Hergesheimer, Joseph (1880–1954), born in Philadelphia, began his career as a novelist with
The Lay Anthony (1914), an idealistic romance, followed by
Mountain Blood (1915), contrasting the newly rich with the old Virginians of Highland stock.
The Three Black Pennys (1917) is a portrait of the rise and decline of a family, with a background of the Pennsylvania iron industry.
Gold and Iron (1918) contains three novelettes, each a character study of a powerful person whose aggression wins him what he desires. In
Java Head (1919), Hergesheimer turned to historic New England, writing an atmospheric novel concerned with the tragic results of miscegenation, while
Linda Condon (1919), a romantic character study, marked the end of this period of conscientious work and artistic sincerity. His earlier writing had not always been on the highest level, but now his novels tended to move progressively further toward the artistic shallows of cheap popular fiction. They follow two main lines: that of highly decorated, weak portraits of a futile society, as in
Cytherea (1922) and
The Party Dress (1930); and that of romances depending on picturesque settings for their vigor, as in
The Bright Shawl (1922), set in the West Indies and recalling an incident in Cuba during the Spanish‐American War,
Balisand (1924), dealing with post‐Revolutionary Virginia,
Tampico (1926), a romance set in Mexico,
The Limestone Tree (1931), concerned with Kentucky pioneers and their descendants, and
The Foolscap Rose (1934), describing the rise to power of a Pennsylvania family.
The Happy End (1919) is a book of short stories, of which the best known is “
Tol'able David.” Hergesheimer also wrote
San Cristóbal de la Habaña (1920), sketches of the Cuban city;
Quiet Cities (1928), stories set in the past of nine American cities;
Sheridan (1931), a biography;
Swords and Roses (1929), essays on the Civil War;
From an Old House (1925), an autobiographical narrative; and other fiction, travel accounts, and biography.
