His Family
by Ernest Poole
Category: Fiction

His Family by American writer Ernest Poole was first published in 1917. It was the first book to receive the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. It tells the story of Roger Gale, a man living in New York - widowed and looking after his three adult daughters, Edith, Deborah, and Laura. He struggles to stay close to his daughters amidst the changing society around them. Conflicts arise in the shape of engagements, pregnancies, and the way his daughters spend their free time. Once the First World War happens, Roger's life is in even more upheaval as his business takes losses, creating more hardships for his daughters and grandchildren, and causing tensions between Deborah and Edith, who have very different ideas about family and women's rights. Essentially, as the title of the novel suggests, this is a book about a man trying to hold together his family in the face of what seems at times, overwhelming odds. It was very well received by critics at the time it was published, and was praised for giving a true picture of then present-day Americans. The book's details about life in New York in the 1910's is also significant - referencing the lives of poor immigrants, the fascination with modern ways of doing things, and of course, the impact of the War. Poole had written a book called The Harbour in 1915, before the Pulitzer Prize was a thing, and some felt that in awarding the prize to His Family, the committee were really honouring the writer for his previous book. The 1918 Novel winner in the Pulitzer Prize list.