The Magnificent Ambersons

Booth Tarkington's "The Magnificent Ambersons" is the second book in his Growth trilogy, which depicts Mid-Western life from the post-Civil War era to the early twentieth century. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1919, this novel follows the decline of the Ambersons, an aristocratic family that loses their wealth and social prominence to tycoons and land developers. Considered a realistic portrayal of the rise of industrialization, the Ambersons represent the fall of old money and family connections in the face of new money and the working people. Tarkington's novel, through changes in his fictional family's monetary situation, home, and town, gives readers a glimpse into a time of great social change in the United States.