In an era of unprecedented economic growth in America, Henry Kitchell Webster (1875-1932) was one of the first to set novels and short stories in the world of business and industry. He also sympathetically portrayed the new type of woman who was emerging as the Victorian era waned. His charming, intelligent heroines seek (and usually achieve) not only romance and family, but education, careers, and economic independence.
Webster's short stories were in constant demand by national magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and McClure's. His novels (29 under his own name) sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Eleven films were based on his books and screenplays. The New York Times even published Webster's thoughts on novel-writing. Although Webster's works date to the Progressive Era and the Jazz Age, the characters, dialogue, and brisk pacing still seem refreshingly modern.
Each of the 4 volumes in the Collected Short Works features illustrations commissioned by major magazines for the original appearances of Webster's short stories. Each also includes previously unpublished letters (from the Webster archive at the Newberry Library) that give insight into how and why he wrote his stories and novels.
Vol. 4, 1923-1932 (444 pp.): Five short stories, 3 plays (previously unpublished), 17 essays on writing (most unpublished), hundreds of letters, and a bibliography of Webster's works.