lady!
Nothing stays or holds or keeps where there is growth, he somehow perceived vaguely but truly. Great Caesar dead and turned to clay stopped no hole to keep the wind away. Dead Caesar was nothing but a tiresome bit of print in a book that schoolboys study for awhile and then forget. The Ambersons had passed, and the new people would pass, and the new people that came after them, and then the next new ones, and the next – and the next –.