Editing Booth Tarkington (section)

==Career==
Tarkington's first successful novel was ''The Gentleman from Indiana'' (1899).<ref name="Wabash" /> In 1902–1903, he served one term as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[Indiana House of Representatives]], an experience reflected in his 1905 short story collection, ''In The Arena.''<ref name="avenel">{{cite book |title=The Avenel Companion to English and American Literature, ed. David Daiches, Malcom Bradbury and Eric Mottram |date=1981 |publisher=Avenel Books/Penguin Books Ltd. |page=246 (American section)}}</ref>

As a novelist, Tarkington was both prolific and commercially successful. During the 15-year period from 1914 to 1928, seven of his novels ranked among the top ten best-selling books of the year: ''[[Penrod]]'' (1914), ''The Turmoil'' (#1 best seller of 1915), ''[[Seventeen (Tarkington novel)|Seventeen]]'' (#1 best seller of 1916), [[Gentle Julia (novel)|''Gentle Julia'']] (1922), ''The Midlander'' (1924), ''The Plutocrat'' (1927) and ''Claire Ambler'' (1928).<ref name="hackett">{{cite book |last1=Hackett, Alice Payne and Burke, James Henry |title=80 Years of Best Sellers: 1895 - 1975 |date=1977 |publisher=R.R. Bowker Company |location=New York |isbn=0-8352-0908-3 |pages=80–105}}</ref> He produced both of his [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning novels during the same period. [[File:Penrod - cover page.jpg|thumb|left|Cover page for ''Penrod'', depicting Penrod Schofield and his dog Duke (1914)]]

Two of his novels achieved longer-term commercial success. ''Penrod'' was one of a select group of novels that sold more than 750,000 copies during the period 1895–1975, according to ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' book sales data from that period.<ref name="hackett" /> At one time, his ''Penrod'' series was as well known as ''[[Huckleberry Finn]]'' by [[Mark Twain]].{{Citation needed|reason=statement\paragraph should be supported by citation to a reliable source.| date=July 2023}} ''Seventeen'', a coming-of-age story, sold some 1.7 million copies during the 1895–1975 period. Although written for an adult audience, it came to be regarded as a children's book and was one of the best-selling books of the era in that category.<ref name="hackett" />

''[[The Two Vanrevels]]'' and ''[[Mary's Neck]]'' appeared on the annual best-seller lists a total of nine times.{{Citation needed|reason=statement\paragraph should be supported by citation to a reliable source.| date=July 2023}}

Tarkington authored 25 plays, including three collaborations with [[Harry Leon Wilson]]. Some of the plays dramatized his novels.<ref name="avenel"/> Some were eventually filmed, including ''[[Monsieur Beaucaire (novel)|Monsieur Beaucaire]]'', ''[[Presenting Lily Mars]]'', and ''[[The Adventures and Emotions of Edgar Pomeroy]]'', made into a serialized film in 1920 and 1921. In 1928, he published a book of reminiscences, ''The World Does Move''.