The Magnificent Ambersons

The Magnificent Ambersons
The Magnificent Ambersons  
TheMagnificentAmbersons.jpg
First edition
Author(s) Booth Tarkington
Country United States
Language English
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date 1918
Media type Print
This is an article about the 1918 novel. For the 1942 film adaptation, see The Magnificent Ambersons (film)

The Magnificent Ambersons is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for novel. It was the second novel in his Growth trilogy, which included The Turmoil (1915) and The Midlander (1923, retitled National Avenue in 1927). In 1925 the novel was first adapted for film under the title Pampered Youth. In 1942 Orson Welles directed an acclaimed film version of the book; Welles's original screenplay was the basis of 2002 TV movie produced by the A&E Network.

Contents

Plot

The novel and trilogy trace the growth of the United States through the declining fortunes of three generations of the aristocratic Amberson family in an upper-scale Indianapolis neighborhood, between the end of the Civil War and the early part of the 20th century, a period of rapid industrialization and socio-economic change in America. The decline of the Ambersons is contrasted with the rising fortunes of industrial tycoons and other new-money families, which did not derive power from family names but by "doing things." As George Amberson's friend (name unspecified) says, "don't you think being things is 'rahthuh bettuh' than doing things?"

The titular family are the most prosperous and powerful in town at the turn of the century. Young George Amberson Minafer, the patriarch’s grandson, is spoiled terribly by his mother Isabel. Growing up arrogant, sure of his own worth and position and totally oblivious to the lives of others, George falls in love with Lucy Morgan, a young though sensible debutante. But there is a long history between George’s mother and Lucy’s father, of which George is unaware. As the town grows into a city, industry thrives, the Ambersons’ prestige and wealth wanes and the Morgans – thanks to Lucy’s prescient father – grow prosperous. When George sabotages his widowed mother's growing affections for Lucy's father, life as he knows it comes to an end.

Reception

"The Magnificent Ambersons is perhaps Tarkington's best novel," said Van Wyck Brooks. "[It is] a typical story of an American family and town—the great family that locally ruled the roost and vanished virtually in a day as the town spread and darkened into a city. This novel no doubt was a permanent page in the social history of the United States, so admirably conceived and written was the tale of the Ambersons, their house, their fate and the growth of the community in which they were submerged in the end."

While the story is set in a fictitious city, it was inspired by Tarkington's hometown of Indianapolis and the neighborhood he once lived in, Woodruff Place.[1][2]

The Magnificent Ambersons has been adapted into film three times: In 1925 under the title Pampered Youth, an award-winning 1942 film directed by Orson Welles, and a 2002 made for television film.

References

  1. ^ V. F. Perkins. (08 2000). "The Magnificent Ambersons (book review)". University of Nottingham. http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/bookreview.php?issue=aug2000&id=586&section=book_rev. Retrieved 2008-07-13. "Woodruff Place in Indianapolis, Indiana can't be found on a tourist map, but it would probably interest anyone who is familiar with Orson Welles's adaptation of Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons" 
  2. ^ "Historic Districts". City of Indianapolis. http://imaps.indygov.org/ed_portal/template.asp?page=neighborhoods_historic. Retrieved 2008-07-13. "Woodruff Place was the city's first "suburb" and was the setting for Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Magnificent Ambersons" 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Magnificent Ambersons — Para otros usos de este término, véase The Magnificent Ambersons (novela). The Magnificent Ambersons Título Soberb …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Magnificent Ambersons — La Splendeur des Amberson La Splendeur des Amberson (The Magnificent Ambersons) est un film de Orson Welles sorti en 1942. Sommaire 1 Synopsis …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Magnificent Ambersons (film) — Infobox Film name = The Magnificent Ambersons image size = 220px caption = theatrical poster director = Orson Welles producer = Orson Welles writer = Booth Tarkington (novel) Orson Welles narrator = Orson Welles starring = Joseph Cotten Dolores… …   Wikipedia

  • The Magnificent Ambersons —    Voir La Splendeur des Amberson …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

  • The Bickersons — was a radio comedy sketch series that began in 1946 on NBC with Don Ameche and Frances Langford, moving the following year to CBS where it continued until 1951. Born as a recurring skit on The Chase and Sanborn Hour and refined on the lesser… …   Wikipedia

  • The Royal Tenenbaums — Theatrical release poster Directed by Wes Anderson Produced by …   Wikipedia

  • The Curse of the Cat People — Directed by Robert Wise Gunther von Fritsch Produced by Val Lewton …   Wikipedia

  • The Battleship Potemkin — For the real life battleship, see Russian battleship Potemkin. The Battleship Potemkin Directed by Sergei Eisenstein Prod …   Wikipedia

  • The Age of Innocence — For other uses, see Age of innocence (disambiguation). The Age of Innocence   …   Wikipedia

  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou — Steve Zissou redirects here. For the attorney, see Steve Zissou (jurist). The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Theatrical release poster Directed by Wes Anderson …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”