13 h 22 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 22 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a man give up when a seat in Congress comes within reach?
In Brand Whitlock’s The 13th District, an ambitious candidate enters a congressional contest in the Midwest. Around him lie farms, county seats and small towns where influence matters. The party leaders choose their candidates, trade favors and expect loyalty. Winning means more than making a good speech.
The candidate must decide how far he will bend to win. Whitlock brings a reporter’s and lawyer’s knowledge of party politics to this struggle between ambition and honesty. At county gatherings, in hotels and in offices, talk reveals the humor, pettiness and bargains of public life.
What you’ll discover
- The price of ambition Follow a candidate whose desire for office puts his personal honesty under pressure.
- Inside the party machine See how nominations, loyalty and traded favors shape the struggle for a congressional seat.
- A district close at hand Enter small towns and county seats where farmers and townspeople help shape every campaign.
- Politics in everyday talk Listen to conversations that bring the humor and pettiness of public life into focus.
- An ambition treated with sympathy Consider the pull of power through a man whose hopes Whitlock takes seriously.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy small-town American life will love the sharp portraits of politicians and editors, the warm humor, and a love story shaped by conventions.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A hero's welcome hides a cynical truth
- Emily wants a life that counts
- Pusey sells his silence and prints his threat
- Emily believes, and the money is found
- Congress changes the man and loses the county
- At Pekin, a few men decide for thousands
- Rankin gives everything and gets nothing
- A handful of men run the people's government
- Emily's conscience meets the facts she avoids
- Irony, weather and three borrowed titles
Who’s who
- Jerome B. GarwoodA gifted speaker and ambitious young lawyer who wants a great career in Congress and learns how much compromise it takes.
- Emily HarknessA college-educated banker's daughter who loves Garwood and wants to use her life for something good.
- Jim RankinA big, warm-hearted party boss who manages Garwood's campaigns and wants the Grand Prairie post office as his reward.
- Freeman H. PuseyA damp, sly little newspaper editor who wants influence, money and a post office of his own.
- Ethan HarknessEmily's stern, orderly father, a bank president who gives all his love to his daughter and distrusts her suitor.
- Judge Zephaniah BaileyA gaunt, slow-speaking lawmaker called the Singed Cat, who masters conventions and wants higher office.
- Dade EmersonEmily's lively, athletic friend who returns from Europe with a new accent and looks for a husband.
- Mrs. GarwoodJerome's stern, devout widowed mother, who gives him everything and prays for his success.
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 14 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 USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 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.
The 13th District
by Brand Whitlock · 1902
A small-town lawyer secures a congressional nomination, but what does his victory cost him?
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 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 small Illinois station on a hot August afternoon. A train rolls in, a band strikes up, and a crowd roars the name of a tired young lawyer who has just won his party's nomination for Congress.
The 13th District at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 20 min5 h 50 min fast, 8 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 105,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1902by Brand Whitlock
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hero's welcome hides a cynical truth
The book opens with a triumph. Garwood rides a train into Grand Prairie after a convention has given him the nomination for Congress. It took one thousand two hundred and nine ballots. At the station a band, a carriage with two white horses, and a roaring crowd are waiting.
Garwood is surprised by every piece of it. His eyes fill with tears, and then he practices a calm, stern face for history. Then Rankin says something that stings. If they had lost, he tells Garwood, nobody would have turned out to comfort him. Garwood gives a short speech from the hotel balcony, thanking everyone and promising nothing.
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 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Whitlock, Brand. The 13th District. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-13th-district.
Whitlock, B. (2026). The 13th district. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-13th-district (Original work published 1902)
Whitlock, Brand. The 13th District. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-13th-district.
@book{whitlock202613th,
author = {Whitlock, Brand},
title = {The 13th District},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-13th-district},
note = {First published 1902}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 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
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The 13th District
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 13th District about?
It follows Jerome Garwood, a young Illinois lawyer who wins nomination and election to Congress. The story shows the bargains, newspaper attacks, county conventions and patronage battles behind his rise, and how his marriage to Emily Harkness is shaped by them.
Who is Jim Rankin in The 13th District?
Rankin is the big, jovial chairman who manages Garwood's campaigns. He knows every county leader, works for the post office as his reward, and gives his friend loyalty that is tested by Pusey and by Garwood's growing ambition.
What does roorback mean in The 13th District?
Emily asks Garwood the word's meaning, and he says it is a lie told because politics requires it. A roorback is a false story spread near an election to harm a candidate, and the scene shows how Garwood has changed.
More 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
