Author | Francis Hopkinson Smith |
---|---|
Illustrator | Arthur I. Keller |
Language | English |
Genre | Novel |
Set in | New York |
Published | 1908 by Charles Scribner's Sons |
Publication date | August 29, 1908 [1] |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 482 pp [2] |
OCLC | 6209999 |
813.49 | |
LC Class | PZ3.S647 |
Peter: A Novel Of Which He Is Not The Hero is a novel published in 1908 by Francis Hopkinson Smith, which was the sixth best selling book in the United States in 1908, and ninth best-selling book of 1909. [3] It sold in excess of 100,000 copies. [4]
The book is set in New York City, but the New York of a few decades prior to 1908 when the book was released. Peter Grayson is an aging banker of the old school; an upstanding and cultured gentleman, and not prone to engage in speculation. Peter also influences the younger generation around him, including a young man who comes to New York to work in the financial world.
As Smith was a well-known and popular American author of his day, the book was widely reviewed, with mixed to positive reviews. For example, H.L. Mencken wrote "It is a delightful world that Mr. Smith inhabits--a world made up of loyalty, true love and simple faith. ... there is not much plot in the book, but what there is is not without its grip." [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Released in late August 1908 with illustrations by Arthur I. Keller, the book soon made it onto best seller lists, becoming the sixth-best selling book of 1908 and ninth-best of 1909. It sold particularly well in December 1908, based on the fact that it went through four printings that month alone. [4] The novel was never adapted to the stage or film.