An American Family (1918) is a novel by Henry Kitchell Webster.
Written at the height of Webster's career as a popular author of
magazine serials, An American Family is a story of war, ambition, and
tragedy. Exploring the effects of the burgeoning labor movement on
American industry, Webster illustrates the psychological effects of
conflict and betrayal on members of a wealthy family. As the third son
of a large, upper-class family, Hugh Corbett has always struggled to
prove himself. Despite the ambitions of his siblings, Hugh finds himself
longing for a life outside of the family business. As owners of a
successful factory in Chicago, their position has increasingly been at
odds with the needs of their impoverished laborers, many of whom have
begun to agitate for higher pay and better rights. Just as this crisis
reaches a boiling point, it becomes clear that the United States is
preparing to enter the Great War, thrusting a nation into conflict with
Europe and deepening its own divisions. Meanwhile, Hugh meets Helena, a
committed anarchist who exposes for him the inequities suffered by those
the Corbett family employs. When a strike threatens to bring down the
business, Hugh is forced to make a choice: should he prove his
allegiance to his class and loved ones, or do what he knows to be right
for the greater good of humanity. Sweeping in scope and intensely
emotional, An American Family is a story of history on a human scale.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Henry Kitchell Webster's An American Family is a
classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.
