FIRST FAMILY

by Richard Scowcroft ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 1950

A first novel which follows with a scrupulous realism and a very truthful portrayal of time and place and people the falling fortunes of a first family in a small town in the middle west. It is Harriet Gannon, mother of six, and her husband, of substantial means, who centered all pride in their progeny, lived through their children. And with the background music of the player piano and Barney Google, the first short hair cuts and the green hats, one watches the loss of old traditions and ties, the discrepancy between generations, the dissolution of the family. Jack, the oldest boy, proudly sent off to Harvard, is kicked out and goes to New York to waste some years in ""research"". Eddie, who had style and looks, gives up her hopes of the wide world to marry a dull and solid citizen; Babe runs off with a boy the town had ostracized and is not heard from again; Louise, shy and selfless, postpones marriage for many years to take care of Harriet after Papa's death; and Gus, the baby, leaves State University and a mangled romance to enlist... An ultimately sobering, saddening portrayal of the diminution of high hopes in shabby realities, this has a slow, cumulative effectiveness.

Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1950

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1950

Categories: FICTION