Spoon River Anthology (PDF)

In Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters presents 244 characters to speak to us posthumously from the cemetery on the hill. They apprise us of their existence from the grave in poetic monologues that describe their private hopes, dreams, ambitions, achievements, failures--all of which came to a sudden end with their death. The individual stories are often moody and severe as they carry their anger and injustices to their graves. These were people who loved life despite its difficulties, or who viciously ruined the lives of others, or who despised their own petty lives. A.D. Blood, the town prohibitionist, hated liquor so much he killed a man who was drunk. Searcy Foote admits without shame that he murdered his infirm aunt for her money and his own independence. Affluent Thomas Rhodes' bank failure caused financial hardship for many of Spoon Rivers' inhabitants when the fault for the downfall belonged to his son's bad loans. These stories uncover the depression, discontent, and prejudice that hide behind a small-town pretense of American virtue. This classic outlines an unforgettable history of Spoon Rivers' jealousies and corruption.
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.