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Booth Tarkington’s description of the setting in The Magnificent Ambersons, as well as the worlds he creates in The Midlander and The Turmoil, closely mirror the cultural and physical effects of the Industrial Revolution on Indianapolis. Having actually lived in the city during this age, Tarkington was able to provide some firsthand narration to these changes. . . . Indeed, Tarkington would have been witness to the outward movement of the city from the original mile square plan laid out by Alexander Ralston. He was able to describe this transition, providing modern readers at least a general sense of the passage of time, and ultimately, of the development of the city.

—Steven M. Burrows, Ph.D., author of the thesis “Time, Form and Fiction: Reading the Landscapes of Booth Tarkington”

In The Magnificent Ambersons, certain characters, particularly George Amberson Minifer, were unable to adapt to the modern world. The changing physical and social appearance of the city no longer matched their vision of what that place should be. Even though this was largely a situation of George’s own creation (and so I don’t think we need to feel too sorry for him), the result of this was deep emotional suffering for the character. Conversely, a character such as Eugene Morgan, who actively created change in the city, was able to thrive financially and emotionally. Booth Tarkington recognized that a sense of agency—that you are part of the decision-making process—is what connects or separates people from the world in which they live.

This is the case in the “real world” as well. When local residents and stakeholders have a voice in the changes that occur in their community, such as in the Woodruff Place neighborhood, they are much more likely to embrace those changes moving forward. To put it in the language of Kevin Lynch, spaces and places have high levels of imageability. It is up to individuals to seek their own place in the city, but it is surely also a function of government and other civic organizations (public or privately funded) to make this space accessible for all people. Tarkington may not have wanted to draw attention to it, but the Woodruff Place neighborhood has been culturally diverse for a long time now. It is important that we recognize this today and allow for those voices to be heard as Woodruff Place continues to grow and change.

—Steven M. Burrows, Ph.D., author of  the thesis “Time, Form and Fiction: Reading the Landscapes of Booth Tarkington”

Booth Tarkington is one of only four authors to have been twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction (for The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams). Other dual recipients are William Faulkner, John Updike and Colson Whitehead.

Indianapolis native Booth Tarkington, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams, was considered one of America’s greatest living authors in the 1910s and 1920s. In addition to his award-winning adult fiction, he also wrote dramatic works and popular young adult novels such as Penrod. Tarkington, along with Meredith Nicholson, George Ade and James Whitcomb Riley, was a leading figure during the Golden Age of Indiana Literature.