Harold Bell Wright

Love story of two generations, which takes place partly in a small town and partly in the world of the theater.

Nestled under the mountains near California’s Highway 38 is Fairlands which, like any other resort town, is shadowed by the powers of wealthy cliques. There the young painter Aaron King must decide whether to make art or to make money. During a retreat he meets Sibyl, a wonderful violinist, who challenges him to discover the true meaning of success.Ranked the best-selling book of 1914, The Eyes of the World even topped Winston Churchill’s book.

The Least of These My Brothers is the story of a printer, Dick Falkner, who arrives in Boyd City nearly penniless. Times are hard and beggars abound, and Falkner lives among them until finally landing a job at Udell's printshop. When he begins attending a young people's group at a large church, his influence results in the youth starting a program for the down-and-out of the city. But this is quickly met by church opposition. Complicating matters further, a class-conscious elder offense at his daughter's interest in Falkner and forces her away into the world of high society with all its corruption. Meanwhile, the death of a nameless man on the steps of the church leads to a mystery that threatens Falkner's life. - Back cover.

After the death of her mother, Nora O'Shea travels to southern Arizona to visit her brother Larry, and gets embroiled in a conflict between honest cowboys and gun smugglers, while falling in love with rancher "Big Boy" Morgan.

In 1919 Wright used the Ozarks again for his ninth novel, The Re-Creation of Brian Kent. Unfortunately, the novel does not maintain the quality which can be found in the earlier novel. In The Shepherd of the Hills, the landscape descriptions are realistic, depicting both the beauty of the spring season and the brutality of a drought. In contrast, Wright dwells upon trite sunsets in his later novel. The novel focuses on Brian Kent, a bank clerk who steals money from the Chicago bank where he works to placate his extravagant wife who socializes with members of a degenerate, rich clique. When he discovers her infidelity, he attempts suicide by drowning but is saved by Auntie Sue, an elderly woman who lives in the Ozarks. She is modeled after Wright's real Auntie Sue. With the assistance of her companion, Judy Taylor, a crippled girl abused by her alcoholic father, she helps Brian to return to his former good character before his wife's influence affected him. After the school teacher rehabilitates the former thief through hard work, he stays to help her. They discuss river philosophy and she suggests that he write a book. He agrees after he explains that he failed when he tried to write before. This time he succeeds because he has learned the meaning of life with Auntie Sue's help. To prepare the manuscript for the publisher, Betty Jo, a friend of Auntie Sue's, comes to serve as a typist. Brian and his typist fall in love, but a barrier stands between them -- Brian's wife. Also, Judy Taylor declares her love for Brian and unsuccessfully attempts to kill Betty Jo. A group of tourists, which includes his wife, discovers Brian. She has become a totally dissipated woman as a result of her reckless, but wealthy life with her lover. Fortunately, the wife drowns in the river in an opportune accident though Brian attempts to save her, an action which demonstrates the height of his moral character, since her death would free him to marry Betty Jo. Brian and Betty Jo marry upon the arrival of her uncle and guardian, the bank president from whom Brian stole the money. Not recognizing the "recreated" Brian, the uncle lauds him as the new genius whose book is so sensible. Glad to find him so much changed, Betty Jo's guardian grants his consent for the marriage, and the entire group is happy, including Judy, who realizes that she can never have Brian. She will try to become a better human being by following the example set by Brian and Auntie Sue. - Dr. Joyce Kinkead.

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This book is also about bringing a message to our thoughts. It is about caring for others less fortunate than yourself and helping them to better themselves. Our president Ronald Regan agreed with its message, and tried to give it others. The printer hires a man that no one in the town will hire because he is so unkept. He comes to find that the man, Dick, is honest and hard working. A worthy person in disguise, and together they get involved in a group of people who wish to reach out to poor wanderers. Please Note: This book has been reformatted to be easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.