7 h 44 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 44 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your first great love makes you feel like a man—and your little sister refuses to believe it?
William Sylvanus Baxter is seventeen, in love, and desperate to be taken seriously. One summer in a small Midwestern town, visiting Lola Pratt becomes the center of his world. Her charm and baby talk dazzle him. If only his family could see the romantic hero he feels himself to be.
But Jane Baxter sees straight through her brother's grand poses, while his parents struggle with his moods and plans. Even a dress suit becomes a badge of manhood. In Seventeen, Booth Tarkington turns porches, parties, and household friction into a gentle comedy about the painful distance between feeling grown-up and looking it.
What you’ll discover
- First love, felt completely Share William's overwhelming feelings as Lola turns an ordinary summer into his own romance.
- A sister without illusions Meet blunt, watchful Jane, whose clear eyes leave little room for her brother's airs.
- The all-important dress suit See how evening clothes carry William's hopes of looking like the man he longs to be.
- A household under strain Enjoy a father's dry humor and a mother's efforts to keep peace amid romantic turmoil.
- Laughter with a kind heart Follow a knowing narrator who teases William without treating his tender feelings with scorn.
Who will love it
For readers who love gentle, funny stories about growing up, and for anyone who still winces at memories of being sixteen or seventeen. First love, family chaos, and a sister who sees through every pose bring William's summer to life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy who insists he is a man
- A visitor with a lap dog arrives
- The dress suit becomes a symbol
- Jane and the war at home
- What the story is really about
- How Tarkington tells it
Who’s who
- William Sylvanus BaxterA proud seventeen-year-old who longs to be treated as a man and falls deeply in love with a summer visitor.
- Lola PrattA charming young visitor, known for her baby talk, who enjoys the attention of the town's boys.
- Jane BaxterWilliam's younger sister, blunt and watchful, who sees through his airs and cannot resist meddling.
- Mr. BaxterWilliam's father, a practical man who meets his son's grand plans with firmness and dry humor.
- Mrs. BaxterWilliam's mother, who worries about him, softens his father's rules, and tries to keep the peace at home.
- Mr. ParcherA neighbor whose patience is tested by the noise and fuss that surround William's romance.
- FlopitLola's small dog, who goes everywhere with her and becomes part of William's efforts to please her.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
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- Audiobook
- 7 h 44 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Seventeen
by Booth Tarkington · 1916
William Baxter falls in love with a summer visitor and sets out to prove he is a man, with his sister watching.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Seventeen is a comic novel by Booth Tarkington, published in 1916. It follows one summer in the life of William Sylvanus Baxter, a boy in a small Midwestern American town.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy who insists he is a man
William Baxter lives in a comfortable house with his father, his mother, and his much younger sister Jane. He is seventeen, and for him that number is a kind of battlefield. Everyone around him seems determined to treat him as a child, and he is just as determined to be treated as a grown man.
Tarkington shows this in small things. William worries about his clothes, his voice, his walk, and the way he is addressed at the dinner table. He wants to be dignified, and the effort makes him fall into every kind of foolishness. The narrator watches him with real affection, which lets us laugh without sneering.
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What is Seventeen by Booth Tarkington about?
It is a comic novel about William Baxter, a boy in a Midwestern town who spends one summer in love with a visiting young woman named Lola Pratt. His family is drawn into the comedy of his pride and longing.
Who is Lola Pratt in Seventeen?
Lola Pratt is a young visitor to the town, known as the Baby-Talk Lady for her sweet, childish way of speaking. She travels with a small dog named Flopit and attracts the attention of many of the town's young men.
When was Seventeen written and is it a true story?
Seventeen was published in 1916. It is a work of fiction, though Tarkington drew on his close knowledge of small-town Midwestern life and of how young people behave, which gives it a convincing, true-to-life feel.
The author
Booth Tarkington
1869–1946 · American novelist
Booth Tarkington was an American novelist born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1869. He lived in Indianapolis and spent summers in Kennebunkport, Maine. He wrote Penrod (1914), Seventeen (1916), The Magnificent Ambersons (1918), and Alice Adams (1921). He also wrote plays. He died in Indianapolis in 1946.
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