Sign-In
Cart
The Big Town
Paperback
HumorClassic FictionGeneral Fiction
ISBN13: 9781025404509
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 264
Weight: 0.82
Height: 0.55 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
The Big Town is a sharp and witty work of American satire by Ring W. Lardner, one of the most celebrated humorists of the early twentieth century. The narrative follows the adventures of the Finch family as they relocate from South Bend, Indiana, to the bustling metropolis of New York City. Driven by the ambition to find a wealthy and suitable husband for Katie, the family navigates a series of comedic misadventures across Manhattan and Long Island's elite social circles.
Through his signature use of vernacular and keen observation, Lardner captures the vibrant spirit of the Jazz Age and the superficiality of social climbing. The book serves as both a humorous travelogue and a biting critique of the American dream during the 1920s. Readers will enjoy the colorful characters and the timeless humor found in the clashes between Midwestern sensibilities and the frantic, status-obsessed pace of the big city. This work remains a significant piece of American literature, highlighting the absurdities of wealth and the cultural shifts of the post-war era.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
2 different editions
Also available
Also from
Lardner, Ring W.
The Big Town: How I and the Mrs. Go to New York to See Life and Get Katie a Husband
Lardner, Ring W.
Hardcover
Also in
General Fiction
Elizabeth Spencer: Novels & Stories (Loa #344): The Voice at the Back Door / The Light in the Piazza / Knights and Dragons / Stories
Spencer, Elizabeth
Hardcover
Anniversaries, Volume 2: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl, April 1968-August 1968
Johnson, Uwe
Paperback
Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose, and Diary Excerpts
Plath, Sylvia
Paperback
Selected Writings: Robert Musil: Young Torless, Three Women, the Perfecting of a Love, and Other Writings
Agee, Joel
Musil, Robert
Paperback
Before Gatsby: The First Twenty-Six Stories
Bruccoli, Matthew J.
Baughman, Judith
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Paperback