by E. L. Doctorow (1974)
Published in 1975, Ragtime changed our very concept of what a novel could be. An extraordinary tapestry, Ragtime captures the spirit of America in the era between the turn of the century & the First World War. The story opens in 1906 in New Rochelle, NY, at the home of an affluent American family. One lazy Sunday afternoon, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside their house. Almost magically, the line between fantasy & historical fact, between real & imaginary characters, disappears. Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud & Emiliano Zapata slip in & out of the tale, crossing paths with Doctorow's imagined family & other fictional characters, including an immigrant peddler & a ragtime musician from Harlem whose insistence on a point of justice drives him to revolutionary violence.
Reynolds Price
A family saga set in North Caroline and Virginia between 1903 and 1944 depicts three generations of the Kendals and the Mayfields. Sixteen-year-old Eva Kendal elopes with her thirty-two-year-old Latin teacher, Forrest Mayfield. Before long, the suicide of Eva's mother brings Eva and her young son home, where they remain for years.
Umberto Eco
Serendipities Italian Academy Lectures is a celebrated work by Umberto Eco (Premio Strega), recognized for masterclass storytelling and lasting literary resonance.
Vladimir Nabokov
Nabokov's Congeries is a celebrated work by Vladimir Nabokov (National Book Award Finalist), recognized for masterclass storytelling and lasting literary resonance.
Thomas Keneally
Bring larks and heroes is a celebrated work by Thomas Keneally (Booker Prize Winner), recognized for masterclass storytelling and lasting literary resonance.