George Ade

George Ade, one of the most beloved writers of his day, carried on a lively correspondence with the most colorful of the great and near-great. George M. Cohan, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, John T. McCutcheon, James Whitcomb Riley, Finley Peter Dunne, Hamlin Garland all received letters from the Hoosier humorist. Ade’s keen observation, compact and straightforward style, and understated humor mark his correspondence, as well as his immensely popular newspaper columns, books, and plays. His friendships were so diversified that his letters forms a patchwork of popular history, literature, politics, and entertainment. Ade’s interchange of ideas about people and events shaping the twentieth century as well as his own life will provide insights for students of varied aspects of American culture. This volume presents 182 of the most interesting and informative letters from the thousands of extant pieces of his correspondence in scores of collections scattered throughout the United States. The letters are arranged chronologically, annotated with explanatory material and with sources. A forward, introduction, and Ade’s autobiography are included, interspersed with photographs, sketches, handwriting samples and other illustrations which evoke the man and his times.

In all the Country around there was not a Man who came up to her Plans and Specifications for a Husband. Neither was there any Man who had any time for Her. So she led a lonely Life, dreaming of the One-the Ideal. He was a big and pensive Literary Man, wearing a Prince Albert coat, a neat Derby Hat and godlike Whiskers. When He came he would enfold Her in his Arms and whisper Emerson's Essays to her.

Originally published: New York: R. Long & R.R. Smith, 1931.

George Ade's greatest recognition came with Fables in Slang (1899), a national best-seller that was followed by a weekly syndicated fable and by 11 other books of fables. The fables, which contained only a little slang, were, rather, examples of the vernacular. The critic August Nemo selected seven short stories from this essential author of American literature: The Fable of the Preacher Who Flew His Kite, But Not Because He Wished to Do So The Fable of the Two Mandolin Players and His Willing Performer The Fable of the Parents Who Tinkered with the Offspring The Fable of the Man Who Didn't Care for Storybooks The Fable of the Kid Who Shifted His Ideal The Fable of How Uncle Brewster was Too Shifty for the Tempter The Fable of Lutie, the False Alarm, and How She Finished about the Time that She Started

George Ade, one of the most beloved writers of his day, carried on a lively correspondence with the most colorful of the great and near-great. This collection features 182 of Ade's interesting and informative letters to William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, James Whitcomb Riley, Finley Peter Dunne, and others, all arranged chronologically and annotated with explanatory material. Lightning Print on Demand Title