The Man Who Knew Coolidge. Being the Soul of Lowell Schmaltz, Constructive and Nordic Citizen.

LEWIS, Sinclair.

Item Number: 137176

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1928.

First edition of Lewis’s sensational work of satire, the first section of which was originally published in The American Mercury in 1927. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities. Uncommon in this condition.

Featuring the return of several characters from Lewis' previous works, including George Babbitt and Elmer Gantry, The Man Who Knew Coolidge (subtitled "Being the Soul of Lowell Schmaltz, Constructive and Nordic Citizen") is recounted in a series of six long, uninterrupted monologues by the sub-titular Schmaltz, a travelling salesman in office supplies. As the reader progresses through each, Schmaltz gradually reveals additional details about his background, circumstances, and character. Intended by Lewis as a light intermission between the more substantial Elmer Gantry and his 1929 novel, Dodsworth, The Man Who Knew Coolidge is written in a lighter and more humorous vein than Lewis' best-remembered novels of the 1920s.