About this book
What happens when ordinary people break the rules—and must live with what follows?
In The Escape of Mr. Trimm, Irvin S. Cobb turns his sharp eye toward crime, guilt and people under pressure. The title story anchors a collection of short, tight tales in plain settings. Here, the question is less how clever a criminal can be than what wrongdoing does to a person.
Cobb brings a newspaperman's close attention to this crooked world. Greed, pride, fear and stubbornness shape people across differences of rank. His humor still finds its way into tense scenes, but these stories take a darker path than his comic sketches of Southern life. Human nature matters as much as the crime.
What you’ll discover
- Crime with a human cost Follow people who must face not just wrongdoing, but the burden of what comes after.
- A reporter's watchful eye Discover how close observation gives ordinary settings and troubled people their weight.
- Humor in dark places Find the wry remarks that slip into tense scenes without softening their dark edge.
- Ordinary rules under strain Watch fear, pride and greed surface when familiar limits begin to loosen.
- Short tales that hold you Enter compact stories that bring crime and consequence close enough to feel personal.
Who will love it
Readers who love sharply edged short stories, Southern humor and old newspaper life will enjoy this book. It also suits fans of crime tales and endings with a sudden jolt.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A banker meets the steel that waits
- Four million dollars cannot pick a lock
- A squire learns what buzzards can say
- Two fugitives hide in the house of murder
- A failed reporter keeps a gentleman's code
- A scoop falls into an honest man's lap
- A mountain feud follows a dying man home
- Two brothers share one silence for fifty years
- A strange man of the lake meets his hunters
- A police trial turns on a mother's plea
Who’s who
- Hobart W. TrimmA convicted banker who escapes a train wreck still in handcuffs and tries everything to get them off and vanish with his hidden fortune.
- Squire H. B. GathersAn old justice of the peace who believes he has committed a perfect murder in a swamp and cannot stop watching the sky.
- Ella GilmorrisA wanted woman who hides with her partner in the house where the crime took place and quietly plans against him.
- Major Putnam StoneAn old Confederate veteran, a failed cub reporter who clings to a gentleman's code and his twelve dollars a week.
- Anse DugmoreA Kentucky mountaineer sent to prison for a feud killing, who comes home dying to find out what became of his children.
- Judge PriestA kind, round old circuit judge who tries to heal a fifty year silence between two neighboring brothers before it is too late.
- FishheadA lonely man of Reelfoot Lake, shunned by his neighbors, who knows its waters better than anyone and is hunted by two brothers.
- Lieutenant Isidore WeilA police lieutenant on trial before a harsh deputy commissioner for giving a poor woman something that belongs to the department.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
La fuga del signor Trimm
by Irvin S. Cobb · 1913
A banker in handcuffs escapes a train wreck into the woods, sure that two steel bands cannot stop him.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Picture a rich banker, his wrists chained together, sitting in a smoking car when the train breaks in two. He is thrown clear without a scratch.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A banker meets the steel that waits
Hobart W. Trimm, once president of the Thirteenth National Bank, is going to federal prison for twelve years. A deputy marshal named Meyers sits beside him, and a pair of handcuffs holds his plump hands together.
Cobb makes the cuffs hurt more by shame than by pain. Trimm begs to hide them, and Meyers spreads a newspaper across his lap. A mob of photographers and onlookers chases him through the street, and he sees only a wall of legs and the steel on his wrists.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1913
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 5 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Cobb, Irvin S. The Escape of Mr. Trimm. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-escape-of-mr-trimm.
Cobb, I. S. (2026). The escape of Mr. Trimm. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-escape-of-mr-trimm (Original work published 1913)
Cobb, Irvin S. The Escape of Mr. Trimm. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-escape-of-mr-trimm.
@book{cobb2026escape,
author = {Cobb, Irvin S.},
title = {The Escape of Mr. Trimm},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-escape-of-mr-trimm},
note = {First published 1913}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about La fuga del signor Trimm
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Escape of Mr. Trimm about?
It is a collection of nine short stories by Irvin S. Cobb. The title tale follows a convicted banker who escapes a train wreck in handcuffs. The others deal with crime, guilt, feuds, newspapers and mercy.
What stories are in The Escape of Mr. Trimm?
The nine stories are The Escape of Mr. Trimm, The Belled Buzzard, An Occurrence on a Side Street, Another of Those Cub Reporter Stories, Smoke of Battle, The Exit of Anse Dugmore, To the Editor of the Sun, Fishhead and Guilty as Charged.
Who is Major Putnam Stone?
He is an old Confederate veteran who becomes a cub reporter at the Evening Press after losing his income. He appears in two stories, Another of Those Cub Reporter Stories and Smoke of Battle, as a pompous, kind and honorable man.
More by Irvin S. Cobb
Vedi tutti i suoi libriMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing






















