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Peter Whiffle: His Life and Works
Hardcover
Classic FictionGeneral FictionLiterary Fiction
ISBN13: 9781025898612
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 262
Weight: 1.20
Height: 0.63 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Peter Whiffle: His Life and Works is a quintessential modernist novel that captures the restless spirit of the early 20th-century aesthetic movement. Written by Carl Van Vechten, this celebrated work takes the form of a fictional biography, tracing the eccentric life and travels of its title character. Peter Whiffle is an indecisive dandy and a perpetual student of life, whose pursuit of artistic perfection leads him from the vibrant cafes of pre-war Paris to the burgeoning intellectual circles of New York City.
The narrative serves as a brilliant satire of the literary and artistic trends of the Jazz Age, blending reality with fiction through appearances by real-life figures of the era. Through Whiffle's eyes, readers encounter a world of refined tastes, philosophical debates, and the constant search for the next great creative movement. Van Vechten's prose is noted for its wit, sophistication, and vivid descriptions of the Bohemian lifestyle, making the book a vital document of the expatriate experience and the development of American modernism.
As a masterwork of picaresque fiction, Peter Whiffle: His Life and Works remains a fascinating study of the creative temperament. It offers a nostalgic yet sharp-edged look at a vanished world where the pursuit of beauty was the highest calling.
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.
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