Alice Adams

by Booth Tarkington

"Alice Adams" by Booth Tarkington is a novel published in 1921 that won the Pulitzer Prize. It follows Alice Adams, a young woman from a lower-middle-class Midwestern family who desperately aspires to rise socially and win the heart of wealthy Arthur Russell. Through elaborate lies and careful deceptions, Alice attempts to hide her family's humble circumstances. As her father launches a questionable business venture and her romantic hopes intensify, Alice's carefully constructed facade begins to crumble, threatening everything she's worked to achieve.