The Big Town

Ring W. Lardner's 1921 satirical collection The Big Town follows nouveau riche Midwestern couple Tom and Ella Finch from their hometown of South Bend, Indiana, to New York City. Their goal? To "see life" and get Ella's sister Katie a husband. Far from a simple revolt from the village, the Finches' journey provides plenty of comic material for Lardner's sharp, satiric critique of the urban/rural divide in 1920s America.