The Magnificent Ambersons

Booth Tarkington was one of the greatest American writers of the early 20th century. The classic novels Alice Adams and The Magnificent Ambersons earned Tarkington The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and he is one of only three writers to ever win the award more than once. Tarkington's works are also notable for their Midwestern regionalism as many of his books are set in his native state of Indiana. The Magnificent Ambersons, published in 1918, is set in the Midwest and tells the story of the declining fortunes of the prominent Amberson family. The action takes place across three generations from the end of the Civil War to the early part of the 20th century.