Anthony Adverse, Part 1: The Roots of the Tree

Anthony Adverse #1

by Hervey Allen

You can have your F. Scott Fitzgeralds, Ernest Hemingways and John Steinbecks, even your wimpy crybabies, the likes of Eugene O'Neill. Hervey Allen is my kind of writer! "Hervey who?," you might ask. And I would tell you HERVEY ALLEN, born William Hervey Allen, Jr. Dec. 8,1889 in Pittsburgh, PA and died Dec. 28,1949 in Coconut Grove, FL, an extremely gifted literary tour de force of prose and poetry in the 20's, 30's and 40's, obscure today, and hopefully reborn tomorrow. His epic novel Anthony Adverse published in 1933 was critically acclaimed and a huge commercial success selling more than three million copies. By comparison, F. Scott Fitzgerald's novella The Great Gatsby opened to mixed reviews in 1925 and sold less than 25,000 copies during the author's lifetime. It only became a classic after Mr. Fitzgerald died in 1940, hitting meteoric heights in the 1950's largely through literary and academic reevaluation and embrace.   Perhaps the 1,224 page historical novel published in 1933 and award winning movie released in 1936 starring Fredric March, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, and Gale Sondergaard were eclipsed by Gone with the Wind. Coming out in book form in 1936 and on film in 1939, it had a more memorable leading character via Hollywood. The subject of the American Civil War or the War for Southern Independence was more relevant to both Americans and Europeans than the Napoleonic era in Europe in 1933. More than likely, Mr. Allen would have enjoyed an everlasting international reputation in 1833 than 1933. Timing can be everything. Anthony Adverse has brilliantly memorable characters, plotlines, action, and tremendous scope. It is beautifully written with outstanding mood and nuance; a truly great work of art; Hervey Allen had a great imagination and artistic sensibility. How is it possible literary legacy could be so utterly remiss of good judgment and taste level?

Genres: Fiction

461 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Born William Hervey Allen. 1915 University of Pittsburgh graduate. In WWI served as a Lieutenant in the 28th (keystone) Division, US Army and fought in the Aisne-Marne offensive July-August, 1918. He wrote "Toward the Flame" (1926), a nonfictional account of his experiences in the war.

Allen is best known for his work Anthony Adverse, a 1933 bestseller. He also planned a series of novels about colonial America called The Disinherited, of which he completed three works: The Forest and the Fort (1943), Bedford Village (1944), and Toward the Morning (1948). The novels tell the story of Salathiel Albine, a frontiersman kidnapped as a boy by Shawnee Indians in the 1750s. All three works were collected and published as the City in the Dawn. Allen also wrote Israfel (1926), a biography of American writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Reviews

[Adam Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was both high and low when I found Anthony Adverse. Down the basement of a bookshop but up the ladder, looking at the highest shelf. On closer inspection it appeared to be a 1930s bildungsroman set in the late eighteenth century and in three parts. I thought I’d make it my summer challenge read.

Volume One: The Roots of the Tree

Although the book is split into three ‘volumes’ mine was published in two and it’s supposed to be read as one. However, while I’m reading it as one, I’ll review it as three, it’s nice to split these things up, especially when this story takes up so many pages.

The first volume sets Anthony Adverse up for his big adventure, gives us his backstory, introduces us to the people he loves and who shaped him, sets up his drives, dreams and obsessions. The book doesn’t feel slow paced but it is deliberately paced in the style of a film epic from the time. Anthony isn’t born until a hundred pages into the story but his pre-story is an interesting one, filled with forbidden love and a nuanced (ish) and engaging villain. Don Luis isn’t a subtle villain, he does kill a dog by purposefully telling his driver to run over it with a carriage. All of these melodramatic shenanigans happen so Anthony can be born, lose his parents and be deposited in a convent with nothing but an old Madonna statue and ten pieces of gold.

Allen has this peculiar skill, where he’s able to throw in something arrestingly odd every now and then. This breaks up the slightly inevitable nature of the story (it is playing with some really old tropes and structures) and unsettles any judgements the reader might be making about the book.
For example, Anthony is the only orphan of a convent which is pivoting from orphan-care to teaching and the Mother Superior can’t decide whether to keep him or let him go, the pivotal act that makes up her mind is that he accidentally walks on her without her headdress and sees that she’s bald. The spark to get him out the convent could have been anything, but it’s a nun’s alopecia that does it.

Another little bolt of strangeness is how Anthony is introduced. In the previous part, Anthony has been dropped off in a hole in the convent wall that was built for that purpose (incidentally, the US are bringing such holes in the wall back). The new part starts with a description of the garden, how the convent started as a temple to Castor and Pollux and how there is now a bronze statue of one of them, renamed to Jesus, next to an ancient fountain and a huge tree. Then attention is drawn to “a pair of eyes hung on a wall post”. It’s not as macabre as it would seem, these eyes are in fact attached to a baby and the baby is hung on a bag in the courtyard. nor is the description of the baby as ‘a pair of eyes’ completely inappropriate, hanging in his bag, Anthony can only interact the world with his eyes.

He grows up an odd boy, with a language of Tuscan and church Latin, an outfit of an oversized cassock and a thorough understanding of myth, the classics and church history but no experience of ever standing in a field or playing with other children. His best friend is either his reflection or the bronze statue of Castor or Pollux. He needs some wising up and, this being a novel, he finds himself in the perfect position, the merchant company of the wonderfully named John Bonnyfeather. As well as being a merchant and the descendent of a Scottish nobleman ruined by the ’45, Bonnyfeather also happens to be Anthony’s grandfather. It does seem strange that the craft Don Luis would deposit the unwanted baby in the same town as that baby’s grandfather but I feel this is a book that will have a few more coincidences as we progress.

Another surprising moment is when Anthony rediscovers Angela, the young love of his life after events have taken her away and make an actress of her. They meet in Signora Bovino’s apartments (astrology upstairs ‘satisfactory amatory entertainment on the first floor’) and sleep together. Then they are treated to a generous and joyful breakfast by her sugar daddy who is simply happy that Angela’s happy. Whilst such arrangements were possible in the eighteenth century, and even matter-of-factly talked about, I found such flexibility of sexual roles surprising to find in a book from the thirties and in so conservative a genre as historical fiction.

So far, sex is one of the main themes of the book. Anthony is himself a product of extra-marital sex and he’s deeply ambivalent about it. He’s frightened of sex when it’s a pure animal pleasure, a young man proudly masturbates in front of him and he’s horrified by the lack of soul. However, he’s delighted by it when he feels it’s a joining of souls and experiences it on almost religious terms - having visions of a strange mashup of Maria, his mother but also the virgin Mary and his ideal self, “the way his soul thought of itself, if only the world would let it be.” There’s also a Jungian element of seeing his true self as a women as well as a confused mother/madonna religious element which runs throughout the book.

The dark sexual element of the book is represented by the provokingly named Faith. She’s first introduced as the faithful lady’s maid to Anthony’s mother, who wasn’t allowed to join her in her new marriage. The implication is that Faith would have been able to solve all the problems at the beginning of the book, that she is capable, kind and loyal. When we meet her, things might not be so straight forward, she’s withdrawn with almost green skin and ‘lemur’s’ hips. These hips are described as, ‘an obstruction to life’ being made for love affair but not pregnancy. It’s revealed more and more that she is a nymphomaniac, and a jealous one at that. She encouraged the ill-fated match of Maria and Don Luis so she could shtup him, she also has her way with Anthony and he hates her for it. That said, as much as the book is trying to set her up as an antagonist, she doesn’t actually do anything particularly evil, it’ll be interesting to see where her character goes next.

Indeed, I’m interested to see where all of the book goes next. Napoleon’s invading and Anthony is off to wrap up some business with a slaving company in Havana. I’m sure there’ll be religious and pagan imagery, I’m sure there’ll be good and bad sex, I’m sure there’ll be crises of identity - it’ll be a fun journey.

[Trevor Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first copy of AA Part 1 was picked up from Mary Martin's books in Queen Street Brisbane. I have always had a soft spot for ripping yarns and the great tale of the abandoned boy, dumped in Livorno appealed to me enormously, but I never followed up on it and sought the rest of the book.
However, a chance visit to Maleny around a decade ago, found me in the local Bookshop that advertised rare and out of print second hand books, and lo and behold, there was a copy of the complete book. Needless to say, I snapped it up and have been enjoying it immensely.
The book reads very much like an eighteenth or nineteenth century volume and is reminiscent of Henry Fielding's classic, although the sexual dalliances are treated much more vaguely than those of Tom Jones.
I'm taking a break from AA to regain my enthusiasm before resuming. The complete volume runs to 1100+ pages of close print, so I'm off to grab something much lighter, perhaps a Biggles or A A Milne.
to be continued.......

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about this book as I was searching for good books to read. From what I read, the entire Anthony Adverse trilogy was a big hit in the 1930s. Big enough that movie was made starring Olivia de Havilland, though admittedly that movie was made prior to de Havilland making it big with her role in Gone With the Wind.

I have only read the first of three volumes in the entire story "The Roots of the Tree," and I do not intend to continue with the rest right now. The story has been pretty good, but the writing style feels overly melodramatic to me, and kept me from really engaging with and caring about the characters enough to want to continue.

[Cartoisb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Adverse is a superb epic novel that for some reason has flown under the radar for many years (despite being very successful when it was first written, including having been made into a blockbuster film). This review only relates to Volume 1, which takes place during the early Napoleonic era, mainly in France and Italy. It is an entertaining and well-written adventure story, full of colourful characters and, whilst written by an American in the 1930s, paints a rich and believable picture of what life was like during an interesting and exciting period of history.

[Marie Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and was somehow reminded of Scarlet Letter and Lorna Doone, especially at the beginning. I just started Tom Jones, which has similarities to Anthony Adverse. Both start with cast-off baby boys. It will be interesting to see how these two children compare at maturity. Do you suppose these four authors were acquainted? RUNNER, Marie Ann Phillip

[J.A. Ratcliffe]

I haven't finished this. The copy I was reading had such very small print. I found the start interesting and might try to find a readable copy.

[Karen Koppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great adventure story about a young man from birth to early adulthood. Part of a trilogy.

[Teri Anderson Needham]

Well, it is a sad commentary that this is part of a trilogy and though book 1 and 3 are on Kindle, book 2 is not. I regret buying these.

[Jerry T. Estruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating adventure

This story is a tour de force. It is a captivating story told by an excellent writer. The prose is brilliant.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried to like this. I really did. But there was way too much exposition and not enough action to propel me through even the first part of the trilogy, let alone all three.