The Magnificent Ambersons

After watching the Orson Welles production, I decided to read the book. Often there is much more substance in a book. That wasn't the case here - is that a result of the richness of the movie, or a weakness of the book? Either way, don't partake of both in the same month as I did, and you'll enjoy the second one more.

My spouse expressed a desire to have this book. She said the story was beautiful. I immediately thought of this media to obtain the book. I then gave it to her as a gift. I cannot speak to the other attributes

I purchased this book from Rachel_Elizabeth at a extremely reasonable price. It arrived promptly and in excellent condition.
I am re-reading this book. It's a little problem I have, re-reading books I love. I think my newest novel has been Atonement which by the way was amazing.

My list of the ten greatest novels ever written is growing, it’s well past twenty now. There are so many brilliant novels, and certainly The Magnificent Ambersons is among the very best and greatest.

I came to this novel completely cold. I hadn’t seen (or even heard of) the movie (or movies), and I don’t think that Tarkington is star of the English lit courses. Like me you haven’t read The Magnificent Ambersons or even heard of it, I suspect. If so, I strongly recommend you get to know it.

The Magnificent Ambersons is in the genre of Trollope especially Castle Richmond, Austen perhaps (Mansfield Park), and certainly shows the influence of Middlemarch by Eliot. This genre features basically good and well off, upper-middle class people struggling with the difficulties of life, family, law, and love or lack of it. And as in all of Trollope and the rest of this genre money (or lack of it, or expectation of it, or loss of it) is constantly in the background and foreground roiling the waters.

In my review of Middlemarch I suggested that it was Trollope on steroids, but The Magnificent Ambersons though simpler than Middlemarch is even more intense, absorbing, disturbing, and twisted. Like Middlemarch it is also the story of a town or rather city—Coventry I gather for Middlemarch, Indianapolis for The Magnificent Ambersons. Who could guess that tragedy and comedy of Euripedean or Shakespearean proportions could occur in Indianapolis?

Rather than retail the plot, characters, or meaning of this intense novel, let me just mention a couple of the many things that struck me and will strike other readers. There are many insensitive and embarrassing references to African-Americans in this novel. Tarkington has no feeling at all for the under-folk, unlike Trollope and Eliot. This does not mar the novel but does make the reader of today wince. It is certainly in accord with the racial ethos of the times. Which does not fully excuse it.

Another thing I was stuck by is how the societal problems of the times of The Magnificent Ambersons (late 19th and early 20th centuries) were so similar to ours today. The disruptions of new technologies (very central to this novel), the growth and increase of environmental degradation (also central), and social disruption of expected norms, and even immigration swirl constantly in the deep waters of The Magnificent Ambersons.

One thing I was surprised by is that there is no mention of or sense of the impending doom of World War I. Of course, that would cause social disruptions much more dramatic than those mentioned above.

ps: I’m watching the 1942 movie now. It is milder than the book.

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS is a fine novel, probably Booth Tarkington's best.
However, abridgements should be clearly indicated as such. A book that runs 100 pages
shorter than other, standard versions has had more than "liberties" taken. It has had
significant amounts hacked out. Avoid this version. Try the Modern Library version instead.

Tarkington’s examination of the end of the entitled class of wealthy landowners and the general change to industrialization in America is an interesting read if not the classic it was once considered to be. George Amberson Minafer, the arrogant focus, is an excellent symbol for the age, but ultimately that is all he is, a symbol. His ability to adapt, in the latter part of the novel, to his changed circumstances ends up ringing hollow after so many pages of his utterly obnoxious sense of privilege that is showcased throughout the novel. The other characters are also not so much fully developed as they are cyphers whose purpose is to stand for the deterioration of the gentry or the new found entrepreneurial spirit that is bringing about their demise. It’s all just too heavy handed to be entirely successful, but Tarkington does end up creating a thoroughly unlikable George and the era is faithfully recreated.

My thoughts:

The Magnificent Ambersons begins quaintly, the descriptions of the time evoking nostalgia in a Broad born one hundred years after those 'good-old-days' had long passed. The truth embedded within Tarkington's vivid recounting had me chuckling out loud in more than a few spots.

The story revolves around The Ambersons, a wealthy family from an age that bred 'gentlemen', an age that slowly perishes in the face of 'modern ideas and ideals', much to third generation George Amberson Minafer's chagrin. I could not help but laugh at the stubborn resistance to change found in George, mostly because through his actions and feelings I re-discovered the wisdom of my grandmother's words.
'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'
People still don't like change. At least in my family. Ha!
More so, I experienced George's deep felt frustration and sadness at seeing an entire way of life, a simpler existence, slipping away.

Old money lived and believed in a certain moral code, a well-defined structure to society which began to crumble after the turn of the century and the genesis of the manufacturing age. Changes in class, dress, and the spreading out of the populace as automobiles expanded man's environments changed our nation dramatically - changed the way we live forevermore. This novel relates the eventual toll these changes effect on the Amberson family.

Well written, Tarkington employed just the right touches of nostalgia, affection, and humor to engross this Broad from the first page to the last. I fell in love with his characters! The stalwart Major, the lovable and carefree George Sr., the indulgent yet ever loving and tender Isabel, the spunk and pluckiness of Aunt Fanny - all pleased along with the characters' faults, too. Most interesting were George Amberson Minafer and Lucy Morgan. The budding relationship between these young people had twists and turns aplenty without ever being blatant. It was more than refreshing. The innocence in which lives were lived - the well of emotion and thoughtful contemplation revealed with sublime subtlety was wholly lovely to immerse myself in.

The exchange between Eugene Morgan and young George about how the automobile would change the face of the world was fantastic as the dire prediction -
'It may be that they (automobiles) will not add to the beauty of the world, nor to the life of men's souls.' -
rang more true than I'd care to admit.

George Amberson Minafer represents the best and worst in all of us. Dreadfully arrogant and full of his own self-importance, George surprised me with the depth of his sentiment toward Lucy, toward his mother. He was a royal horse's ass in many ways, but he loved deeply and felt great affection for those who got inside his heart.
The scene where he confronts his actions toward his mother, honestly and genuinely, brought the tears up in my eyes, and I'm not sure that's ever happened to me before!

Georgie Minafer's enemies always wanted him to get his 'comeuppance', but sometimes life has a way of taking the worst circumstances and, from them, producing a man.

~ Moíra Naveen '

(This review originally posted at The Brazen Broads' Book Bash)

Story - ' ' ' ' '
Follow The Magnificent Ambersons: The Book Tour, hosted by Legacy Romance and The Vintage Reader. Buy at the store.
This book was provided by Legacy Romance for review. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

The Magnificent Ambersons is about the declining Amberson family, aristocrats at the beginning of the industrial revolution (and the beginning of the book), and ordinary folks by the end of the book. Tarkington describes the era so well and with such craft that I can clearly picture details such as Isabel's gloves, Georgie's haughty expression, and the mansion's imposing ball room...and Tarkington describes it all without taking anything away from the advancement of the plot. Genius.

This is not a feel-good novel. The main characters are highly flawed to the point that you want to SCREAM at them through the pages of the book. But the real-life portrayal of the characters makes the book that much richer. Besides, if you hang in there until the end, you will find yourself smiling here and cheering there. It's not a Pollyanna ending, but it is a viscerally satisfying ending.

Where I got the book: ARC from publisher. Some spoilers in the review.

One of the most delightful aspects of the e-book revolution is the opportunity to rediscover once-loved novels that are no longer household names. Although they're usually available for free, I'm all in favor of publishers like Legacy Romance charging a low price for well-formatted digital versions. I can see that this trend will grow and competition will become fiercer, which is all good for the reader.

I had heard of the 1942 film version of The Magnificent Ambersons but had never seen it nor read the book, so I came to this novel with fresh eyes. And what a charming discovery it's been.

This is the cautionary tale of George Amberson Minafer, an offshoot of the wealthy Amberson family who dominate their small "Midland" (Midwestern?) town. George, his parents' only child, is completely spoiled by his mother and, naturally, grows up tyrannical and selfish. I couldn't help liking George right from the beginning, though; he has a strong sense of honor, a deep loyalty to the few people and principles he does respect, and is undeniably brave. He is born into a time and society of spacious houses set on expansive property, magnificence born of the thrift of Yankee ancestors who worked hard for their prosperity, and he has completely absorbed those values.

A new order is introduced in the persons of Eugene Morgan and his daughter Lucy. Eugene, a manufacturer of "horseless carriages," is an old flame of George's mother; now widowed, he has returned to set up shop in the town and at this point George, a representative of the old-style upper class founded on the slow accumulation of wealth, can laugh at him both for his lower social position and for the absurdity of believing that a machine can replace a horse. And yet he's strongly attracted to Lucy...

As the years go by, we see the fortunes of the two families reverse themselves. Morgan typifies the new aristocracy of wealth created by the rapid growth of manufacturing; we see the once-mocked horseless carriage become the coveted automobile while the Amberson district goes downhill, the sources of their prosperity are eroded, the once vast properties are gradually subdivided and their small town becomes a large city. Their downfall is exacerbated by their notion that they are gentlefolk who would demean themselves by entering into the manufacturing activities that are making the fortunes of the new men. George embodies all of these conservative attitudes: he staunchly insists that horses are better than automobiles and does not even countenance the idea of working for a living.

In the meantime, George's father, almost invisible in Amberson society, dies and it becomes clear that the flame between his mother and Eugene Morgan is still alive. Naturally, George's selfishness will not allow him to put his mother's happiness before his.

I won't spoil the story by revealing the ending, but suffice it to say that it follows quite naturally from the character arcs the author has put in place. George is redeemed to a certain extent by the good qualities his spoiled childhood did not manage to destroy (or possibly even fostered) but the ending is a sad one with just a glimmer of hope.

It's a great story, told in a sharply ironic and yet loving tone, and I enjoyed it immensely. As for the edition, it's not bad: the ARC I received still had some conversion errors to be cleaned up, but was well formatted with a table of contents, introduction, glossary, and a somewhat eclectic collection of images at the end (they would have been better spread out through the text - Water For Elephants is a Kindle edition that comes to mind as doing this well). Consistent quality will be the key to success in this niche, and I think Legacy Romance has made a good start.

This book was very enjoyable. The setting of first automobile and its impact on society was interesting along with entertaining. The "ripple effect" on the characters played off my impression of those times and current times. The most memorable relationship was between the mother and her beloved son. Booth Tarkington pegged that age-old conflict perfectly. As a former teacher and in my personal life, I see the defensive mother time and again. My literature category for 2016 was Pulitzer Prize winners. I have not been disappointed in any I have read.

Mostly, this is a good, old classic. I was surprised to discover it had won a Pulitzer Prize, but I realize that this was written in a different time period. It is hard to read this book from their frame of reference.

Mostly, the book goes along at a nice clip. The characters are well-developed, and the dialogue is what one would expect from this time period and this privileged cast of characters.

Realism is what drives this story. If you are looking for a romantic story where everyone lives happily after, I recommend you look elsewhere. I could have done without the psychic portion of the book, but at least there was no sex nor profanity.

I think the author's most exquisite moment was when he wrote about the changes that occurred as times changed in the U.S. and the priveleged classes moved onward. That is probably what earned him an award.

And what of the story? I would say that the story is engaging enough, but I am not particularly fond of the ending. I did appreciate the reality of the story. I suppose that explains the ending. Realistic stories often have no conclusion.

I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

I am partially surprised that my education did not include Tarkington's "The Magnificent Ambersons." This book ties well with many other great works touching upon the turn-of-the-century ideals and faults, but touches them with tame or polite metaphor. This is a great novel about a great time in American history.

Major Amberson is the town's father, whose two main children, George and Isabel, never make corporate claim. A black sheep third child receives little fanfare, and actually is ostracized for fleecing the rich-as-a-pharaoh father while he is older and less capable of defense.

Isabel's husband, Wilbur Minafer, and his sister, Fanny, are two other main characters. But, all take second seat to Wilbur's son Georgie whose pretentiousness coupled with an ever spoiling mother make him the poor little rich boy who all envy and despise.

As little Georgie's escapades are blamed on his youth, the relatives bite their lips, roll their eyes, and look upon him with wistful eyes - only hoping that Georgie matures. He does not - at least for 90% of the book. Georgie is young and brash, and Tarkington reminds us: "Youth cannot be trusted for much except asserting itself and fighting and making love." And, even his young love, Lucy Morgan, cannot relinquish her heart to this scoundrel, as she needs him to be more than a self-absorbed nihilist whose acts upon earth are unappealing and without benefit to all others.

The plot has a little twist after Georgie's father dies and his mother, Isabel, and Lucy's father, Eugene, court in a very humble old-fashioned manner. But, little Georgie manages to spoil this incredibly fortunate event in his mother's life. By this time in the novel, Georgie is a man without more than a couple of friends.

Arrogant Georgie manages to deliver unanimous opinion in an otherwise multi-opinionated town of numerous beliefs and backgrounds. But, ". . . the most arrogant people that I have known have been the most sensitive." We are left to wonder: does this include Georgie?

When everything appears to be ready for the dumps, an epiphany hits Georgie like a lightening bolt, and he manages to become the new Georgie - better to the community or those closest to him than even his own people were. He shows us a sensitive side, and we can cry to his becoming a better person. He is as valiant and humble as the boy returning home from war.

Like many books of this generation, we witness some rise at the same time and rate that others fall. The Amberson's fall happens while the Morgan's ascension occurs. Other examples exist: Georgie's character rises as his fortunes dwindle; and Isabel's health deteriorates as her happiness escalates.

Sinclair's The Jungle , Dreiser's Sister Carrie , or Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath follow that template. These other great novels come from the same great vein of American literature. This book should be assigned to the students when the other novels are so assigned.

Tarkington's novel of late 19th century change in America remains vital. He clearly documents the change from an agricultural/landed gentry to an industrial/entrepreneurial society. The changes are slow and subtle but transforming. Some of the characters embrace and capitalize on the changes, while others ignore, deny or are run over by the changes.

George Minafer is a spoiled child of privilege. His mother Isabel is fixated on his happiness. She rejected her childhood love based on a trivial incident. She marries a traditional fellow, but pines for her teen love. She is eventually torn between the successful and wise auto manufacturer Eugene Morgan and the will of her own son. Her son George, of course, falls deeply for Eugene's daughter Lucy. Lucy falls for George, but she understands that there are many forces bigger than the both of them that prevent their desired engagement.

George Minafer is easy to despise in this novel. He is a heartless, self-centered, unaware CAD who awkwardly pursues the honor of his family name. He eventually meets his match, but the reader, like his neighbors, can find no joy in his comeuppance.

At a higher level, Tarkington contrasts the lives of those who succeed with those who fail, without providing a clue. The Amberson patriarch, uncle George and Eugene Morgan glide through life with heroic character. George M., mother Isabel, Aunt Fanny, Lucy and others lead lives of quiet regret. In THE land of opportunity and THE time of opportunity, some prosper and others don't. Perhaps Calvin's views on predestination reign.

The CD version is very well performed.

The Magnificent Ambersons is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a bygone age; a time when there were only two social classes, "gentlemen" and "riffraff," where ascots were worn to dinner and the horseless carriage was considered a passing fad. Set in a growing Midwestern town at the end of the nineteenth century, Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer winner (one of two, in fact) is the story of George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled and arrogant heir to the family 'magnificence'. Once the most important family in the rapidly growing town, the Ambersons are oblivious to their increasing irrelevance, and as industrialization and democratization take hold, little Georgie finds himself stubbornly maintaining his self-importance in the face of a changing era.

In spite of George's utter nastiness at times, Tarkington has somehow managed to portray him as a sympathetic character. As he bull-headedly marches through life defending the family name and honor, one cannot help but feel sorry for this anachronistic gentleman who believes that "being things is rather better than doing things." The disintegration of the Amberson way of life is inevitable but drawn out, and hot-headed young George manages to completely miss the foreshadowing that Tarkington skillfully employs.

The author creates conflict not only between George and the unworthy (just about everyone else), but also in the various subplots; George's tempestuous romance with the daughter of a local Henry Ford-like automobile engineer, his antagonistic relationship with his spinster Aunt Fanny, and his relationship to his doting, child-like mother. This secondary cast of characters is richly evoked, and their interactions are often heartbreaking. One of the most enjoyable aspects of The Magnificent Ambersons is Tarkington's clever dialogue, and his acerbic wit is amply sprinkled throughout the characters' various interactions. At times, the humor is laugh-out-loud funny, and will appeal most to readers who love the subtle cuts and parries of Gilded Age conversation.

I would likely never have picked up The Magnificent Ambersons had it not been included in the Modern Library's Top 100, and in fact was slightly surprised upon finishing the novel that it made the final cut (albeit barely, sliding in at number 100). While I found the book to be well-written, entertaining and evocative, I felt it lacked a more long-term resonance. While I thoroghly enjoyed it, I didn't find myself gripped by the book's ideas long afterwards. My only complaint was that the ending felt a bit abrupt. Regardless, Tarkington's ability to offer a subtle commentary on a vanishing era are part the reasons for his sustained relevance, and his influence on American Realist authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald is obvious throughout the novel. I will most certainly be investigating more of Tarkington's work, and highly recommend that readers discover for themselves whether Georgie gets his "comeuppance."

~Jacquelyn Gill

Booth Tarkington's masterpiece "The magnificent Ambersons" follows the fall that comes after the rise of the title-family. The very first sentence of the book we learn that "Major Anderson had `made a fortune' in 1813 when other people were losing fortune". It may be a long way since his descents to waste his fortune but this day some time will come.

The novel is a beautifully written chronicle of the loss of the innocence - that one must face when one loses all money and has to lead a different - poorer - life. The figure who will must suffer it is the Major's grandson, George Amberson Minafer. The money - first the excess and later the lack of it - will intrude his life. Having money has been a blessing and curse for the family. Lovers were torn apart because of it, marriages were made because of it.

Throughout Tarkigton's narrative his characters are passionate and cold - sometimes both at the same time. For some of them, mundane interests are stronger than love and good will. These are those who will learn painfully the price of their choice.

Booth Tarkington can be considered one of the best commentators on life in the Midwest (Indiana, specifically) in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century; he observes with insight and humor and is a consummate storyteller. "The Magnificent Ambersons" is the story of the decline and fall of a wealthy family and its selfish last scion; its subject matter is a long way from the comic material of "Seventeen" and the "Penrod" tales, but it exhibits the same stylistic qualities.
The dynasty is begun by Civil War hero Major Amberson, who, having amassed a fortune by means the novel does not disclose, builds a vast estate, including an opulent mansion and diverse statuary, on the edge of his small Midwestern town. His daughter Isabel marries a local man, Wilbur Minafer; their son George (named after his carefree, jovial uncle, who is never fazed by disappointments) proceeds to become the novel's central character.
An only child, and the Major's only grandchild, George Amberson Minafer is, not surprisingly, spoiled rotten by his parents and grandparents, who condone his misbehavior and refuse him nothing. He grows up conceited, arrogant, pugnacious, rude, and demanding -- in other words, he is perfectly poised to inherit the executive responsibilities of whatever his grandfather's business is, except that he has no interest in business, nor any professional aspirations at all. He expects to spend the rest of his life as a proud member of the idle rich, and has no qualms about provoking the envy and animosity of the townspeople, whom he terms "riffraff."
The novel's drama is augmented by the introduction of a widowed automotive pioneer named Eugene Morgan, who was once Isabel Amberson's suitor and attracts George's naive, fragile aunt Fanny. George doesn't like the guy from first sight and scoffs at his entrepreneurial efforts, even while he is going out with his pretty daughter, Lucy. While Morgan turns his dreams of a lucrative automobile business into reality, George and the Ambersons discover that their finances are depleting as the changing industrial and commercial trends gradually expel them from the elite of the growing city. However, Tarkington saves the novel from becoming a Dreiseresque descent into despair and misery by offering a sympathetic reprieve to his beleaguered protagonist at the end.
This is the kind of story that could have been expanded into a massive multi-volume epic, but Tarkington wisely avoids unnecessary detail, minor characters, and subplots, retains the core elements that define the personalities of the main characters, and yields a succinct novel that feels complete and comprehensive. It is a novel with a formula, to be sure: a sort of Horatio Alger in reverse; but Tarkington measures the impact carefully with taste and restraint.

Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons, winner of the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is the story of a wealthy American family. Taking place at the start of the 20th century, a time of great technological and social change, the novel focuses on young Georgie Amberson Minafer, the much adored only child of Isabel Amberson, who is the daughter of the Amberson patriarch. With a doting mother, an obliging father and a circle of friends who bend to his will, Georgie seems to have the world at his feet. With the arrival in town of Lucy Morgan and her father Eugene, a former friend of his mother's, Georgie's life and that of his family slowly begins to change. Georgie, never one to pay much attention to women, becomes smitten with Lucy. While Lucy appears to be quite taken in by Georgie's charms and good looks, she isn't willing to commit to him. Will Georgie be able to win her over? Georgie's mother, on the other hand, finds herself increasingly drawn to the companionship provided by her old friend, who also happens to be a former flame - a development Georgie strongly disapproves of. Meanwhile, the world is rapidly changing, and a new era of prosperity and innovation is being ushered in. Those who aren't willing to embrace change risk being left behind, including the Ambersons.

There are many things that I liked about this novel, including Tarkington's witty and, at times, comedic prose. I also enjoyed each of the novel's characters, whether they be principal or supporting. Georgie Amberson Minafer is depicted as a spoiled, indulged and lazy young man, one who aspires to nothing more than living the good life via his family's fortune and having others cater to his every whim. Yet, despite this I couldn't bring myself to dislike him, instead I was interested in what he would get up to next. Isabel Amberson is the doting mother who sees nothing but good in her son, even when her son's actions threaten her own chance at happiness. While the Ambersons represent the established elite, Eugene Morgan and his daughter Lucy are members of an emerging class of wealthy entrepreneurs. Eugene, an automobile inventor, is a man with a vision. He clearly understands that in order to succeed he must embrace new technologies and ways of doing things. While I enjoyed the story itself, I feel the greatest strength of the novel is in how it illustrates the significant changes occurring within American society at the turn of the 20th century through the eyes of the Ambersons and Morgans. Wealthy families such as the Ambersons, content to live as they always had and in denial of both their decline and the impact of technological and societal changes, were being surpassed in wealth and prestige by those, such as the Morgans, who could accept and adapt to change. In closing, The Magnificent Ambersons presents readers with a compelling and engaging portrayal of American life at the turn of the 20th century as experienced through its well drawn cast of characters.

Note: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, Legacy Romance, in exchange for an honest review.

This magnificent, humorous and fanciful book -- a precurser to Gatsby -- is timeless in its central meaning: parents spoil their children and children eventually must learn to unspoil themselves.
Set in the midwest around the turn of the century, Tarkington introduces the reader into a world ruled by the richest family in town: the Ambersons. A portrait of victorian excess, the Amberson's have everything and then more. Their house is the town's feudal castle. People on the street discuss their every move.
Born into this world is Georgie Minafer, Tarkington's cartoon monster of spoiled and ego-ridden pomposity, who head is as swollen and vacuous as a balloon.
Georgie not only possesses every material item he could ever desire: he also is surrounded by remarkble women: his stunning and angelic mother who would sacrifice anything for his happiness and his wise and beautiful girlfriend Lucy who loves him despite knowing better.
Things change, the town becomes a city and absorbs the Amberson palace in a cloud of soot. One by one Georgie's protectors disapear and the magificence of the Amerbersons and everything he took for granted vaporizes like a dream. This leaves Georgie to ponder what he had, and those who knew him in the good days to observe from afar.
Tarkington masterfully weaves humor, history and gripping emotion in this book. It remains a rewarding book after more than 80 years in print, largely because its meaning is eternal.

"Magnificent" is the word to describe this book. Epic in scope, it follows the rise and fall of the Ambersons as the spoiled and arrogant George Minafer grows up. I enjoyed the somewhat melodramatic story and found many parallels between these times and the world of today. The plot is emotional and powerful, and it is easy to see why Orson Welles would have wanted so much to make it a film.
What makes the book especially interesting, however, is Booth Tarkington's ability to understand and describe the changes going through America at the time. The setting is more than just a "character;" it dictates the circumstances of its inhabitants. It provides the foundation for the way of life they must live. This is not only a tale of George and his family falling from great heights, but also a record of how a small town grew into a city, how automobiles changed the landscape in which we live, how people were forced to adapt to this unsympathetic setting between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He writes mainly from George's point of view, so there is a romantic, nostalgic vision of how things once were, but Tarkington is not fooled into believing that technological and social change has not made some things better, just as he isn't fooled into thinking they haven't made some things worse. What the Ambersons saw as tragedy and loss, others saw as opportunity. I percieved no moral lesson or message; this book is about the tragedy and loss of a proud clan unable to comprehend that in an industrial age, life was no longer static.
(There is also a good lesson in here on the risks of not diversifying your investments!)

Magnificent indeed are the Ambersons, living as the ruling elite in a small, but burgeoning, Midwest town at the turn of the 20th century. Social life revolves around the Ambersons, as does the gossip, and the Ambersons set the bar with their sense of fashion and their lavish parties. The wealth and power of the Ambersons culminates in the patriarch's only grandchild, George Amberson Minafer. George grows up spoiled, arrogant, convinced that he owns not only the town, but also the world, and completely indifferent to the concerns and feelings of those around him. He has no idea that others frown upon his behavior, but even if he did, he would not care because he believes everyone should respect him and conform to his worldview.

George is also unconscious of a world changing around him. He believes his family will always be powerful and rich and sees no reason why his, or anyone else's, behavior should change with the times. Although he attends college, he does not intend to enter a profession because he prefers "being" something rather than "doing" something. Secure in his reliance on his grandfather's wealth to support him, he fully intends on living life as a "gentleman."

While home from college for the holidays, George meets and falls in love with Lucy Morgan, the beautiful and sensible daughter of an automobile inventor and manufacturer. Unbeknownst to George, Lucy's father and George's mother have a long history extending to before the marriage of George's parents. George has no confidence in Mr. Morgan's business, believes automobiles are just a fad, and treats Mr. Morgan quite shamefully. Most tellingly, he ignores Mr. Morgan's prediction that the development of automobiles, trolleys, and faster transportation will turn the small town into a larger and larger city that will change everything George takes for granted.

The novel elegantly describes the transformation industry brought to towns across America and the supplanting of old family money by new wealth derived from innovation and industry. The novel's descriptions of George's arrogance are written in a tongue-in-cheek manner so that you can almost hear the author's suppressed laughter in descriptions of George's actions and attitude. Towards the end of the novel, however, the mood becomes more serious as George's world turns upside down. Even though, like many of the people George interacts with, readers may despise his lack of feeling and arrogance, it is almost impossible not to like him, and, at the end, not to sympathize with his anguish.

I would recommend reading The Magnificent Ambersons. It is a short, light, amusing read, but also a quite poignant read in its conclusion. It also perfectly describes the effects of technological and industrial changes on American culture and morals at the start of the 20th century and reminds us that these types of changes continue to affect our lives and relationships today.

For more reviews, visit my blog, Life Off the Shelf.

Assuming you have read the synopsis and a few other reviews, I thought a comparative review might serve as a change of pace. I purchased this book some time ago after The Atlantic ran a few reviews for early 20th century `transformation' novels slowly reclaiming their place in American Literature. Included in that list were The Late George Apley, H.M. Pullham Esquire (both by John P. Marquand), Alice Adams, and The Magnificent Ambersons (both by Booth Tarkington). Booth Tarkington had the added honor of an article in the New Yorker discussing his merits (structure and theme) and his demerits (awkward prose) during his `rediscovery.'

Each of these books takes as its theme the cultural transformation of America in the early 20th century (less so Alice Adams), which I found appealing given what I consider to be a cultural transformation currently taking place. I can only hope I am not becoming as out-of-touch as the characters in these novels when I question society's direction. And if I am, I hope I am more George Apley than Georgie Minafer.

I enjoyed both Marquand novels for their directness and humor. While The Magnificent Ambersons lacks these qualities (and their clean prose), its net effect is much more profound in my mind. The Marquand novels function as well-crafted time capsules rather than emotional appeals to the necessity of change. In today's world, it is easy to dismiss the codgerly annoyance and trifling social involvements of George Apley as the consequence of an East Coast aristocracy in decline. It is similarly easy to dismiss the honor-bound desperation and cognitive dissonance of Harry Pulham as the follow-on effects of Apley's generation, passed on to children faced with the Great War and the Great Depression. However, it is not easy to dismiss Georgie Minifer's behavior and ultimate `comeuppance.' The reason is simple - his character is so completely worthless and needlessly arrogant that it is impossible not to HATE this character. It is impossible not to beg for his `comeuppance.' Most frustratingly, by story's end it is difficult not to feel sorry for his character and hope that a better tomorrow waits him...the reader becines guilty of the very same motherly coddling which created Georgie's faults in the first place.

As opposed to the Marquand Man who has simply been passed by a newer generation, here we have someone actually IN the new generation who scornfully rejects every opportunity to change. In the end, he is literally run over by his town's agent of change while pining for his symbol of the way things used to be. Most like the Marquand Man, he is actually returned to the bosom of the old world by simple virtue of being unable to function in the new. Does he deserve forgiveness simply for asking? Maybe. Does he deserve a second chance because he forces himself to adopt the bedrock principles which initially provided his family's fortune (hard work and respect for family)? Possibly. Is it fair to Apley and Pulham to reward a spoiled brat for refusing to give in? I don't think so.

However, this is the point of comparison - it is the emotional impact of this novel that sets it above other transitional works in the same vein. Tarkington has captured one of the few truths of the human experience - some people never change. Tarkington has also created a much more effective message - change or fall into oblivion in spite of your most violent protests. This is the transition both Tarkington and Marquand were witnessing, yet Tarkington seems to have better anticipated impact. America does not bypass the elites because their time has passed, it bears down with the entire weight of its populace on those unwilling to innovate, work hard, and cast off conceits falsely placed in the achievements of their forebears.

Possibly what keeps Barth Tarkington from going the way of the Magnificent Ambersons, completely rolled over and forgotten by history, is that this novel is on the Modern Library's top 100 list of books to read. A quick look at the imdb movie database shows that a number of his works were made into films and starred such pantheons of the golden age of movies as Orsen Welles and Rudolf Valentino. An the store check shows that he won the Pulitzer Prize--twice! As I was sick in bed without a book of interest at hand Tarkington was perfect: his was a free ebook easily downloaded. It is a regrettable that this towering novelist of another time has become rather obscure today.

The Magnificent Ambersons excels in highlighting a rapidly changing time in American history: dress, language, style, breeding, importance, aristocracy and more all went through transformation as cities grew, fortunes were made and lost and life changed. These changes, seen and experienced by the author, an Indianapolis resident his entire life, are narrated from the living room (or parlor, or "reception" room) outwards. In the case of the Amberson family, the city they helped grow now thrives beyond them and their faltering fortune can't maintain the family as it swirls into obscurity and is surpassed by the modern motor car and sooty grime that defines the city. A touching scene occurs when the proud grandfather, stooped and aged, sits at his desk in his once impressive mansion going over ledger books to a gaslight while the boarding houses all around it have electric lights, and cars speed past the old stables where his rather now shabby carriage sits. Turmoil, Tarkington's previous novel that serves as a prequel to The Magnificent Ambersons, describes a midwestern city scene that could easily find a place here:

And then, as the car drove on, the chimneys and stacks of factories

came swimming up into view like miles of steamers advancing abreast,

every funnel with its vast plume, savage and black, sweeping to the

horizon, dripping wealth and dirt and suffocation over league on

league already rich and vile with grime.

The book's center is the grandson George Amberson Minafer, who grows up spoiled, proud, selfish and limited, and views those around him as riffraff. His goal to "be" rather than "do" prepares him for nothing, and his world view works to destroy him and undue his mother's last chance at happiness. The town in earlier years always wanted to see him have his "come uppance", (to get what was coming to him), and it comes casually, slowly, as his family is forgotten to poverty, and his own self importance is eventually shared by no one. That he is only 24 when this occurs, and has nothing to combat it but frayed pride, is pathetic. Amberson regrets that the new section of the town cemetery doesn't take into account that the older section holds the most important names, and views his uncle's entry into Congress for its ability to make family members ambassadors, allowing for easier family travel abroad. He takes all as his due, and offers little but arrogance in return. In the hands of a lesser writer George might be unbelievable or a caricature, but Tarkington makes him real, and George's failure to see beyond his own point of view is tragic.

The book's only weakness is its ending. Those who can help him do so only when his mother "speaks" to them during a seance, and its wraps up the novel too quickly. George has by this time shown some redemption, but his lifelong obstinence is still intact, and his faltering attempts at apologies should not hide that the kindness being shown him is not due so much to a light at long last glowing in his soul, but rather the pity being shown by others whose character is far surpasses his own.

Set somewhere in heartland (actually, "Midland") America around the turn of the 20th century, "The Magnificent Ambersons" is a sharp and ultimately melancholy look at change. Founded on old money, the family's generations glide easily along in extravagance, until the cash runs out. Their unwillingness to adapt to new times and new industry dooms their lives of comfort and inertia, as their mansions decay and their neighborhood becomes one of common housing and polluted air.

The protagonist is George Amberson Minafer, the sole inhabitant of the third generation and an insufferable snob. He gets his come-uppance in the end, but the Ambersons have fallen so far so quickly that hardly anyone notices or cares anymore. He's chagrined to find after the fall of the house of Amberson that his once-prominent family is not even mentioned in the city history of great family names. His mother is irrationally, almost beyond belief, defensive and protective of her little scion. It's no wonder he was the terror of the town for so many years.

Booth Tarkington gradually clues the reader in that something's going wrong with the Amberson empire. He points out, mostly through Minafer's agonized thoughts, that nothing is permanent. The great fortunes and mansions that displace the Ambersons will themselves fade one day, and the customs and people one knows from infancy on will likewise shift. Midland undergoes a jarring shift from the wealthy and their poorer but settled neighbors to a bustling, dirty city of what Minafer sees as money-grubbing ethnic immigrants and incessant change. The old rich who didn't adapt fall victim to what one modern political commentator has called "creative destruction."

As if to underscore the transitory nature of things, Tarkington kills off most of the Amberson family as if it were itself somehow defective and weak. Minafer redeems himself somewhat at the end but only because of necessity. The few Ambersons who are left find themselves in a nearly alien culture that took only several decades to establish itself. Like Ozymandias, the Ambersons thought themselves and their way of life to be endless. Tarkington's rather bleak message seems to be that nothing is forever, no future is guaranteed, and that those who follow have no more claim on permanence than the mighty who have fallen before them.

Who would have thought that a novel from 1918 would be such a page turner? Not to generalize, but there aren't many books pre-1920 or so that I've been unable to put down. Until "The Magnificent Ambersons."
Covering a span of roughly 20 years in the lives and fortunes of the Amberson/Minafer family, Booth Tarkington uses the fall of the family from its privileged social standing as a symbol of the blurring distinction between classes that took place in the country's urban areas at the beginning of the 20th Century. The Ambersons live in a stately mansion, separated from the outside world by vast lawns and gates, and gradually watch their secluded neighborhood overrun by cheap apartment buildings, increased traffic and pollution. What Tarkington does, nearly 80 years before the actual phrase came into common usage, is address the problems associated with urban sprawl.
The book has two of the most colorful characters ever put down on paper: Georgie Amberson Minafer, the spoiled brat protagonist who fights most fiercely to retain the family's position as one of the most distinguished in the city; and Aunt Fanny, the manipulative spinster who doesn't understand just how serious the consequences of her gossiping and meddling (to her merely distractions from the boredom and tedium of her life) can be.
I surprisingly felt much sympathy for Georgie. He can be odious at times admittedly, and more than once you want to see him slapped silly, and at one point in the novel you honestly begin to wonder if perhaps he's mentally ill, so extreme are the measures to which he will go in the sake of what he thinks is protecting his mother's good name. But by the time the novel ended, I couldn't help being won over by him. He's got an overbearing personality, but I shared his opinion of the ugliness he sees sprouting up around him. His obsession with a time gone by springs from naivete, and as he grows over the course of the novel, he experiences a shift of priorities, as all adults do as they become adults.
In many ways, Tarkington's novel is about dealing with maturity and the occassional disillusionment that can accompany it. There's a beautiful passage in which Georgie's uncle George (Georgie's namesake) explains that youth can never understand the triviality of the things it takes so seriously (status, passion, success) and will never be able to understand it until youth has become middle age. And Georgie's grandfather, responsible for the wealth of the family, realizes on his deathbed the ultimate uselessness of all the material goods he has acquired over a lifetime.
If you would like to see a good film version as a companion piece to the novel, see the 1942 Orson Welles version rather than the A&E version from a few years ago. Welles' film is butchered and as a result tells only a very truncated version of the story, but it gets the tone just right, and Agnes Moorehead's dead-on portrayal of Fanny is one of cinema history's highlights. The A&E adaptation, meanwhile, is dreadful.
But please don't let either of these film versions take the place of the novel itself. It lingers in the mind long after the final page has been turned.

This novel by Tarkington won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Actually, this is the second novel in a trilogy (the other two being "The Turmoil" (1915) and "The Midlander" (1923)). The novel chronicles three generations of a leading family in Indiana, including their period of decline. Major Amberson, who had earlier acquired a fortune, is the dominating head of a socially prominent family in the midwest U.S. His daughter Isabel is in love with Eugene Morgan but, through a misunderstanding, they break off their relationship. Isabel marries a man with whom she has little feelings and gives birth to a son, George, who grows up conceited and arrogant. Eugene, now a widower, returns to the midwest with his daughter Lucy and starts up an automobile factory. Lucy falls in love with George and Isabel and Eugene begin seeing each other again. But, George is appalled that his mother is considering marrying someone outside of their class. He takes her overseas to prevent the marriage but later brings her back when she is dying. The Amberson's fortune is now depleted, George is forced to start working for a living at a chemical plant, and his old friends appear to applaud his "comeuppance." But, after an automobile accident, George, Eugene, and Lucy, who still is in love with George, are reconciled. The story of the Ambersons represent the changes that U.S. society has undergone, particularly near the turn of the century: those in upper society who earned their places by heredity are slowly being replaced by those who earned their position by their achievements in industry, business, and in finance (that is, by their own labors). George had been unwilling to change. Perhaps it is appropriate that it is an automobile that forces him to realize this. In July of 1998, the editorial board of the Modern Library listed this book as one of the top 100 novels written in the English language for the twentieth century. I do feel that a response is needed to Mr. Ted Ficklen of St. Louis (of Aug. 12, 1998) who gave the book a poor review. I certainly was not an English major yet I read "The Magnificent Ambersons" long before the Modern Library list had come out. And, I knew of Booth Tarkington; the Penrod books were on my shelves when I was a kid. You may not know of Tarkington but others obviously have; there aren't too many authors who have won two Pulitzer Prizes in Fiction.

This book caught me by surprise. It was free, so I downloaded it and first used it as a book I read for a few minutes at a time while waiting in line or for an appointment. Then, I got hooked. I admit the start was slow in part because some of the English terminology is outdated, and partly because Georgie was so nasty at the beginning it was almost painful to read about him. But herein is the genius of Booth Tarkington's writing: I went from despising Georgie to rooting for him as the underdog. I never expected to cry. The scene where Georgie spends the last night at home in his mother's bedroom begging heaven and his mother for forgiveness was so touching. And what a joy to see this selfish imp transform into an unselfish person who cares for his not-so-lovable aunt at great personal risk to himself, without bragging about it. He finally becomes the person his mother could be proud of. I wish this were required reading at every high school, and I wish deeply someone would make a new movie out of this book. The lessons of the importance (or rather non-importance) of name and money, and the need to be kind, as well as the need to say no to others for their own good, are timeless. Thank you, Booth Tarkington, for such a treat.

"A proud and haughty man--'Scoffer' is his name;
He acts with arrogant pride." -- Proverbs 21:24 (NKJV)

I am reviewing the unabridged Blackstone audio recording read by Geoffrey Blaisdell. The Magnificent Ambersons can be a little difficult to appreciate because the book writes about a period far different from our own, with horseless carriages replacing those drawn by magnificent matched pairs of horses and social position counting for a great deal more than money. A modern novelist treating this period as a historical subject would write the book much differently. As a result, I recommend that you listen to the audio version in which Mr. Blaisdell does a wonderful job of capturing the mentality and emotion of the age.

On the surface, the book is all about the downfall that always comes from too much pride, especially pride in one's position. Soon, however, you'll begin to appreciate that Booth Tarkington is also writing a social history in fictional terms that captures the changing of the guard from the "old money" of the day to the newer classes of wealth based on industrialism and merchandising. You also get more than a whiff of the problems that industrialization and the automobile brought to American cities. I was reminded of the Sinclair Lewis novels that so aptly capture similar changes that occurred slightly later.

One of the best ways to portray the desirability of something positive, such as faithful unconditional love, is by portraying the consequences of its opposite, such as selfishness. In that sense, The Magnificent Ambersons is a marvelous portrait of how much pain selfishness can bring.

George Amberson Minafer is a character you'll probably not identify with, but you'll be impressed by how well you come to know and understand his sense of entitlement and to be highly thought of for no reason other than bearing the family name. As pathetic as that sounds, Tarkington succeeds in making this spoiled brat come to life. It's an unforgettable portrait, one that will encourage any parent to be sure to instill better values in the next generation than his mother and grandfather did in him.

Some of the expressions when acted out by Mr. Blaisdell continually cracked me up, including "Get a hoss" and "riff-raff." Those expressions just couldn't be read in print nearly as effectively as they were uttered in the recording.

GEORGE MINAFER IS THE GRANDSON OF THE PATRIARCH OF A SMALL MIDWESTERN TOWN THAT BLOSSOMS INTO A CITY JUST AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.
GEORGE IS ARROGANT AND CONDESCENDING AND PICTURES HIMSELF AS A GENTLEMAN AND DANDY WITH NO NEED FOR ANY MEANINGFUL OCCUPATION;
AFETR ALL HIS UNCLE IS A US SENATOR, HIS MOTHER IS THE BELLE OF THE TOWN, AND HIS GRANDFATHER'S ESTATE IS THE CENTERPEICE OF THE COMMUNITY.
EVERYTHING COMES UNRAVELLED WITH THE ARRIVAL OF EUGENE MORGAN AND HIS DAUGHTER LUCY. EUGENE IT SEEMS IS GEORGE'S MOTHER, ISOBEL'S, EX SWEETHEART AND GEORGE IS IMMEDIATELY ENCHANTED BY LUCY. GEORGE'S LOVE FOR LUCY IS IN CONFLICT WITH HIS HATRED OF EUGENE, WHO GEORGE PERCEIVES AS A RIVAL FOR HIS MOTHER'S DEVOTION. OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE, GEORGE ALSO RESENTS EUGENE FOR THE PERCEPTION THAT BY OPENING AN AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY PLANT, EUGENE REPRESENTS CHANGE THAT GEORGE IS TOTALLY OPPOSED TO.
THE DEATH OF GEORGE'S FATHER INTENSIFIES GEORGE'S JEALOUSY OF EUGENE. THE JEALOUSY IS FUELED BY GEORGE'S OLD MAID AUNT FANNY, WHO HAS SECRET PASSION FOR EUGENE. GEORGE'S PRIDE CAUSES HIM TO FOREGO HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH LUCY AND HE DEMANDS THAT ISOBEL CHOOSE BETWEEN HIM AND EUGENE. AS SHE HAS DONE HER ENTTIRE LIFE, ISOBEL GIVES INTO TO GEORGE AND ACCOMPANY'S HIM TO EUROPE EVEN THOUGH SHE IS ILL.
MEANWHILE BAD INVESTMENTS AND CHANGING TIMES CAUSE THE AMBERSON WEALTH AND POWER TO FADE. GEORGE'S UNCLE RETIRES FROM THE SENATE AND MOVES AWAY AND HIS GRANDFATHER DIES. ISOBEL ALSO COMES BACK HOME DEATHLY ILL AND GEORGE PREVENTS HER FROM SEEING EUGENE BEFORE SHE DIES. THROUGH A MISHANDLING OF THE GRANDFATHER'S ESTATE, GEORGE AND HIS AUNT FANNY LOSE THEIR HOME.
GEORGE FINALLY STARTS MAKING RESPONSIBLE CHOICES TO TAKE CARE OF HIS AUNT AND TAKES ON A DANGEROUS JOB TRANSPORTING MUNITIONS. THROUGH IT ALL GEORGE MAINTAINS HIS ARROGANCE AND HAS FEW FRIENDS. AFTER AN INJURY EUGENE AND LUCY COME TO HIS SIDE AND HE FINALLY COMES TO GRIPS WITH THE EMOTIONAL DAMAGE HE HAS CAUSED.
'THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERFSONS' IS A VERY READABLE CLASSIC AND PRESENTS A WONDERFUL PICTURE OF MIDDLE AMERICA COMING TO TREM WITH THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

The winner of a 1919 Pulitzer Prize, the second book in the Growth Trilogy is an American classic of the rise and fall of an aristocratic family whose acquired wealth means nothing in a new age of new money.

Set in a fictional Mid-Western town, author Booth Tarkington chronicles the Amberson Family Dynasty and how things fall apart slowly, brick-by-brick, as society swiftly leaps forward into the industrial age, with a new generation of tycoons on the move and who have a wealth of ideas to change the world. The closing scene is a harsh reminder on how the famous from one generation can be forgotten quickly, since history is written in the present, with eyes fixed to the future.

It is truly an American story and one of the finest American novels ever written.

The Panic of 1873 has many parallels to the Panic of 2008 including government manipulation of the money supply, over-extended commercial credit and a commodity bubble in gold. The Major got rich in '73. Was he working for Fisk, a real operator, a plunger? A lot of people were ruined then, and they were just as ticked off about it as we are today. "Poor economic conditions caused voters to turn against the Republican Party. In the 1874 congressional elections, the Democrats assumed control of the House." (Wiki) Sound familiar? Clearly this is why he "lit out for the territories" and fled to the country as soon as he could, to someplace quiet and out of the way where the light of the media did not shine, the equivalent of, say, the Bahamas or Mexico today.

The problem was his heirs who thought they were genuine and entitled. This plays poorly in modern America as B.T. shows us. But he also shows us recovering from the Panic and moving on; justice is served.

This is a comforting prescription for today. The few who have prospered at the expense of the many are likely to decline as further waves of prosperity eventually roll across the land. "Bring 'em on!"

One should view this book in a different light from the movie. They are both magnificent on their own terms. Orson Welles captured it in a way we will never forget - but we should never forget the book from where it came. Booth Tarkington created a book that could be read at any time anywhere. What would it be like today with the advent of the computer age? Who would be the riff raff?
This is more than a story about the oncoming Industrial Age, it is the story about the comeuppance of George Amberson Minafer or the story of the downfall of his family in an age that had no room for them.
I had seen both movies - the Orson Welles masterpiece and the Arts and Entertainment version. They are good, but one needs to read the book to get the full flavor of Booth Tarkington and then see the movies. Read this book. It is modern - even today.

Here is a fascinating book. We start off essentially empathizing with the scornful people who look on at the main character, root root rooting for his demise. As the story progresses it is difficult to not go on truly hating George Amberson Minifer, if only because of a natural distaste for the self-important and the snobs that roam around unenchanted but clearly not aware of this. However, as the story reaches its end, I found it impossible to not actual feel something for this jerk, for his oblivious family and more all the mistakes they made that were obvious to everyone except for themselves. Perhaps this is the truest merit of this wonderful book: such a capable and compassionate understanding of even the worst people (to my mind) that we cannot help but humanize the villains and grow to understand some part of their desperation and yearning for what could never be.
A wonderful, truly affecting novel that will linger for a very long time--

Perhaps it was just the high expectations, but I didn't love this book as much as some other literature of this time. To its merit, I did think the characters were well-developed; the depiction of the slow decline of the Amberson fortune and the surrounding town into a crowding city was absolutely excellent. My only real complaint comes from the fact that at times I just couldn't put aside a feeling of annoyance with the characters - some of their foolishness frustrated me. But then, I had to note that any writing that raises a reaction in me, whether good or bad, has to mark a good story. It should also be noted that the story and the characters leave an indelible mark on your memory...the story is as fresh in my mind now as it was when finished it a few weeks ago.

The Magnificent Ambersons is a ficticious story about a wealthy family who practically owned an American town some 100+ years ago, and this family's dealings with the great changes in technology, wealth and demographics of American society at that time. It is a rather simply story with few surprises. While its observations are keen, it does not reveal anything shocking - it's all rather genteel. One can consider it to be a lightweight version of material produced by the likes of Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Bottom line: a very competent but prosaic study of late Victorian-era American life and value. A worthy read.
(PS - despite its many accolades, I found the film version of The Magnificent Ambersons to be much weaker than the book. Yet it makes for interesting viewing *after* reading the book.)

A Magnificent Book about the changing fortunes of social class in America in the period following the end of the Civil War to the early part of the 20th century, a time of rapid change in America. It examines three generations of an aristocratic mid-western family the Ambersons as they cling to the old ways and are "run over" (literally) by the rise of a new money industrialist class ("riffraff"). Written in 1918 by Tarkington who was born in 1868, just at the end of the Civil War, he lived and saw in person the changing fashions and changing way of life brought on by the industrial revolution: from small towns with horses to modern industrial cities with cars and factories. The Amberson family is a metaphor for a class of people who get their "come-uppance", as the path to success changes from heredity to meritocracy during the industrial revolution and its socially democratising effects in America.

Before being offered the chance to read The Magnificent Ambersons for a book tour, to me it was just a book on my rather long "prize winning books that I must read some day" list. I had passed it in the library with it's plain worn hard cover from about 50 years ago and never gave it a second thought. Thank goodness for Legacy Romance giving this book a second life in e-format (and with a beautiful cover to boot) because I would have continued to pass up the ancient library book and probably never would have read this truly wonderful story!

Georgie Amberson Minafer is not a character you will like or admire. From childhood on he is spoiled, at times a bully, and used to always getting his way because a) he is overindulged by his well-meaning mother Isabel and b) his family is the richest in town and can do pretty much whatever they want. The novel follows Georgie from his insufferable boyhood to manhood and the fortunes of the Amberson clan from their lavish and excessive heyday to their all too quick downfall when the old world of important wealthy families gives way to the new one dominated by industry.

As the family fortunes decline you know Georgie's fortunes are going down with them and since he is such a cad throughout most of the novel, I expected to be thrilled to see him finally get what was coming to him. The surprising thing was I wasn't thrilled at all. Georgie actually evolves a bit during the series of crisis' he experiences and I found myself to be rather upset at the way things were going for him in the latter half of the story. The Ambersons really grew on me as I read along. It is actually hard to describe exactly what this book is about-crumbling fortunes, doomed love, family relationships-it just covers so much! Tarkington's writing is marvelously descriptive with a touch of humor throughout.

Really the only thing I didn't care for was the romance between Georgie and Lucy, daughter of the old family friend Eugene. Their courtship seemed quite awkward to me in that both had strange ways of showing they cared for each other (strange to me at least). Other than that very minor thing I really did love this book. It should be noted that this is the middle book in a trilogy but it reads perfectly fine as a stand alone novel. I don't think I've read a book in recent memory that gives such an engaging window into turn of the century Midwestern America. Definitely recommend to anyone who likes this time period or who loves a good family saga.

This Pulitzer Prize winning novel tells the story of the decline of the once magnificent Amberson family, the leading family of a Midwestern city at the turn of the century.
George Amberson Minafer is the spoiled young heir to the Amberson fortune, but America is now entering the automobile age & the conservative Ambersons are ill equiped to deal with the rapid changes.
Tarkington intertwines two tragic love stories with the theme of the Ambersons decline and produces one of the really great forgotten novels that I've ever read. Perhaps the book got lost because of the great screen version that Orson Welles produced, but whatever the reason, this is a book that deserves a wider audience and Modern Library is to be applauded for including it on the list.
GRADE: A

I enjoy novels written during and about the early part of this century. If you don't, then you won't like this novel because it is representative of this period. The story itself, with its moral lesson, it common for this era. That may annoy you if you don't like that moral lesson stuff. What sets this novel apart from its contemporaries is that the writing style is easy, fluid -- a style that can be appreciated by any writer or reader of any age. If that doesn't grab you, then it is also interesting as a period piece -- gives good insight about life and times during that era. Among the many authors I have read who wrote during this time and about their day and age, Tarkington is quite good and this book in particular was enjoyable to a reader who likes this genre.

Here is a story about true love. Not the cliched love of two youngsters stuggling to prove to the rest of the world that they deserve to be together, but the enduring and unbreakable love of mother and son. Spoiled brat George Amberson Minafer slips from the opulent heir to the Amberson fortune to the impoverished protector of the Amberson name. Though young George makes numerous mistakes leading to much heartache for those he encounters inside and outside of his family, he ultimately finds redemption, buoyed by the undying and unyielding love of his mother. A beautiful story and a joy to read.