Maybe not the literary equivalent of My interest in this book stemmed from an interest in small town America as it emerged into the twentieth century.

Kings Row is the first novel of Henry Bellamann that I've read and enjoyed so much. i still give it two stars because despite the horrible story, it was still very well written, and i liked how it followed the boy through childhood to adulthood and after. It is, also, a testament to the insidious and maddening power of censorship: everything that deals with the sexuality of the characters, for example, has been completely eradicated in the film, or is barely hinted at.

They are, sadly, completely absent from the movie.

All very 'universal'.I was interested in the concept of true friendship & of loyality.

It made a positive impression on him, a story about an ordinary man, so I looked forward to finding out what it was that moved him so. His writing (and the book itself, for that matter) is not subtle. The Kings Row of the title is a little Midwest city that we enter as the XIX century ends. This novel was written in the 1940's and had a movie made of it in which Ronald Reagan acted. The thing is, as melodramatic as the multiple plot turns and surprises may seem, they are actually perfectly believable, and they do brilliantly underline certain truths about the country, truths that remain intensely troubling to this day and that, obviously, infuriated Bellamann. More than that, reading such books opens, often in a fascinating way, a window on another time: to find out what readers of a dReading books that once were celebrated and successful, but that, as the years pass by, have been (unjustly or not) forgotten, is an immensely pleasurable activity for anyone who loves taking literature’s hidden paths. Racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and sexism are the norm.

Unlock This Study Guide Now. I am ready to move on to the sequel, Parris Mitchell of Kings Row and see if the town can possible redeem itself.This is definitely an unforgettable,marvelous & enchanting tale.

Published

More than that, reading such books opens, often in a fascinating way, a window on another time: to find out what readers of a different era were obsessing about, what they were rushing to read, is always instructive, and it can teach us a lot. Sixteen years before PEYTON PLACE similarly riveted the attention of readers in record numbers, it peeked into the windows of the inhabitants of Kings Row to reveal their nasty secrets.Reading books that once were celebrated and successful, but that, as the years pass by, have been (unjustly or not) forgotten, is an immensely pleasurable activity for anyone who loves taking literature’s hidden paths.
The author adroitly shows us why those fierce – yet often shy, messed up, and complicated - outcasts, even when they’re doomed to unhappiness or worse, deserve our empathy, our understanding, our support, and our love. If that doesn’t say a lot, what does?

Madame is a widow who runs a nursery business and is raising Parris to speak French and German as well as English. Literally felt the growth & pains of Parris, and it really touched me. Secrets become deadly and the shadow of mental illness hangs over the town, based on Fulton, Mo, with it's real "State Lunatic Asylum." It's so very dark, but well written. Such themes were still somewhat taboo in early 20th century American literature, but not unheard of.

In a way, Bellamann’s novel follows into the footsteps of Booth Tarkngton’s famous The Magnificent Ambersons. He pulled out scripts for an "King's Row" mini-series the company had developed, but failed I was reading this book for pleasure when realized that it should be a mini-series, as the 1942 film--because of the censorship at that time--could not depict some of the more searing subplots of the book. Murder, incest, corruption, shady financial schemes, bullying, horrendous sadism are only some aspects of life in Kings Row.

The old movie was one of my favorites. The Bellamanns had no children. He does that with gusto, and it is, for the reader, terribly satisfying. The story of Drake McHugh and his best friend Parris Mitchell coming of age in a sleepy Midwest American town of the 1890s was by far Henry Bellamann's most recognized work.

Maybe not the literary equivalent of Sometimes rambling, this is still a nice, intelligent portrait of small town mid-west America at the turn of the last century. Both found towns limiting and confining. Still, the movie's packed with great Golden Age of Hollywood actors (Claude Rains as the incestuous doctor!) They were quite the characters in this portrait of small midwest town at the turn of the last century. Author writes with wordiness marked by the times...but his nature descriptions are lovely. The characters are vividly drawn, and Bellaman's commentary about human nature and the American character is certainly as valid today as when it was written. It is filled with all the drama that can occur in a small town. Interspersed throughout the book are characters' thoughts about the times they have lived through, including early pioneers memories as well as forward looking town leaders dreams for their town. There's plenty of nasty little secrets in Kings' Row, and if you've ever seen the 1942 movie starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan and Bob Cummings, they left a LOT out or referred to it so vaguely they might as well not have bothered. Even more tellingly, three of the most intriguing characters of the novel have entirely disappeared: the gay young man, a black young woman, and a Jewish girl. I also looked forward to reading about life choices and life narratives of the characters. Don't know if this will contain spoilers or not. I got about half-way through back in college but always wanted to pick it up again and finish. It is filled with all the drama that can occur in a small town.

Bellamann touches upon some truly moving aspects of life in the course of his book. He was a serious student of music and studied both in this country and abroad. Heinrich Hauer Bellamann (April 28, 1882 – June 16, 1945) was an American author, whose bestselling novel Kings Row exposed the hypocrisy of small-town life in the midwest, addressing many social taboos.
It wasn't long before the citizenry of Fulton began to look around and realize Bellamann's fictional town was in fact a reinterpretation of their small city. It also announces eviscerating, scandalous tell-all novels such as Peyton Place, that will come years later.

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